Episiotomy

[Bmarie]

Hi everyone,

4 days postpartum currently after a long a difficult birth I have ended up with an episiotomy and internal & external tearing with god knows how many dissolvable stitches! DP runs his own company and has been amazing over the past few days helping me to get up and carry baby etc changing for me as I'm breast feeding but he really needs to get back to work etc

Really struggling with the pain and feeling very tender, bleeding etc slowed massively but the area where the stitches are is extremely swollen and painful

I'm am trying lavender & tea tree baths as per midwife, cold compresses and regular doses of paracetamol & ibruprofen, nothing seems to be easing it off and as I start to feel better the pain starts again (particularly bad during the night & when getting up and down etc) does anyone have any tips for pain relief and quick healing of the stitches?

Thanks everyone ❤️

Hi,

No experience of this as still pg, but I have heard some people find 'padsicles' helpful. Basically sanitary towels soaked in aloe Vera or witch hazel and put in the freezer. Loads of instructional videos on you tube for how to make them. You could order the ingredients on amazon with next day delivery and get your DH to make them up for you perhaps.

I had this twice. I took co-codomal for the pain and it seemed to work. You are probably at the worse time with it all been swollen and trying to heal. If you are worried you could always let the midwife check u over just in case you have an infection. Try popping something cold down there if you can. Might ease it a little bit x

I had reconstruction after a bad episiotomy a week after giving birth. The consultant advised me to keep the area dry, to shower not bathe as bathing softened the wound. Definitely no drying with a hairdryer as this could spread any infection. It healed very well following her advice, before the reconstruction I was following midwife advice and it was making it worse. This was 7 years ago - It's scary that midwives are still recommending bathing with oils.

It sounds a bit like what happened to me. Has a midwife checked your stitches to make sure they aren't infected? It's quite common and easily sorted with antibiotics. You can go to the GP or if it's too painful or you can't get an appointment you could go to A&E where they also gave me stronger pain killers.

Good luck - I hope it gets better soon.

I'm so sorry it's so sore - it's the last thing you need with a brand new baby.

Witch hazel on sanitary pads and a few drops of tea tree oil in a bath once a day really helped.

After my episiotomy with ds1 I felt like I was sitting on an egg. When I was brave enough to look it was bright blue and swollen to the size of an egg. I would have a bath with tea tree oil and after I was washed I would do the first wee of the day in the bath.I cleaned the bath after. I sat on my thigh, rather than my egg for at least two weeks. Get your midwife to check it to make sure there's no infection. It was really painful. Get a thick, smooth topped sanitary pad, which will act like a cushion. I heard somewhere about frozen peas in a inflatable ring...

The only advice I can give is if the stitches start to feel spiky then get the mw to take them out for you. I had dissolvable internally and externally but they didn't dissolve so just became hard and dry! So painful.

I did fine having lavender oil baths and taking arnica tablets helped too. Good luck xx

Get the midwife to check the wound in case it's breaking down or has become infected first of all. We advise to put nothing on it, no creams etc. as it increases the risk of introducing infection, although many people do find aloe Vera helpful. Sanitary towels in the freezer can help to cool the area and also good pain relief. Have you been prescribed diclofenac? If not ask if you can have it. Also make sure you are alternating the paracetamol and ibuprofen to give more effective pain relief. Hope it starts to feel better soon x

Hi, I had one that broke down and think it was too many baths, which was then left to heal 'naturally' and caused issues. So I'd recommend limiting baths too. Keeping it cool is definitely good (I didn't know that for some time 😞) And alternating painkillers helped. If there is any way to get help please do whilst healing, and if not please be careful when picking up your baby to not twist as you do so as that's what I did without thinking (ouch) .... finally it does get better!

Try taking arnica as well. I had exactly the same as you (episiotomy and internal and external stitches) and I found it really helped. It's a natural remedy and helps with bruising/healing. I was a bit sceptical about it when my mum got it for me but she's not one for the non-traditional usually so I tried it and it was a bit help!

Think you can pick it up from any Boots or pharmacy!

"Take arnica" as in homeopathy pills is rubbish as those are nothing but sugar pills.

If you feel that the pain is not getting any better, there might be an infection in the area - not surprising as it's very difficult to keep clean down there. I had excruciating pain due 2 weeks until I got antibiotics (it's possible to take them while breastfeeding - ask your doctor).

Once the cut closes, I would recommend the scar gel Contractubex (indicated for gynecological operations) to take care of the residual sensitivity & pain.

I had an episiotomy during the forceps delivery of dc1. It was hideous at the time but it did improve dramatically within a couple of weeks. I remember being completely panicked at day 2 as I couldn't actually feel my pelvic floor muscles (though they did appear to be working) - the midwife was very reassuring and by week 3 I was feeling much more normal and less sore. Take painkillers regularly and rest as much as you can. The first few weeks are grum but short!

