3rd Degree Tear or C Section

[Rollypops]

Hello all,

Just wondering if there are any mummies out there who have had a 3rd degree tear and a c section and which they thought was better?

Plus do they have any long term complications of either?

Asking as I've had a 3rd degree tear and wondering what to do for my 2nd.

Thanks so much! X

@Littleguggi I wish it was spoke about more too!

This was me today, I just made it in time 😟 thankfully there was a free cubicle! I just hope it gets easier. X

Oh and re no 2s I only get about 30 seconds notice. I spent a good 10 minutes crying about this to the physio the other day I’m only 30 and I said it’s ridiculous how little we know about Thos before we have babies

I'm totally shocked and amazed by how many people have replied to this with the same experience, but you never hear abiut it.

It's a shame we aren't given all this information whilst pregnant. What we all do for our little babies 💙💗🥰

I had a 3b tear 3 years ago now and recovered well, but have opted for an ELCS this time as I'm just not prepared to risk another tear and likely incontinence.

Every doctor I've seen has agreed with me and said they would do the same themselves!

Haven’t experience a vaginal birth but have had the most amazing elective c-section and I would opt for that over anything, all day long. It was honestly a dream and couldn’t have been better 😍 The recovery was so much easier than I expected too and I was never in any actual ‘pain’, it was completely fine walking about and the only discomfort was when trying to get up and down from a bed but it was fine by the second week. I’d do it all again tomorrow

'She also now has a horrendous scar across her tummy'** - seriously? That's quite insulting to any mother who's had a C-Section. I've a scar across my tummy, it's partially numb and I hate how it looks now but I'm sat looking at my healthy 8 month old and wouldn't change any of it. What a childish comment.

I was never offered an ELCS when I had 3rd degree year with DC1. So went on to have 2nd degree tear (along the scar of the 3rd degree tear) with DC2. But DC3 and DC4 I only had minor “skid marks” as the midwife called them, but no tearing. I was told that first babies “pave the way” making subsequent babies easier. I don’t know how common that is, but it was true for me.

I had an ELCS 5 weeks ago and recovery has been a breeze. I was back driving at 10 days and I never had any real pain. I'm totally back to normal now and feel like I did pre-pregnancy.

It took me longer to recover from my first section, which was an emergency, though. Not in terms of pain but just things like getting up and down off floor. I've had no problems with that this time though.

I am just genuinely amazed that women would consider having another baby when the birth experience has been so horrific, not being goady, but is the desire to have another baby so great that you just accept the risks?

I knew I only ever wanted one DC, so it was never an issue for me. I ended up with an EMCS which was absolutely fine - totally knocked out so had no idea what was going on and made a very good recovery.

Also I've never had any bladder or continence issues. I know you can get those with a section or just via pregnancy anyway but the friends I know with postnatal continence issues have all been after vaginal births, mostly those with instrumental deliveries.

I had a 3b tear and then 2 ELCS. I vowed I would never go through that awful pain I had with the tear again and I haven't! The c sections were so much easier and quicker to recover from. Also have to say every consultant I spoke to (bar one man who was a bit of a tit), agreed they'd go for a c section over the risk of tearing again too.

I had a 3b tear with the first and then two c sections, recovery was very quick with the c sections partly i think because in theory they were elective…i knew exactly what was going to happen months in advance

i was not given a choice regarding the c sections, i was told i had to have them

I haven't had a year but my niece did and it took her about 9-10 months recovery time. I had C section. You can't drive for 6 weeks which is annoying but everything healed up really well in 2 weeks. No infections, just don't move around a lot for 3 days. Give it chance to settle. My midwife told me Mums who are moving around all the time in first 3 days often don't heal as quickly. I lay on sofa for 3 days andy Mum came to look after us all for 2 weeks.

@hugasauris after c section your insurance is invalid for 6 weeks. How did you not know this? I felt fine to drive but could not as would have invalidated car insurance.

I had a 3b tear (and nearly 50 stitches!) and a PPH with my first - and after a difficult first week I recovered quite well and have no long term side effects/damage. For my second I had a ELCS and recovered well - some pain and discomfort for the first week and then plain sailing afterwards. The big difference with the ELCS was how I felt mentally - I was totally prepared for it and felt very in control at all times - I don't think I would have coped well with a natural labour and would have been scared and worried in those final few weeks.

That's a myth. My insurance say that whenever I feel fine to drive then I can drive.

Not true, my insurance said to check with GP and GP said it depends how you feel. I was driving after paternity leave each time (so 2-3 weeks PP). Just depends if you can do an emergency stop.

It's also a bit bonkers when you think about it. People have all kinds of surgery for all manner of things, yet apparently c sections are the only thing that there's some sort of blanket '6 weeks' ban on? It's bollocks.

I've just had an operation (e.g. caesarean section), am I allowed to drive?
As with any operation, we're happy for you to drive if your doctor has given you the go ahead and the DVLA are happy for you to hold a licence. 

You don't need to tell us about an operation but if you're unsure you should always check with your doctor

(This is my insurer).

Another one for 3b tear followed by c-section.

First child was a large baby, second was even larger. Neither were picked up as being large babies before they arrived.

I didn’t want or like my c-section (… and they sent me home with paracetamol, so I had to return for better pain relief), but it was the right decision.

That's a myth. Most insurance companies will let you drive when your feel able.

Yep

i was driving after two weeks

Yes, but much less commonly; the rate of incontinence being lowest with elective cesarean (5%), higher with cesarean during labour (12%), higher still following a spontaneous vaginal birth (22%)

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC343856/

I have had both. Emergency C-section with DC1, 3c tear with DC2 (both babies over 9lbs, also had to have the placenta manually removed with DC2). Luckily for me, I healed well after both with no long-term effects. I would say I was up and about quicker after the tear.

But all women opting for a vaginal birth accept there is risk. No one knows what their birth will be like (no matter if it’s a first, second or third) - even if the first was a breeze, we all still have the risk that 15% of births end up EMCS, there’s a 90% chance we’ll tear, 20% chance we’ll need forceps or ventouse.

I prefer a systematic review myself.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17718873/

Results: Cesarean section reduced the risk of postpartum stress urinary incontinence from 16 to 9.8 percent (OR = 0.56 [0.45, 0.68], number needed to prevent = 15 [12,22]) in 6 cross-sectional studies, and from 22 to 10 percent in 12 cohort studies (OR=0.48 [0.39, 0.58], number needed to prevent = 10 [8,13]). Differences persisted by parity and after exclusion of instrumental delivery, but risk of severe stress urinary incontinence and urge urinary incontinence did not differ by mode of birth.

Conclusions: Although short-term occurrence of any degree of postpartum stress urinary incontinence is reduced with cesarean section, severe symptoms are equivalent by mode of birth. Risk of postpartum stress urinary incontinence must be considered in the context of associated maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality.