Anyone had a 3b tear and c section?

[MrsTeepee]

I had a 3b tear following a forceps delivery for DD and am considering an elective c section for DC2.

Has anyone had both a 3/4 degree tear and c section? How did recovery compare between the two?

Sorry you haven't had any replies to this one @MrsTeepee.

Hopefully this will give your post a little bump.

I Had a 3b tear with dd1 and the recovery was awful. I decided to go for an ELCS with dd2 and I found the recovery a million times better so glad I opted for that.

Not me but my niece had a grade 3 tear for DS1 and it took about 10 months to heal. He was a huge baby. She had baby 2 and 3 by section. All huge babies. She recovered well from section both times. My sister stayed with her for 2-3 weeks each time.

Thank you all, I really appreciate the responses and the bump.

I also took 9-10 months to recover, but I keep hearing a c section is really hard, I need to keep on top of pain meds, could suffer with long term issues, etc., almost trying to put me off by saying it will be a lot harder.

I felt like I spent my mat leave recovering physically and still didn't feel confident going back to work at the end of it. Just want to make sure I know what I'm signing up to I guess. Hearing this does help, thank you.

Me. 3a tear then opted for section 2nd time around. Absolutely right decision. Yes you'll need pain relief; it is major abdominal surgery but compared to recovery from a tear it was incomparable. No side effects other than the scar.

Not my experience but two friends opted for c-sections second time round after bad tears, one a 3b and the other a 4th degree. Both found a section much easier to recover from, and less risk of bowel incontinence which was the risk if they had a 3b or worse again.

I dont know what my tears were graded at but i had to have reconstructive surgery a few months later, i asked for a section for dc2 and was booked in then and there for approximately my due date. Honestly, compared to dc1's birth, it was amazing! It carries its own risks and of course has a long recovery time, but it was so much calmer and a lot less scary. Much more preferable than a second vaginal birth

I had 2nd degree year first time and was terrified to have a bigger tear 2nd time. Ended up without a tear at all... I think it depends on size of the baby and when you push...

3B tear with DC1. Recovery took a while.

I agonised over the decision for DC2 but opted for a C-section. Recovery was much smoother.

Yes, c section all the way! Everyone tells you a c section will be hard to recover from blah blah but I’d rather have stitches I can see. I was pushing a double pram and walking loads just two weeks after my c section. Didn’t have a third but would have gone for a c section again, no problem. And I hate all things medical…

I think the position of the baby can have an affect too, although I could be wrong.

Yes I had a 3b tear and then an elective section. The section was a breeze in terms of recovery! It was sore for the first week, I had to be careful not to use my stomach muscles when getting out of bed or off the sofa. But I was in pain for much longer after my tear.

I was back driving safely again after 3 weeks, and didn't need anything stronger than paracetamol after about day 10.

Moving little and often helps, as does standing up as straight as you can. I found it rapidly improved after a week. Best decision I ever made tbh, it was a very healing experience after a traumatic first birth.

I had a 4th degree tear with my first and ELCS for my second pregnancy.

i hated the c section recovery. I’m very overweight though and I think that made it worse. I had a large flap of flesh over my wound and the skin kept getting infected.

I had an EMCS then a 3b tear from a 5kg baby, and now have an ELCS booked in for next month. I am very excited.

Recovery from the EMCS was tough at the start because I was really drugged up on pain killers, felt amazing, was convinced I didn’t need more so didn’t take them… and about 3hs later couldn’t move. 😂 I felt like I’d been in a car crash. Took pain meds from that point on and felt fine. Don’t push your luck with lifting anything after the section. I don’t have sensational around the scar, and I have the pouch, both of which I find quite upsetting to be entirely honest. But better that than the type of issues you can get on your “undercarriage” from a badly healed tear.

I was very very lucky with my recovery from the VBAC. I don’t trust the universe to give me more luck on that front - I got a double dose. Calm, schedule, controlled C section all the way this time.

I had a 3b tear with my first and an elective section with my second as a result. Personally I found the c-section recovery more difficult. I firmly believed in getting moving ASAP which everyone says is best but I genuinely couldn't for the first day. It was horrible, I felt really judged as though I was being a wimp, when I was actually up and about quite quickly after my tear. I couldn't lay flat for over a week after my c-section.

