Episiotomy after pain

[Ali46]

Hi I had a forceps delivery over the weekend and had to be cut 🙈 I lost lots of blood so was only given paracetamols for the pain. It’s been agony, I’m unable to walk properly and not able to easily get out of bed or roll over etc. My local midwife has taken a look and said everything looks fine and has since been able to prescribe something stronger but I’m not seeing any difference and still in a lot of pain 😩 I had to go for a number 2 and I felt like my insides were going to fall out. It also nips so much near my vagina. Has anyone been through the same? It’s starting to really get me down, I’m crying several times a day now. I’ve been having some baths, icing the area and letting it dry out.

Have you tried soaking a pad in aloe Vera or witch hazel and sticking it in the fridge a bit before applying?

Also lavender in the bath?

I had this. It's a horrible pain and I really feel for you. All I can say is that it does get better. I think I was on day 7 or 9 before I thought that I wasn't in more pain than the day before. Then after that it started improving every day until it was soon a distant memory.

Sorry if that doesn't help, I just wanted to let you know that it will improve, but it takes time.

Congrats on your new baby. Be kind to yourself and take care

Hi @Ali46

This sounds like me - I had one on Friday. Currently up doing a feed and all I can feel is downstairs..
Mine is getting better, I’ve been having a hose down with a shower and air dry on the bed a few times - the air drying is meant to help. Also was advised mild pelvic floor exercises, no full routines yet, just testing the waters.
Also keep the painkillers topped up.

And as PP said, a soaked pad or pad in the freezer to soothe.

Hope you and your new baby are doing well x

I really feel for the you. I had the same. Regular plain water baths and many air-dry seesions helped. Plus paracetamol and ibuprofen on timed consumption. Try to go easy on yourself and rest where possible, maybe even set up camp close to a bathroom so you don't need to walk far to reach the toilet etc. And ask the midwife to keep checking for signs of infection if the pain doesn't ease soon. Good luck.

Congratulations on your baby OP and yes it does get better quite quickly. Pouring warm water over the area when you go to the loo helps to take away the sting as well. Hang on in there!

Sorry you're in pain. I found with mine I was in quite a lot of pain and struggled to sit/move for at least a week. A bath every day with tea tree oil drops really helped and some on the pad too. You really need to try and take it easy and not move about too much. I was also given advice to hold a sanitary pad to the stitches when you needed to poo so it doesn't feel like everything's falling out!

Congratulations! Drink lots and lots of water so your urine is diluted so won't burn as much, add some salt to your baths, keep pads in fridge, sit on cushions or even a rubber ring... I remember the pain like it was yesterday so you have my full sympathy, take care and rest as much as possible xx

Thanks so much for all the tips and positivity everyone! Midwife came out again and prescribed some antibiotics, she thought some of stitches might be infected plus after delivery they weren’t 100% sure they got all the placenta and my stomach is now sore so if there is any issues the antibiotics should sort. Really hope they kick in soon and I can put all my energy into the new babe 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Excellent news about the antibiotics, the same happened to me and thankfully the midwife spotted the infection on day 5. I'd say it took a day, two max, for them to kick in and provide good relief from the pain so you're almost there hopefully. Hope you feel much better soon.

@Josvie Aw I really hope so! Having a pretty rubbish night and in a lot of pain. I’ve taken the recommended amount of painkillers for the day and think they’ve worn off. Couldn’t walk to the toilet and had a bit of a breakdown! 😭 Been feeling heavy pressure in my right bum cheek too...it’s one thing after another 🙈

Aw, I remember feeling the same, tearful and in pain trying to get up the stairs to the bathroom. I just never expected that level of pain from labour. The bathing in plain water and many sessions of just letting the air get to the stitches really helped. You want to keep them clean and dry so make sure after each toilet visit to pour cool water over the area and then air dry on the couch/bed etc. It will get better soon enough, then thankfully, you can just enjoy the little one. I'm currently recovering from c-section so have been following all the advice to avoid an infection this time as it really was a horrible pain so I really do feel for you. Cry, rest, eat chocolate and cuddle your baby. Hope you feel better soon.

The one thing I didn’t realise at the time is that my coccyx was dislocated when they did the forceps delivery- I thought it was the stitches that were sore and achy etc but once they had healed (2-3 weeks ish) I still had random aches and pains sitting in some positions etc and figured out it was actually my coccyx that was the cause of most of the pain. Had I realised sooner, midwife said I probably could have had some physio to sort it out. May be worth asking the midwife or doctor etc to check your coccyx? Hope you feel better soon! My stitches got infected twice and had 2 courses of antibiotics but by about 3 weeks, they were ok. Hang in there!

I used to run a bath all the time. I had piles too.

Have you tried the maternity ice pack? It was such sweet relief after my first.

@Kitcat47 got those too 🙈 feeling so glam right now!

@Hawkmoth no I’ve not, I’ve tried just ice wrapped up in a towel though. Where do you buy the maternity packs?

