Not sure I was stitched up neatly. What will happen with second birth?!

[Juniper404]

I had a second degree tear when I had DD and needed quite a lot of stitches.

They didn't heal particularly well and were still sore and swollen at my 6 week checkup. I asked the GP (locum) to check but she couldn't find any latex free gloves so just looked rather than prodded. I should have gone back as I wasn't happy with the check-up altogether, but I guess I just felt exhausted by the whole period so didn't.

Anyway, once it all healed up, I was left with a skin tag inside my vagina.It doesn't hurt but I can feel it quite clearly and see it. It hasn't cause me problems, but now I'm expecting dc2, I'm starting to worry about how it will handle birth.

Am I more likely to tear again? I won't see my midwife for another 8 weeks, so hoping someone can give some advise here!

Thanks.

The likelihood of tearing with second child is significantly reduced I was told c47% compared to c85% for ftm. I too have the same as you although I am only 7 weeks pp so looking to get it cauterised. I don't expect the extra skin itself would cause a problem, as o understand it more depends on the pressure points of tears eg more likely to tear after episiotomy where there is single pressure point and less likely after multiple tears (like mine) as multiple pressure points

Not quite the same but during my second c section the surgeon said that my first scar was very messy and he was going to cut it out and restitch it better. I hadn't particularly thought it was bad but it is a lot better now.

So perhaps if you do tear they will sort it out better?

But all the same I hope you don't!!

I tore the 2nd time too. However it was a good thing as it turned out because the botched repair job from the first time was rectified.

It will depend on how badly you tear the second time, as normally midwives stitch up 2nd degree tears, and surgeons are supposed to repair 3rd degree tears. However this is normally decided by the midwife - my first delivery, the midwife was uncertain if it was a 2nd or a 3rd, and that if it was a 3rd it would need surgery. My sister had her 3rd repaired badly by a midwife, so I immediately requested surgery, and it actually turned out to be a 3c, which is the worst level of 3rd. My recover was textbook, in fact the physio was surprised how good it was...

Second time round was a 2nd, and it was repaired well by the midwife (again a gp I saw about a year later for piles said I looked remarkably good down there considering!) but I felt that that one was better even at the time, as the labour had been much quicker with limited pushing, but I took advantage of my 5 days in hospital with a poorly DD to get a second opinion and antibiotics.

If I hadn't experienced the problems my big sister had, I might have been more reticent about demanding surgery. I am so glad that I did, and I suspect that more of us should be demanding surgery to fix tears. I would love to know whether you can in any case request surgery to repair a 2nd?

I'm now 25 weeks with DC3, and I'm a bit twitchy about whether I will be "lucky" 3 times...

I had a fairly nasty second degree tear first time round and didn't tear at all second time. The same thing has happened to a lot of my friends.

So quite a mixed bag. Thanks for the responses.

The doctor checked the tear as they thought it might be a 3rd degree. In fact, she put her finger up my botty with no warning and I swear that was the least dignified part of the entire 'giving birth' thing. Anyway.

DD was born very quickly and the midwives were trying to stop me from pushing but I couldn't not push. I'm hoping everything's now suitably stretched.

I wasn't sewn up well first time round and things felt very odd down there since. When dd2 was born I tore again, a bit worse. The repair job that time was top hole and it's felt fine and dandy since. Was very pleased with my second tear!

I was pretty similar as some of the other posts, but mine were episiotomies instead. First one was very badly stitched up and I was in agony with it until the second one undid all of the agony. I have never been so happy to have someone take a pair of scissors to my nether regions. My skin tag, left from the first birth is still hanging on in there. I didn't even think about it during birth. My third and fourth births were completely free from stitches. Good luck.

I tore 3 times. First time was not done well but they weren't interested in fixing it even though it made sex tricky at times and I didn't know enough to kick up a fuss. Second was just a couple of stitches. Third was a bad tear after a long back to back labour and the midwife did a fantastic job. She told me it had been stitched badly and she could fix it and she did. It's neater down there now than before I had DC!