Also, to be fair, day 4/5 is probably whennthe bruising is at its worst so it should ease a bit in the next few days

Cote you might not believe in arnica and think it's a load of rubbish, but whether it was just placebo effect or not I found that it helped. To be honest at the end of the day I would have taken anything to be able to walk around normally and not feel like I had to hold myself so that I didn't get the sensation that it was all going to fall out.

I second the arnica recommendation. I had an episiotomy the first time and it really helped. The second time I had a really bad 3rd degree tear that required me to go into surgery to get stitched up and again arnica really helped. In fact the 2nd time I healed so quickly I didn't have to be on pain killers for more than a week.
I would also recommend taking turmeric in any form that you can.. It has incredible healing qualities. Warm a cup of milk and add half a teaspoon turmeric to it. It will taste vile, but is great for healing.
Hope you recover soon!

I'll third the arnica pills. I'm in day 14 after the episiotomy and I'm starting to feel a bit more like my self down there.

I did witch hazel on the pads - amazing tip. Cools and heals.

Arnica tablets from the off.

Paracetamol and ibruprofen

Cushions.

Didn't do the bath thing, was told to wash only with water and pat dry. Healing well now.

Stuff that's actually effective don't require you to believe in it. Doubt antibiotics all you want but they will kill the bacteria they are effective against. And believe in Arnica pills all you want, but they won't do a thing to heal a wound like episiotomy.

Homeopathy is complete rubbish. There is maybe 1 single molecule of Arnica in a bottle of those pills, maybe not even. There are hundreds of studies that show it is no better than placebo.

I suffered pitifully with a huge episiotomy and want nothing more than to help others survive theirs quicker & easier but recommending useless quackery is not helpful.

Roll up two towels into two sausages and put them on a chair, parallel, and sit on them so your wound and stitches don't touch the seat, so there is no pressure on them.

I showered after every pee/poo, to try and keep it clean. Just jumped in the shower naked from the waist down and hosed myself down.

Alternating Brufen and paracetamol.

I also put a few drops of witch hazel, or was it tea tree oil, on the maternity pad.

Try not to stand up or walk about much, being upright made everything feel so much more painful. Just sit on your rolled up sausage towels for another week (difficult, I know).

Calm down Cote, I didn't just take the arnica. As the OP already said that she was taking painkillers I didn't bother mentioning those.

I took arnica to supplement everything else I was taking given to me by the doctors, including antibiotics, painkillers, iron tablets AND having to inject myself everyday for nearly 2 weeks afterwards to avoid getting DVT. In no way am I suggesting that only using a homeopathic remedy will be the cure, but if you're in that much pain what's the harm in doing everything you can?

I would also limit baths and oils as I had trouble both times with doing that.

Try and keep the pressure off the area so lie down as much as possible, get up or change position frequently so the blood flow isn't inhibited and the wound can heal quicker. The towel trick is a good one. Do your pelvic floor exercises too, helps with healing and blood flow.

Take pain killers regularly. I took codeine with my episiotomy. It took two weeks to really feel better but healed brilliantly. Really though, it's such early days for you both. It takes a few weeks to feel ok after giving birth so rest as much as possible and congratulations!

half - Again, recommending useless quackery is not helpful. Alone or as "complimenting" other stuff.

lucy - Codeine is no longer recommended for breastfeeding mums.

Diclofenac is very effective and much safer during breastfeeding, as recommended by someone else downthread.

Cote -I'm unable to take NSAID so dihydrocodeine was prescribed instead with good effect. Not great for constipation though and of course you should only take medicine that is prescribed for you.

My point really that pain relief is available to post partum women. Op says she's still in pain, there are options available outside of paracetamol and ibuprofen and women shouldn't feel afraid to seek effective pain relief.

Birth trauma is exactly that and women dont need to put up with pain from significant injuries. I'm dismayed but not surprised someone with the stitches and injuries op has described is only on Step 1 of the analgesic ladder.

Your specific situation aside, it is worth mentioning that codeine is not prescribed to breastfeeding mums of newborns anymore, and for good reason (newborn mortality).

You are right, though, on the need for strong painkillers following episiotomies. I was popping paracetamol tablets like tic tacs and they were doing zip, zero, nada. It's only after a midwife took pity and gave me a diclofenac suppository that I started living again.

Just wash with water and pat dry, don't use anything fancy. Make sure you check your stitches aren't looking infected
I had an episiotomy with forceps delivery 10 weeks ago and it's only this week that the pain had gone. You just need time....and paracetamol!