Things they're not telling you about vaginal birth..

[Viola82]

Just wondering what expecting mother should know about the natural birth and AFTER it please?
There is so much info about c-section and recovery after, but what about recovery after the natural birth? Even the vanilla standard one with no complications ect?
please don't sugercoat, write it as it is

First birth - episiotomy (9lb 2oz back to back baby) which stung A LOT for a few days once my epidural wore off. Lost lots of blood so very weak and mostly sofa-bound for a couple of weeks.

Second birth - natural tear, smallish, also stung a bit for a few days but not as bad. Felt generally weak and tired as you do after hoofing a baby out of your fanny, but able to potter around making the odd cup of tea as soon as I got back from hospital.

I didn’t have any major problems weeing or pooping after either birth, slight constipation but nothing too dramatic, totally agree with getting some stool softeners in just in case as my GP mentioned them if things got a bit difficult.

Good luck!

You might poo yourself, not that you'll care.
Drink isotonic sports drinks.
The world and his wife will stare at your muff, for hours with a spot light.
Your baby will poo and wee on you.
Why does it take so long for a baby to go such a short distance?
It hurts more to push on a contraction. Why? It should hurt less in my opinion.
If your waters don't break, they bulge and feel like the baby's head.

All the yes to post birth constipation, don't be shy about asking for lactulose or whatever - I honestly thought I was shitting a tennis ball 😳

Also nobody told me about how they check how bad a tear is.......after DC2 no less than THREE separate doctors were called in to stick their finger up my arse for this purpose!

After dd1 I coughed and felt a huge clot come out of me.
It scared me even though I had had 3 babies before her.
I phoned my midwife....she assured me it was normal.

Funnily enough that was the same baby I had awful after pains with yet was the most easiest, pain bearable birth I had.

That the rush of adrenaline will stop you sleeping properly (if at all) for the first day or so - even if you’ve been awake for a few days previously and Labour was beyond exhausting!

The walk out of hospital and drive home is ridiculously uncomfortable but you won’t mind so much as you’ll still be on cloud nine.

Good luck and hope all goes well!

Use a smooth pad because with always ultra the ends of the stitches got caught in the tiny holes.

cjt110, my episiotomy was bright blue, and shaped like an egg. Dh wouldn't look! It was an amazing colour I've never seen on my body before or since!

Not to do with immediately after birth, but if you continue to have problems with incontinence, consider getting an electronic kegel machine. It is like a tens machine with a probe which goes inside your vagina and does most of the work for you

I've had 2 vaginal births; the first I had a second degree tear and the next I didn't. If you get stitches it is fucking painful. I used to struggle to shuffle up and down the bed during the night to get into a comfy position to feed. Oh and I couldn't bear to look down there so what felt like a stitch coming out was actually an ingrown hair which had developed into an abscess....as I found out when I went to the GP.
Second time around I managed to per straight away and poo next day without too much issue so I would say a lot depends on whether you get stitches.
With both I had a very 'heavy' feeling around the whole area and it did take s few weeks to get back to walking around comfortably .

first poo was more difficult and painful than the birth. But the birth itself wasn't as bad for me as it seems to be for some.

Oh god not looking forward to any of that😕😕

Most of these are the same for c sections too

Force yourself to to drink water. The more you pee- and the more dilute it is- the quicker the stinging goes away.

It's not just blood that comes out. It's lumps of stuff too. Don't look too closely.

By the end you will not care about people staring at / poking your fanjo especially if you have stitches which need to be checked.

You'll do things you'll never have thought you would or could (I vividly remember a midwife putting my pad and knickers on for me afterwards because I was just so shattered and I just sat there and let her). But it's also amazing.

That actually it’s not that bad and is in fact pretty amazing.

If you have an episiotomy the stitches can get infected and the resulting pain is absolutely agonising. Rivals childbirth itself!

The post-birth bleeding can include massive clots. After DC3 I found what looked like a whole liver on my ST and I was horrified, but apparently quite normal.

Glycerin suppositories will make all the difference to your first post-birth poo. I honestly think new mums should be given a packet by the midwife when they're discharged from hospital!

Also the actual birth might not be that bad. I had heard so many horror stories that mine seemed fine!

Constipation that didn't resolve until three weeks after the birth because I was so scared to go. By the time I did, it was literally like wine corks. Still haven't recovered from the piles and ended up anaemic in this second pregnancy, I suspect because of the bleeding every time I went to the loo. If they give you opiate painkillers, ask to be given lactulose at the same time. Lots of it. Any HCP who gives diamorphine or codeine without lactulose is a sadist IMO.

Getting a second degree tear stitched feels like getting your bum flossed while they're doing it. Took a good six months to regain full control/tightness after a poo, so almost fecally incontinent. Never had any problems weeing, except the occasional dribble if I sneeze with a full bladder. Better after a year.

Only thing in my birth plan is to not get constipated this time. Sorry if TMI, but you did ask!

The instant the baby’s out start eating all bran. It made the first poo less of an ordeal. it was still an ordeal

I've had two. With two epidurals. Found it a lot better than I'd feared; was pretty undignified and my vagina felt a bit achy for a couple of days, but I didn't need the painkillers they'd prescribed, despite an episiotomy. Was up and about the next day with both, though. I'm not particularly stoical/good with pain either.....!

Best tip i got with my 2nd was to use Badedas bath creme after every wee & in the bath. Literally on a wet flannal, give yourself a good wipe down...pour it in the bath every time. No idea how or why but it made life SO much easier peeing & pooing afterwards. The difference between 1st time & 2nd time was unreal...and i tore worse 2nd time so theoretically should have hurt more

After pains hurt. You’ve done the Labour, and got the baby out, then it carries on hurting for a while over the next couple of days. This is worse with each child.

Interesting - some friends and I were just discussing yesterday about post-birth in primitive communities. It arose because someone was carving a nativity and wondered what position to put Mary in. I said where are the sanitary towels? - and it set us wondering what women did then - and no nappies! - does gthe babe just lie in its own excrement?

There are so many design faults in human beings - childbirth and menstruation being top of the list.

After my first - forceps and massive episiotomy - I thought I would never poo again. What a nightmare! There was a stitch in a thrombosed pile - god that hurt!!

I am so glad I had to have EMCS.

You WILL be scared to do your first poo afterwards. You WILL think your insides might fall out when you do. They won't, you will be ok.