The midwife got the results from swabs taken and I’ve been given new antibiotics for the infection so hopefully they will do the trick 🤞🏻🤞🏻

@ali46 it was a while ago, but we sent my lovely Dad to get them from mothercare when I had my first. I also took homoeopathic arnica tablets on MW advice. So glad I didn't have stitches for my other children, episiotomy pain is such a killer.

Hi i had the same experience , i feel your pain !!!
I had a bath , sometimes twice a day with tea tree oil and lavender oil , nothing else ,just a few drops each bath , very soothing .
With my second labour i had no stitches but did have a few tiny tears chose not to have stitches and used the oils again , very quick healing.
3rd labour no tears just tender , did same again,
Hope you are feeling better soon .

Hi OP. Pleased to hear you’ve got some antibiotics. It was a while ago now but I remember trawling through threads on here to find someone / anyone who had experienced the same. My stitches were infected but wasn’t picked up until nearly 2 weeks after delivery. It took until 6 weeks post partum for them to start healing properly. It really did make things so much harder. I cried lots, struggled to bond and I am sure it had an impact on my breastfeeding journey too. All I can say is if it still doesn’t feel right in another week speak to your doctor / midwife / health visitor. Having had my second without foreceps I realised the pain I experienced wasn’t ‘normal’ but an indication of the infection.

I read your post OP and wondered if the baths have hindered rather than helped? I had an episiotomy with my DS and had a really unfortunate recovery experience - took 10 weeks before I was able to walk without pain and my sister who had an emergency C sec recovered much quicker! Like you mine also became infected and I needed 6 trips to hospital to have laser therapy on the wound to heal the infection (one of the weirdest experiences of my life 😂). One of the theories was that I'd had a bath too early on in recovery - no one told me not to so I had one about 6 days afterwards) and one of the midwives thought this might have encouraged the stitches to start dissolving prematurely and thus created a more open wound prone to infection. (sorry that's a bit grim!)

I found keeping on top of pain meds helped, as did having a soft rubber ring to sit on when out (took it to our local pizza hut 5 weeks post partum to some mildly odd looks!) and putting your maternity pads in the fridge (still wrapped) helped to give some relief.

Really hope you recover quickly x

Congratulations!
I had a pretty horrific episiotomy with my first birth. I took paracetamol and co-coda lol for about 10 days after. If I forgot to take it reguLrly I was really uncomfortable by late afternoon. Sitting on a rubber ring helped.

Wee in the shower if still sore. Hold a pad down there for a poo....

I found the second/third week quite uncomfortable in a different type of way as although not painful, the tugging of the stitches as it healed wasn’t pleasant.

Birth no 2- I tore so that needed more stitches. Nowhere near as painful- really quick recovery, I used Spritz for Bitz

After my first birth I found sex really uncomfortable even after 5 months plus. Also, if I was sat on a hard surface in an upright position, that was pretty uncomfortable, even months on.

Don’t be afraid to get it checked a couple of months down the line

Congrats on the birth of your little one, it’s not easy going through all that then coming out the other side only to be in more pain than the actual labour!

I had the same as you and those days and nights of being in pain feel like time has stood still.

Have you heard of a valley cushion? They are great for when you are sat down, bit like a rubber ring for your lady bits and bum. You can inflate it to suit what feels comfortable. Google it ☺️

Also I had big issues with piles and no one actually told me and it felt like I had a rugby ball between my legs pretty much all the time and it wasn’t so much the cut but the piles even though the cut also hurt.

It does get better but keep on at the midwife if things don’t improve otherwise you’re just left to get on with it. Also I would recommend that if you are having issues with going for a number two then eat prunes or ask for some Lactulose also use a little step that you buy for toddlers when they stand at sinks etc to raise your legs when going to the toilet as that also helps things pass.

Also if you get any Incontinence get yourself a referral to woman’s health physio for pelvic floor exercises but you can’t do this until 11 weeks post birth I don’t think.

It will get better i promise and I would say after 8 weeks I was totally better which I know is a long way down the line but it won’t be like this forever just keep on at the midwives and doctors if you’re not happy. Xxx

Also keep taking paracetamol and ibrufen every 3/4 hours and I used to keep a log of what I had taken so I was always dosed up to help with the pain xx

I looked up those arnica tablets, they sound good too! I’m taking quite a few things at the moment though so not sure if they’re a good idea right now though?

I think the new antibiotics seem to be working, the pain seems to be getting better but I think now there is a bit pus, do any of you know if the antibiotics bring out the infection?

@mummabubs I did wonder the same about the baths, I’ve read loads that they help breakdown the stitches but one of the doctors did recommend them too! That’s crazy you needed laser therapy, poor thing.

@DMT1982 thanks for all the advice! I bought a ring from amazon, I’m assuming it’s similar to a valley cushion

Hey I'm on the same boat the hemmoroids are so sore and it's so hard to sit down how long did it take for yours to go away?

@Lavo97 I think they took a good few weeks to settle down so I was able to sit unaided. Salt baths helped as well once you’re allowed to bath following an episiotomy