2nd degree tear help sorry if tmi

[chocorocco]

i had my baby a week ago and got a 2nd degree tear. it wasn't too bad at first but last few days its throbbing which i assume is normal and stitches knitting together. i stupidly looked this morning and upset myself. i don't know what i expected but im very swollen and there is a split still like a hole from front to bk. sorry if tmi.

is this pretty normal? when can i expect to feel a bit better??

You will be very swollen for quite a while, i had a 4th degree tear and went to physio at 8 weeks post birth and the phsyio said i was still bruised (wasnt brave enough to look myself for months).

A small amout of throbbing could indicate you have overdone things (walked a bit too far or trying to hoover etc). Initially i would say rest as much as possible & give your midwife/health visitor or gp a call and ask them to check the stitches, you could have an infection.

Take paracetamol for the pain (and ibuprofen too if required), both are fine if breastfeeding. Oh, and try to do some pelvic floor excercises, you may not feel them working but it helps the blood flow to the area which helps it heal.

And congratulations on your new baby.

It's worth getting it checked out by the gp if you are worried. I was seen immediately (mine was a split like yours but also a bit yellow). Grim - sorry!

You can take antibiotics and still continue to Breastfeed if that is important to you.

Make sure you're taking regular paracetamol and ibuprofen/diclofenac and ring MW tomorrow and get them to have a look. If it is a bit infected much better to have abs now than when it's broken down!

Put frozen witch hazel pads in your knickers until all pain and swelling has gone. These really help the swelling and so reduce pain. Several weeks for me before swelling went.

I wasn't brave enough to look at mine but would get the midwife to check if unsure. First baby my midwife checked at every visit because I was petrified I would get an infection as bad tear.

All healed fine in the end,just took time.

I found salt baths helped me - had 2nd degree tear with my first baby too. Felt a lot better after two weeks but before that very very sore and throbbing. Midwife said salt baths old fashioned and don't help - my Mum told me to have them and I think she was right. A friend put tea tree oil in the bath and another used Savlon.

Zita West Comfort Down Under balm. Bloody amazing stuff. Used it both on DS's gigantic episiotomy and DD's frankly puny in comparison 2nd degree tear.

I'd see your GP not MW as I found MW were a bit blasé about it, with the memorable phrase 'it doesn't smell, so it's not infected' which is not how modern medicine works. MW see you through pregnancy and sign you off, they don't really deal with complications if needed. My GP was brilliant, home visit as I was a bit of a mess, swabs, antibiotics and referral to gynaecologist. Obviously you might not need any of this, but I would much rather see a doctor who is going to continue to be involved in my care than a MW who is looking to discharge me from their care. Sorry to all the great MW out there.

Had an episiotomy with DD1 that got infected, swollen, throbbing and could barely walk.

Had a 2nd degree tear (along old cut) with DD2 and literally no pain on healing.

I would say if there is pain like that get it checked, and yy to PP by a GP. The MW missed my infection.

I also patted down with witch hazel and put it on my maternity pads which did help soothe both times.

If you're worried, get it checked. I found mw helpful - rang and said i was worried an the on-call community mw came & examined and swabbed me.

spoke to my mw who said all sounds normal, she said its normal to feel throbbing its the muscles. feel better today it seems ok till i do anything, tried a little walk today and had to return home.
been doing salt baths which help and the witch hazel pads so hopefully am on the mend.

Plase get it looked at - not just a phone call.

Go to GP & get it looked at....MW is being incompetent, you can't diagnose a well vs poorly healing wound over the phone & lots of ladies we see back with infections would have been much better off with a short course of abx much earlier! It might be absolutely fine but better to check than risk long term problems with it!

I've had 2nd degree tears with all 3 of my babies and never experienced throbbing. Please do ask MW to look at it, you can phone and ask for a visit if they're not due tomorrow, if they aren't helpful then go to GP.

A stitch ripped out after my first tear and it was terribly sore for weeks - way beyond the 6 wk check. It so uncomfortable, looking back I can't believe I tollerated it so long but as it was my first baby I had no idea what was normal healing. My last 2 tears healed within 2 weeks and were not hurting particularly after a week.

Don't suffer, please insist on someone taking a look and getting it sorted.

Also don't worry about taking painkillers, cocodamol is very effective and safe while bf.

I had a 2nd degree tear and never felt throbbing pain while recovering, didn't feel much actually. So definitely get it checked out! This is the very time you need to use the help and look after your health. ask for a home visit if possible.

I did feel the throbbing for about two weeks after giving birth...BUT I agree with the others that you should get it checked just in case. Midwife/Dr should have a look at it to make sure no infection.