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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Original poster

Episiotomy Recovery

41 replies

Normando91 · 01/07/2021 22:05

I gave birth to my son two weeks ago today. I had to have an emergency forceps delivery which resulted in an episiotomy and a third degree tear into the muscle of my anus (ouch)
I’m just wondering if anyone has had to have the same and if so, during the healing process did it become ridiculously itchy?! The midwife has said this is normal and a sign it is healing but I feel like I’m losing my mind with it. I’m so so uncomfortable and sore, I thought by now I may have some relief. There’s no other signs of an infection but I’m worrying.

OP posts:
Whatelsecouldibecalled · 01/07/2021 22:09

Hello! Firstly congratulations on your baby!

I had a third degree tear with my boy. Jesus the recovery was hard! 15 months later things are better!

The itching drove me mad. Firstly you need swabs to check there isn’t an infection. I had three back to back and eventually after four rounds of antibiotics it cleared.

However the thing that caused most itching I think was the fact they dry shaved my skin before the repair. Christ them itching was mental.

Try sitz baths. Some people used spritz for bitz too but I didn’t get in with it. Bathe in cool ish water and try to to get as much air to your stitches as you can. Not easy if your still loosing lochia. I used to put clean towel in bed and lay legs akimbo!

Hope you have a speedy recovery

decafforme · 02/07/2021 15:51

Ooh I'd forgotten about the itching.

I had an episiotomy and it itched when healing but did heal nicely. Luke warm baths and liners can help.

Congratulations x

2childrenandout · 02/07/2021 15:53

A few drops of lavender oil on my maternity pad was amazing. Also sitting in a bath with some lavender oil in. Hope it gets better soon.

3beesinmybonnet · 02/07/2021 16:09

I had a forceps delivery and episiotomy, though no anal tear. I don't remember it itching as it healed but I do remember it hurt whenever I dried it with a towel, leading to me not drying it properly. The community midwife/health visitor advised me to dry it with a hairdryer on a low setting.

Original poster
Normando91 · 02/07/2021 16:12

Thanks for all the suggestions. After my shower last night I lay on a towel and let myself air dry 😂 I feel so much better for that alone!! I’ll try the lavender oil too. They never tell you these things do they? And why is it always at night it itches so much!
I’ve stopped wearing liners as they were giving me hella friction and I think irritated the area more (thankfully I’ve stopped bleeding already)
I had spritz for Bitz and asked midwives at hospital if I could use it, they didn’t have a clue so I just avoided that. I’m hoping I’m over the worst of it now, it’s been quite pain free today but no doubt the itching will rear its ugly head when I want to sleep tonight.

@Whatelsecouldibecalled 15 months??? Excuse me if I sound rude but, why on earth has it taken that long 😫 My midwife said I should be fully healed within 6 weeks if no complications and physiotherapy goes well- although I’m sure the physio is for ensuring the muscles are doing their job as normal, which thankfully they are once again 🤞🏻

OP posts:
starsinyourpies · 02/07/2021 16:17

Just to manage your expectations 6 weeks is unrealistic.

anonymice · 02/07/2021 16:18

I ditched lavender oil because I got an infection; baths with salt and Savlon seemed to work well.

CentrifugalBumblePuppy · 02/07/2021 16:25

Even 25 years late I can recall the itch after my episiotomy (and tearing 5 years earlier)! You’re past the early pad stage, but the best advice I had was popping the chunkiest (clean, obviously!) pads in the fridge for an hour to help reduce swelling, something your stitches could sink into!

Warm baths with a little lavender oil were helpful after the stitches dissolved. I had antibiotics prescribed at my 6 week check as there was an internal infection, which led to the usual thrush I always get with them which drove me hatstand with the itching.

Canestan cream helped a lot. And running warm water from a jug for post toilet cleaning as all toilet roll felt like being flossed with barbed wire.

However, all these years later, I can still garner a cup of tea from my adult children with the words ‘140 stitches’ & a stern look lol.

CentrifugalBumblePuppy · 02/07/2021 16:26

And many congratulations!

MyGrassIsBrowner · 02/07/2021 16:37

I only had a 2nd degree tear with my first and that was horrific enough, so can't imagine how awful yours is. I used Spritz for bits religiously by the way and it definitely helped, it's really soothing. Also, Epsom salt baths. You can get a big bag of Epsom salts in Home Bargains for about £3-4!
Congrats on your baby 😊

MeadowHay · 02/07/2021 16:43

@starsinyourpies

Just to manage your expectations 6 weeks is unrealistic.
Agree with this I'm afraid. It's a gradual process but can be slow. I only had an episiotomy and was definitely not fully recovered by 6 weeks even just with that, in fact part of my wound reopened at about week 5 which set me back again. Not trying to worry you because my point is it's quite normal and usual for it to take a long time. Also I don't mean you won't be back to minimal/no pain and functioning soon because hopefully you will but realistically I would say I wasn't pretty much better until closer to 12 weeks really. And I still had some ongoing issues much later, didn't even have pelvic floor physio until 9 months later though so hopefully your early intervention will really assist with speeding up the recovery.
Ozanj · 02/07/2021 16:48

@Normando91

I gave birth to my son two weeks ago today. I had to have an emergency forceps delivery which resulted in an episiotomy and a third degree tear into the muscle of my anus (ouch) I’m just wondering if anyone has had to have the same and if so, during the healing process did it become ridiculously itchy?! The midwife has said this is normal and a sign it is healing but I feel like I’m losing my mind with it. I’m so so uncomfortable and sore, I thought by now I may have some relief. There’s no other signs of an infection but I’m worrying.
It took me 12 months to heal after my emergency forceps and episiotomy and my tears were all mostly 1st and 2nd degree. To help with the itching and nerve pain I was given a honey based ointment to put down there everyday which really helped. But yes itching is a great sign. My stitches had all mostly healed by 6 weeks.
Ozanj · 02/07/2021 16:49

For me my recovery was hampered more by my nerve pain and pelvic floor dysfunction.

