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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

more worried about the bloody bits after the actaul birth!

32 replies

artyearl · 25/08/2006 18:45

hi am i alone in kinda looking forward to my impending birth of first child - curious? morbid fascination? want to know what every mum has been through? convinced of 'no pain no gain' theory?! not being naive about the pain thing but sort of thinking i will cope with it somehow - happy to embrace necessary drugs or interventions etc. BUT TOTALLY FREAKED OUT BY ALL HORROR STORIES OF MESSY TORN BLOODY BITS AFTERWARDS - weeing in the bath cos its so painful...standing up only to flood like never before...etc.. am i odd in this respect? have i got it the wrong way round? can hardly believe i will just be able to sail through that bit, forget it and say like the countless others, you don't actually know or care about that?!

OP posts:

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cupcakes · 25/08/2006 18:50

I find the afterwards stage preferable to giving birth. It's a bit painful having your first poo but still preferable to childbirth!
I never did wees in the bath but had a little jug of water that I would pour over my tender areas whilst on the loo which took the sting out. It's also useful to hold a wad of loo roll against your vagina whilst straining to poo.
And I never had that flood after a bath thing - well, not noticably.
It is very tender and swollen for a week or two but I generally felt so shattered and out of it that I didn't really care.

Scoobydooooo · 25/08/2006 18:50

To be honest i was not keen on the after "bits" when i 1st fell pg i dont like blood & am very queasy, but once you have given birth they do clear up all they can (i never saw down below) just dont look your to busy looking at your beautiful new born baby anyway & whilst your doing that they are doing the placenta & tidying the bit of the bed they can.

The thing which i did find hard was the heavy bleeding staright after birth & the 1st wee as it is, i chnged my pad alot which made me feel better & i also had a shower staright after birth with dd not with ds though because i could not walk.

They told me to do my 1st wee in the shower whilst spraying water "down there" which really helped & it did not sting at all unlike when i sat on the toilet for the 1st wee with ds.

Dont panic honestly all this sort of thing goes far from your mind when you have your baby there & in a couple of days the bleeding does die down a bit.

Congratulations & goodluck x

squishy · 25/08/2006 18:51

LOL! I was exactly the same, not freaked out at all by the thought of birth, but afterwards just got me a bit panicky to start with. Have gone a bit into denial....it has to come out!

Scoobydooooo · 25/08/2006 18:51

Blimey i was so lucky on the poo side of things because i did not want to go till a week after giving birth this happened both times, but i remmeber being scared to do that 1st poo. lol

Alibaldi · 25/08/2006 18:52

I took arnica tablets and that helped reduce the swelling. Keep everything clean and wash after every wee. It helps. I had stitches with ds1, painful but not scarily so. You'll be fine.

teabags · 25/08/2006 18:58

I have very rose tinted glasses when I think back to when I gave birth. I found it exciting , especially as I was long overdue and couldn't wait for things to happen. I felt like no other woman had ever given birth, I was very smug afterwards!

My bits were v sore after but it's not something I ever think of and the worst of it is over fairly quickly. A few drops of tea tree oil in the bath (no bubbles), you can buy it in the Body Shop, is nice and soothing

TheBlonde · 25/08/2006 18:59

Lavender is also good in the bath

fistfullofnappies · 25/08/2006 19:23

Run the shower with luke warm water on yourself while you're doing your first wee, to dilute it. Or pour from a jug.

Have to say I hated the after bits, but they are soon over, and Ive still got the children!

ilovecaboose · 25/08/2006 19:27

I had stitches after ds birth and my midwife told me to put neat lavender oil (just a couple of drops) on my sanitary towels as well as in the bath. It really helped to stop the tenderness and speeded up the healing. At the hospital they also showed me a rolled up towel trick to make it more comfortable sitting down.

Never really had a problem weeing so can't comment there. But remember you will have the baby to take your mind off things.

moondog · 25/08/2006 19:30

It happans so gradually over labour that tbh you don't really care by the end.You're just glad to be alive!

I had stitches both times and resolved not to look at or even touch anything between belly button and knees for two weeks.