That being said I think had a fantastic doctor for the stitching and repair, and I also had a lot of numbness as the epidural didn't work and I needed a spinal for the stitches for my tear. Whereas my c-section I'm pretty sure a less experienced doctor who was being mentored stitched me up and didn't do a great job. I think the professional involved makes a difference. I know so many people who had such lovely experiences with a c-section. Even my friend who is very pain averse and has numbing cream for literally everything found it straightforward.

I was told (after various horrible tests) that I had a 30% chance of experiencing faecal incontinence with a second vaginal delivery. Don't know how true that was but was enough to make me have a c-section and I don't regret it.

I asked to have skin to skin still, and they put the monitors on my back and shoulders so that I could have him on me almost straight away. So it's definitely worth asking if you want that.

Edited to add: it didn't take me nearly as long as you to recover from my 3b tear (don't know if having an episiotomy first helped?) and I felt good within days. So I think I had an unusually easy recovery from the tear and an unusually difficult recovery from the c-section, which still wasn't that bad just more painful than I expected, I was back to normal after a few weeks. If recovery was that tough I think it's highly likely that an elective section will be less awful. Good luck.

I had 3b tear with first and elective c section with second. Difficult to say which healed faster. Both healed well eventually with no interventions. Didn't want to face risk of further damage for another vaginal birth. C section was really enjoyable experience in comparison though.

I am yet to have a vaginal birth but am hoping for a VBAC this time. My planned section last time (for breech) was fine at the time but I found the recovery horrendous.

I can totally understand why you're considering a CS, OP.
I had an episiotomy with my first, so not exactly earth-shaking, BUT I tore along the scar when I had my second DC. The midwife who delivered me got someone more experienced in to do the stitching and others came to watch so it was clearly not straightforward.
So yes, I'd go for it.

I had a 4th degree tear followed by a C-section.

C-section was a breeze compared to the tear. I walked out of the hospital 24 hours after my C-section. I could barely walk / sit for weeks after the tear and suffered incontinence.

I would hugely recommend the C-section.

I had a 3b tear after episiotomy and forceps but I was lucky in that my recovery was really good, I put this down to the doctor doing a really good job sewing me up and it being completely numb around the area!

I didn't have an elective but did have an EMCS - personally I found the recovery much harder, the pain was much worse for me but I did manage to get on and was up and about quickly.

I was really firm that I wanted a vaginal birth (praying for no forceps 🥴) and my trust was really good- I had a meeting with a consultant fairly early on and they told me how there were things the midwives could do to try and avoid a bad tear. The midwives were really aware of this when I was in Labour but obviously it didn't go to plan!

Good luck with whatever you choose

I had a 4th degree tear from forceps with my first baby, and elective c-section with the second. The midwife bluntly said that I was lucky to not be incontinent from the first tear, and I might not be so lucky second time around if I tried another vaginal birth.

The c section recovery was hard. But because I was expecting it, it was much easier. A tear, for me at least, was so scary as I didn't expect it and didn't know what the prognosis would be for my health long term.

I'm six months post c section now, and really happy with my choice. I'd say the first 7-10 days were really difficult, but got so much easier very quickly.

Thanks all, DC1 will only have just turned 2 when I have this baby, so I feel the risk of the scar tearing in the same place even if I didn't need forceps again worries me. Baby's position was very rare last time, and there is a risk it'll happen again. Although a c section recovery sounds like it can be really hard, it also sounds like it's generally a lot shorter and less impactful on overall quality of life than if I had another tear, so I think c section is the better way for me to go.

I've asked the consultant what they'd do to avoid a repeat tear and was told they'd do another episiotomy as a preventative measure, rather than warm compress, positions, etc., so I just don't feel comfortable that I'd have the right support in place to avoid more damage.

I attempted a home birth last time and did everything 'right' to get baby into the best position, knew how to end ush, etc. so I really don't feel confident that the same thing wont happen again. I guess babies have their own plans sometimes and there's only so much we can do!

Thanks everyone for your help and sharing your experiences, it's been really helpful.