Original poster
Normando91 · 02/07/2021 19:28

The midwives keep telling me not to use Epsom salts 🙈 Honestly, I absolutely respect them and the job they do, but I’ve had so much conflicting advice from them I just don’t know what’s safe?!
Christ, here I’m thinking in a couple weeks I’ll be back to my usual self and not wincing every time I move. Thankfully I can get out of bed relatively pain free so that’s something. Thanks so much for all the advice ladies… we don’t half get put through the ringer bringing these little ones into the world 😂
Would anyone advise cold Aloe Vera gel on a pad?! I have some of that at home. Also, is it just lavender oil like the essential oil… sorry for the silly questions, just don’t want to go making anything worse 😫😂

OP posts:
Whatelsecouldibecalled · 02/07/2021 19:47

@Normando91 glad you’re feeling a little better.

Mine was nearly a fourth degree so I think classed as a 3c. It went into anus and nearly through. And tore my pelvic floor basically in half.

Thanks to covid I had my first physio appointment 8 weeks ago. I was supposed to have physio from six weeks post partum. Confused but that never happened.

I have a double prolapse from giving birth. Thankfully with physio this is getting better. I also had a torn uterus and a blood transfusion from birth so I guess those things took a while to heal. I don’t think the infections helped either but no one saw me face to face to help me. My DH had to go back to work 2 weeks after birth so it was me and baby as seeing my family was illegal thanks to covid so I guess maybe not enough time allowed for recovery? My DH works 7-7 shifts. I think all of those things contributed.

Glad to say things are much better now. Don’t get me wrong I will never be the same down there but I don’t think anyone is post birth.

I wish I knew more about this and what could happen. I felt so unprepared for post birth injuries.

Whatelsecouldibecalled · 02/07/2021 19:49

Oh and I also was still loosing lochia 6 weeks post birth! I switched to reusable pads sharpish and they were much kinder on my poor bits! Far softer

Whatelsecouldibecalled · 02/07/2021 19:50

Oh and I also did my pelvic floors religiously in pregnancy AND perineum massage. Fat lot of help it did! Hmm

thelegohooverer · 02/07/2021 19:53

I found witch hazel really soothing. I got a big bottle from the chemist and poured it into one of those kids water bottles with the sports cap so I could squirt it on.

PairOfPears · 02/07/2021 19:58

My midwife recommended a hairdryer on a cool setting and honestly that helped so much!

Elwynne · 02/07/2021 19:58

I'm sorry to read about your itch, I think that would drive me absolutely madFlowers. Good luck and a speedy recovery.

@Whatelsecouldibecalled agreed that noone tells you about the realities of birth injuries beforehand. I do find it very strange that c sections are presented as a bad choice that are difficult to recover from compared to vaginal birth, when tears are in fact commonplace and take so long to recover from.

StevieNix · 02/07/2021 20:02

The itching was something else, almost unbearable at times so I hugely sympathise OP!
I was advised to use spritz for bits or put witchhazel or lavender oil on my pad but honestly they all gave me thrush (I am very sensitive when it comes to products/bubble baths etc) which made the itching 10 times worse!
What worked best for me was just regular baths and showers and letting the air get to it as much as possible!

Whatelsecouldibecalled · 02/07/2021 20:05

@Elwynne if I am lucky enough to have another baby (we had ivf to have my boy!) I will 100% be going for an elective section. Yes it’s surgery and I know hard to recover but I don’t think my vagina would handle another delivery!

Original poster
Normando91 · 02/07/2021 22:33

@Whatelsecouldibecalled
Oh my Christ. I am so sorry you went through that! Covid has fucked up a lot of things but I think it’s absolutely ridiculous you weren’t even seen face to face for the infection or that you had to wait so long for physio! I imagine with your husband going back to work as well you will have been having to do so much more than you really should have been doing. I hope you’re well on your way to recovery now.
I wish I had looked more into forcep delivery and the complications of that but I just didn’t think it would come to that. I read loads about tears and c-sections but kind of just glossed over anything else.

I was so out of it in theatre that I didn’t know what they were doing. My partner was asked to leave and the baby went with him while I lay there being stitched up. Twice the surgeon came to speak to me about what had happened and exactly what they’d had to stitch but I just wasn’t taking it in. It wasn’t until 4 days later once I’d got out of hospital and my partner explained where and what had torn/been cut and what they’d had to repair that I realised the extent of it. I was also left for two days without the lactulose which as you can probably imagine didn’t help my cause 🙈 I couldn’t believe it when they kept giving me paracetamol for the pain. Barely takes the edge of a headache nevermind what we went through.

OP posts:
shouldistop · 03/07/2021 06:34

I've had 2 episiotomies but without the added complication of the tear. I'd also say that 6 weeks is unrealistic.

elsaesmeralda · 03/07/2021 07:03

I had bad tears and the midwife suggested I use lavender oil and tea tree oil together in the bath, also some milk weirdly ! It was very soothing

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