You recover surprisingly quicky,partic. if young andstrong.

kittywits · 25/08/2006 20:53

Artyearl, really the bit afterwards passes you by in a blur. Yes there's blood, possibly stiches, minor things compared to pushing a baby out! For me the bit I disliked the most was having a poo whilst I was pushing! It happened every time and I never got used to that .No one cared but me though, not really dignified neverthe less!

kittywits · 25/08/2006 20:55

also I found standing up over the toilet and leaning forwards slightly stopped the wee stinging.(tmi?!) If you drink lotsof fluidsit will dilute your wee and I won't sting nearly as much!

lilymolly · 25/08/2006 21:25

I had episiotomy then an infection afterwards- my advice...

Do not look until a few weeks after its not pleasant.
Tea Tree oil in bath
Hold Shower head to direct water onto bits to clean them!
Arnica tablets
Thick sanitary towels.
One of those eye gel packs to put in knickers!
Pour water over whilst peeing
Dont worry about pooing- it was not as bad as I thought your body naturally stops pooing for a while I think!!
You will get back control of your pelvic floor!

But you may be one of these women who have no problems down below!

8 months later you really forget about it all!

As long as you and little one are ok don't worry about that!

sfxmum · 25/08/2006 21:29

i tore had stitches never a problem, no pain or soreness but i took some precautions with diet and holding a wad of toilet paper on the perenium for the first few times

moondog · 25/08/2006 21:30

Oh yes,those gel things are heaven (and very useful thereafter for family bumps and burns.)

lilymolly · 25/08/2006 21:33

God you must be a tough cookie sfx!!

Katiesmammy · 25/08/2006 21:33

I was terrified but you really don't notice/think about what's going on afterwards. Go with advice below about plenty of fluids and using jug of water for wees. Careful not to mistake stitches coming out for worms like I did......ooops!!!!

sweetkitty · 25/08/2006 21:39

Great advice on here, mine would be:

change sanitary towels v often in the first day or two, have loads of showers and baths

I had a bath morning and evening with lavender oil in it, great for relaxing too

weeing in the shower the first few times helps too

And remember you will have a beautiful little baby in your arms, your hormones will kick in, you will feel empowered like superwoman that you have actually given birth to a baby that you honestly will not care.

sfxmum · 25/08/2006 21:41

no lilly i remember crying on the phone to my sister saying i was too scared to go to the toilet but it was fine and the tear was not that bad and healed well

burstingbug · 25/08/2006 22:15

This really isn't as bad as it sounds and you soon forget about it all......i had ds2 last saturday morning with no pain relief, i had to sit in the bath for a wee for 1 and a half days in hospital, i gave up when i came hope, grinned and beared the sting. i tore both up in the clitoral area and perenial area. Lots of stitches, but weeing stopped stinging after 3 days, i also had a poo 3 days after birth, just relax let it happen naturaly. i bled lots for the first day or so, but now theres not alot of bleeding. i bathe with tea tree oil in the bath and use arnica cream on my bits after bathing. stitches still hurt a bit but not too bad. don't over do things, i went to the local shop which took me half an hr there and back, that was over doing things! hurt like hell rest of the evening.
its all worth it and you'll soon forget about the messy sore bits after a while.

Hattie05 · 25/08/2006 22:25

as well as changing pads lots, stock up on paper knickers so each time u can throw knickers and all the contents away and feel clean and fresh again with more paper knickers!

It really isn't that bad - i had nasty tear with stitches and it was painful to stand up or sit down for about a week, but once u have sat down it was fine and vice versa. I think i had about three or more baths a day for the first week because it was the most comfortable place to be.

themoon66 · 25/08/2006 22:33

Badedas bath... lovely and healing.

sweetkitty · 25/08/2006 22:43

hattie - cheap supermarket pants are better you get about 7 for a £1 they are nice and big, comfier than paper ones and you just throw them away.

lilymolly · 26/08/2006 08:47

Katie Mammy LOL at worms!! I thought exactly the same 4 months after birth- What the F**k are these in knickers!!
Agree with supermarket knicker cheap baggy and comfortable!

Cakehead · 26/08/2006 11:53

You may get off lightly, anyway. I did. No stitches and first wee - taken an hour after giving birth - didn't sting at all. Was surprised as had been dreading it too. The thing I did do wrong was put the Moses basket right by our bed for the next couple of weeks and then found that to get out of bed, I had to shuffle on my bottom downwards, which wasn't too comfy! Just felt as though someone had given me a bloody big kick up the bottom for a bit!

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