Tearing

[Mustang27]

I had my first and had a second degree tear that was initially thought to be a third but in closer inspection all was better than expected.

This was two and half years ago now and I’m about to give birth again. My question is how likely am I to tear again in others experience? I have been doing perineum massage probably not all that effectively but it’s something lol. I’m doing hypnobirthing so I hopefully won’t be doing the push push stuff and more trusting my body and pushing only when i want to. Obviously none of this is guaranteed but I can hope lol.

I’m happy to hear any good and bad experiences and any advice on what you might have done differently to try and avoid tearing.

Anybody? Lol I thought more would have experience of this sorry if I’m asking a daft question.

I had 2nd degree tear first time which I suspect was a lot more that they made it tobe. Second time it was also second degree but it was a lot less.

I had a tear with DD1 and didn't tear with DD2, she was only 4lb15 though!

Oh wow kitkat she must have looked so teeny. My first was just under 9 so I’m assuming they won’t be drastically smaller unless I go earlier.

Baby, do you mean you think the tear was worse than they thought first time round, Hope you healed ok.

I had a secon degree tear with DD, but only a graze with DS. I think I'm actually in better shape now than pre- DC2 tbh! DS was also tiny though - only 5lb

I had a third degree tear with dc1 and was offered a c section with dc2. I decided to go for a natural birth even though I was terrified of it happening again due to risk of incontinence etc. I ended up with a very small second degree tear this time round which I was relieved about. First delivery was induced, forceps and I had an epidural. Second baby came on it’s own and I only had gas and air - i think the fact that I was way more in control helped a lot! Definitely trust your body and own instincts when it comes to pushing.

I’m hoping for a few more answers to this as I am in the same situation! I had a second degree tear with my first and needed quite a few stiches. Really hoping to avoid it this time!

Foodie I think I needed 9/10 stitches but I did heal quickly. Dtd, sorry tmi!!! For the first year was quite uncomfortable not helped by libido being absolute 0 due to bf.

Aww another teeny I’d love if they were little but iv heard people saying sometimes smaller is harder to birth as contractions need to be stronger to push down. No idea if there is any truth in it though.

Khaleesi that sounds scary and I applaud you for going natural second time even with the risks. Your labours sound worlds apart though I’m hoping for the same.

I had 3rd degree tear with dc2. The least severe type but still 3rd. Some minor issues remained 4 yrs on when I was unexpectedly preggo with dc3. I hadn't had the follow up I should have had after dc2 so had an appointment and a rectal scan thing and test to see how things were. The news was basically good tho they could see evidence of the previous damage.
I could have requested a c section I think but in the end decided to go for vaginal birth again. I found the info a bit conflicting online but concluded there is only a slightly increased risk of tearing again.
With the recovery of a c section & having older D.C. I opted for vaginal and am really glad I did.
My midwives (a final yr student and her supervisor) were fab and j made it VERY clear at the pushing stage (and before) that I was afraid of tearing again. I delivered on my knees and they placed their hands on dds head to stop her shooting out too quick and reduce the risk of tearing. (previous tear had been due to baby shooting out rather than big baby tho was big compared to 1st one - 7lb4 compared to 5lb8. Dc3 was 6lb10.)

Good luck whatever you decide. There is a small risk of muscle damage but I set that against the certainty of tummy muscles getting damaged in a section.

God Mose that sounds horrendous. I recall that they were getting me to push and I didn’t feel like I was contracting and I was only on gas an air so I was pretty with it but I’d been labouring for 19hrs I think they were bored of me lol. I’m sorry your tears were so bad. I hope they healed without any lasting effects.

Good advice I’m doing my birth plan now so il put that on, let me birth in position I want to be in and apply support to head to help against tearing. Can’t hurt! You are absolutely right on the risk of muscle damage in C section as well. Why do we do this to ourselves again??? Lol

I had a second degree episiotomy which got badly infected with DC1 and needed restitching.

DC2 the midwIves were about to do an episiotomy as I had started tearing but they were too late. It was a zig zaggie tear so took ages to stitch, and they were initially worried it was a third degree, which it wasn't. However, it was shallow and healed really well (although I was on prophlactic antibiotics because of what happened the first time). DC2 was over 9 lb and had a 98th centile head so I think I came out of it well!

I did lots of perineal massage, not sure if it helped. Giving birth in water is apparently supposed to help reduce the risk of tearing, I ended up getting out and standing so don't know if it would have made any difference. Thing I think helped most was that they got the midwife who was apparently very good at stitching to sort me out and she spent about 30 minutes doing it. (The consultant I saw after DC1 said that infection is less likely if they are careful when stitching).

My perineum still feels a little tight after Dc 1 3 years ago. Dh doing the massage but it still smarts a bit and sometimes splits slight during sex. I'm terrified about the tear bit. I'm hoping gravity will help this time when giving birth.

Op.this is a bit of a downer but I didn't push with Ds and still tore. His head came and then he shot his hand out, giving me a second degree tear. Bloody annoying

I tore much less with number 2. Hoping number three will slide out!

3rd degree tear ouch with DS1. Big baby though!
Estimated DS2 to be big also but he was 6lb 15 bless him and I got away with just a couple of grazes! I'd actually started pushing without quite realising second time around too so it was all a bit accelerated.

I was so worried about tearing again it was one of the first things I asked if it was likely to happen at my booking in appointment 🙈