Episiotomy help! Tmi photo

[Cece17]

Hi,
i had my baby on the 19th of June and had to have an episiotomy as her heart rate dropped!
i have been in none stop agony with the pain and now its been 6 days i feel like the pain is getting worse! Im worried to use any type pf products except water and ice packs. I have now noticed my stitches look like they have came loose?
is this normal? I called the maternity help line to see if a midwife could take a look and they have said if there is no pus or smell there is nothing to worry about.

Gosh you're brave having a close up look like that. I don't think it's up to your midwife to tell you its fine without seeing it. I think you need to insist on having it looked at if you are in agony.

I had a third degree tear and all the midwives were happy to check anytime I asked! They do multiple home visits in my trust though - will you be seen by someone on day 10?

It does hurt, but it shouldn't be agony.

Yeah they can check you when they next come for a visit if you're unsure. When I had mine for some unknown reason midwifes and NHS said it would be better in 2 weeks! Well I don't know anyone who was pain free after 2 weeks!
I can recommend a few drops of witch Hazel in a cool bath as I found that to be soothing. You can also put that on a pad for when you're out and about - it doesn't look bad and the stitches should be dissolving now but do get it checked when they're next over. Most importantly congratulations x

It took me a few days to bare and look at it but wanted to check for any signs of infections, then see my stitches looked like this! Wasnt sure if it is a hole or they are coming apart.
i felt really let down by the aftercare from community midwifes they didnt see both me or baby until 5 days after when i was told it would be the next day of my discharge! Our next visit is not until the 4th of July but the pain becomes unbearable and hard to even get up to feed baby.

I'm not a midwife but I am a registered nurse. If the pain is worsening you should be seen.

@Cantgetausername87 thank you! The nurse who done the stitches recommended a salt bath but i cant stand the pain and stinging when having just a shower! My next visit is the 4th of july and im worried if my stitches have came undone that i could get an infection by then x

@morelippy i thought they would have seen me or have a community midwife come out to me but they just said that its meant to be painful and theres nothing they can give me or if it has came undone there is nothing they can do. I dont understand as its constant pain even with pain killers and im unsure how its supposed to look

It’s hard to tell from a zoomed in photo. but I don’t think the stitches are coming undone - I can see the knot in the photo. They do look like they’re looser than they were when they were done though, and this sometimes happens if the perineum is swollen when they’re being sutured, then once the swelling goes down it looks like that.

Equally, anything where the pain is worsening needs to be seen in person. Are you taking regular analgesia? And are you resting / not overdoing it?

I'm not qualified to say what they should look like but I would say increasing pain isn't right. It should be slowly improving. I imagine you need checking for such things as infection and haematoma. Make a GP appointment.. or ask them to send out a midwife if they won't give you an appointment.

You have enough on your plate without unnecessary pain x

Those are absorbable sutures and they are dissolving. Your wound doesn’t look like it has healed back together so it needs a closer look- it’s possible that the wound is healing ok but I can’t see well enough from the picture and I would be concerned that it’s actually not healed back together.
You need to get that seen today really- either by going back to the maternity unit or by going to an emergency department or minor injuries unit.
It doesn’t appear to be infected to the naked eye but that’s not the only thing that needs to be worried about with wound healing. Don’t be fobbed off.
(Qualifications for my answers… I’m a scrub nurse and have looked after post op wounds in previous jobs. Have had two children. Have had friends who had problems with episiotomy healing and also had a friend who had a bizarre reaction to vicryl sutures after a skin cancer was removed and has been told she can’t have them again.)

My episiotomy pain definitely got worse before it got better, I remember walking 15 minutes into town on day 4 post birth for my covid booster. The second week I was struggling to get off the couch without sharp pain. I think I was taking Diclofenac and ibuprofen, both fairly useless but I had to call my GP to prescribe more because they only gave me a prescription for a 6 day supply. I think it was around Day 15 before I was feeling real relief from the pain.

Absolutely second this. The swelling will have reduced and that's why the stitches look loose. They're actually very well intact.
As for the pain, are you regularly taking paracetamol and ibuprofen? Every 4 hours? This is important for aftercare.
My episiotomy stitches did break on day 2 and I was left with a gaping hole, it did in fact get more painful after a week or so, when the midwife checked me she explained that was normal. They only really worry about infection as the tissue there is incredibly efficient at healing well. That being said, you should get yourself checked out for peace of mind op!

Mine became really really painful at one point. Can’t remember exactly when but I was convinced everything had come apart. It hadn’t and suddenly became fine again.
luckily I had plenty of mid wife visits.
Try and get a midwife or gp to look tomorrow.
I had to take as many painkillers after my VBAC with episiotomy as I did with my emcs. The episiotomy has healed better though

I wasn't brave enough to look at mine so unsure about the photo, but mine definitely felt like it was worse around day 6. I was in agonising pain even rotating paracetamol and ibuprofen every 2 hours. I couldnt sit down properly and had to sit on my nursing cushion so my vagina was over the hole in the centre. I phoned the midwife line on day 7 and they invited me in to get it looked at and said it was ok. Got a lot better from day 10 onwards. Hope you feel better soon x

Thought you were my daughter until I saw the date of your birth, congratulations
Daughter had same issue she had the midwife take a look and advised to see go. Was given wk worth of antibiotics. Daughter also had a huge cyst next to her stitches as well.
Baby is now 5 weeks and daughter is now healed

You poor thing, same thing happened to me on baby number one and wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

I Found nobody was actually helpful and it was very emotional time. My stitches burst and got infected and I ended up with strong dose of antibiotics and something called instilla gel which you can ask them about. It's kinda to numb the area, I also used witch hazel a lot and had to have some strong painkillers which was hard as I was breastfeeding. I went to my own gp who I found much more sympathetic and helpful than the midwives who have become somewhat numb to the whole thing cos they're so used to it. I did have ti have physio on the scar for one year after the birth as it affected my pelvic floor etc so make sure you get proper long term after care if you need it also.

Make sure you sit on a swimming ring or travel pillow as much as possible. ❤️

Don't worry it won't last forever but I know it's so hard when you just want to enjoy your new baby. Take care of yourself, sending lots of love ❤️