Gaping episiotomy - what do I do?

[BraveLilBear]

Gave birth 8 days ago. Was on drip due to prolonged ruptured membranes and after going from 4cm to fully dilated in an hour, all seemed to be going well til his head got stuck.

Ended up in theatre for forceps which included an episiotomy plus some internal tearing.

2days after, midwife had a look and said it was healing great. I had a look and was amazed it looked so neat, eventthough it was about 3inches long.

Since then have been having dragging feelings, especially if I go out. This morning I looked and it looks horrible- gaping in several places including at yhe vaginal entrance and at the other end.

Due to see midwife next on Friday to get DS weighed. Do I wait til then or should I contact someone now? Is this normal recovery?

I have no advice but perhaps post in a busier topic like Chat?

I'd see GP urgently or call midwife to ask if they can come and look. They will not mind taking a look to check for you. xx

I had a terrible time just like this. Please go and see your gp and don't be fobbed off. If you can you need bed rest for it to heal well. Every time you walk about its reopening the cut

no office to any midwives please but to some it often looks great down there when often it's actually not, not sure why that is but perhaps it is because they see babies coming out from down there everyday and they built more tolerance to how it should really look down there after such impact. If it does not look good to you go to GP and insist to see OBGYN consultant to review your stitches.
I ignored the fact that my stitches did not look right and actually all came off after MW said ... oh it all looks peachy... not too worry you'll be great... It took me few months to figure out on my own that something IS actually wrong, I wish I took that look with that mirror long time ago.
Good luck, let us know what they do for you, I hope it all works out well.

My stitches due to stitched episiotomy during VBAC did not feel right,so incredibly painful. Midwives said looked ok initially. Felt like a complete wuss complaining especially as healed so quickly after c-section.

Then 6 days after DD2 was born stitches burst. Lots of blood loss ensued. Has a large gaping wound. Pain gone but uncomfortable. Was seen within hours by registrar and numerous other staff with horrified faces. Advised by registrar no need to re stitch, swab taken and antibiotics given as she felt infected.Told to go home and keep clean,water only and air daily,see GP in a week for swab results.

Midwives visiting daily were horrified as was GP, felt it should have been restitched and insisted on me being seen by consultant. At this stage was crying daily and completely regretted not having c-section. Was considering getting private opinion and treatment.

Same registrar who stitched initially and saw when wound opened saw again as did consultant. Reassured me healing well,keep doing what I was doing and ignore midwives and GP who did not know what they were talking about. Gave me an appointment to review to see if any revision necessary and to attempt intercourse etc in between.

DD2 is 8 weeks tomorrow and has healed incredibly well. Am actually thinking of cancelling follow up appointment. Delighted with my VBAC.

Definitely seek medical attention immediately.It may be infected. You may need pain relief. Keep dry with a towel, use water only in shower and air as much as possible. Fingers crossed it will heal as well as mine. Genuinely shocked it did.

This happened to me too. I was told they wouldn't restitch and that it would heal on its own. I remember how painful it was, you have my sympathy.
Don't be afraid to go back to the hospital and ask for it to be looked at. They'll tell you whether a restitch is necessary, will probably swab for infection and will give you antibiotics and painkillers.
Keep the area as clean as possible, let air get to the area as much as you can. Get one of those ring cushions (can't think of their proper name sorry!) to sit on for comfort. Do not let yourself get constipated! I did and it was worse than the birth! Plenty of fruit/veg and water and lactulose if you need it. Above all- REST.
It seems like the worst thing ever right now but it will honestly feel better soon, good luck x

I'm sorry to say four months down the line mine needed redoing, so I feel very strongly about have these things looked after!!!!

Saw midwife this morning who said that some of the stitches are loose but that it's totally fine and not gaping when viewed with legs together.

Apparently it's normal to have a hole at one end and a jagged wide entrance to the vagina :(

Am now more depressed about it than before. Fingers crossed it heals up ok.

This happened to me, stitches burst. I had a hematoma (sp?). Luckily I didnt need re stitching as it was the middle bit that burst.

Mine also looked horrendous and was very painful for a while. However, 10 months later it is all fine.

I can feel the scar tissue, it just feels different, and I have a funny little 'flappy' bit on the entrance. My DH assures me it feels bigger than it seems.

Please don't be depressed. I also found that warm bath twice a day (hard with a newborn I know but I used to take DD in with me which she loved) with a few drops of tee tree oil and lavender oil in worked brilliantly.

Interesting (or not) update. ..

Today I saw a different midwife who checked the situation.

Episiotomy bit is healing better but the vaginal stitches are gaping wide open and there are signs of a mild infection. Apparently they won't resuture, but she thinks that a dose of antibiotics should blast everything out and give a chance for healing.

Am reassured that I wasn't going mad or being precious but I'm a bit peeved that the previous midwife only checked the site with my legs closed ((from behind) and declared that everything was hunkydory.

Will see if antibiotics work. Hopefully I won't end up with the 'bucket' that I appear to have at the moment. DP is growing more concerned by the day - and not just about how an infection could get worse!

I HD an episiotomy which gaped completely after 6days went to see a college midwife n den HD a resuturing. My midwife came to the HSE n said is healing BT after some days Ive seen some part gaped at de middle. Nt DAT big lyk de first one though BT de suturing site is very itching n am afraid of scratching which cld end up removing de other sutures. I just don't wanna end up in tertiary suturing cox de second one WS very painful. Now am in my 7 days after de resuturing what do I do

I had a similar situation (and I was crestfallen as it looked to me like they had literally cut me a new one), and it was an infection.

Two midwives had seen it and said it was fine, went to my GP and she confirmed the infection (TMI but it SMELLED as well so i knew something was terribly wrong).

It healed up really well and in a few months was back to normal. Looking at it now (3 years on) you can't tell at all.

Hello mums how many days needed for healing after redoing /resuturing of episiotomy stiches. Does anyone had to go through the resuturing. I am 3 months post partum.

Oh gosh this makes interesting reading. I am 5 days PP and didn’t have an episiotomy but a 2nd degree tear, with 5 stitches.

It’s incredibly uncomfortable and I am in agony all the time - lying / sitting / standing are all painful, though standing / walking for long makes it much worse.

Midwife said yesterday that one of the stitches isn’t doing anything and has left a thumbnail sized gaping hole, but that it’ll heal on its own. I feel really worried about that but have to trust her as she’s the expert and obviously I dont have a clue! She said no sign of infection, which is a relief. But it’s just soooooooo uncomfortable and I feel everyone thinks I’m a bit pathetic that 5 days later I’m still not up and about and back to normal!

How long did you ladies find it room before you were comfortable sitting / walking afterwards?

All my stitches popped after 1 day, they wont restitch if it's started to heal. I was left with a very painful gapping episiotomy for 12 weeks. I then had several procedures to remove excess tissue. 7 months before I was largely painfree. It has never looked right since. Not to scare you but don't let yourself be fobbed off! My midwives where horrified by mine and kept sending me back to hospital, as a result I was never discharged and stayed under gyny as long as needed. I think this helped a lot as some people are just left to suffer in silence, don't let them fobb you off. I was on antibiotics for weeks they thought the infection risk was so high