If you had an unstitched 1st degree tear, how long did it take to heal?

[Jaynee29]

I gave birth 5 weeks ago and was told I had a 1st degree tear. I was checked on 5 days later where they stated the tear was healing. 10 days later I opened my bowels and my tear started bleeding. Since then it does it every time I open my bowels.

I went to the GP when I was 4 weeks postpartum due to having a lot of pain and discomfort when I looked down there the tear is quite long and definitely not closed at all. There was a piece of bright red skin which look like it had been bleeding. When I was checked by GP they said that it hasn’t healed but that there was healthy tissue in the area. The tear is quite low and close to my anus..which made me think it’s more than a 1st degree tear.

just wanted to know how long it took others to heal?

I'd phone my community midwife office and ask to be referred to the obstetric clinic

I had a graze with ds1 which I think is the same as a first degree tear. Midwife said it might need a stitch but I begged her not to because I'd heard it was like sitting on barbed wire. Then it got infected so I had to have antibiotics. It was all healed by the time my baby was 3 weeks old though.

The “degree” just indicates what was torn, 1st degree skin, 2nd skin and flesh, 3rd skin and flesh and muscle, or something like that.

I was discharged from the midwife weeks ago, can I still phone them to discuss the tear?

It's a bit of a grey area, but because you are less than 6 weeks PN, and many women who had more complicated deliveries have an obstetric review at the clinic at 6 weeks PN, I'd try and get in there.

Do you have a maternity helpline at your unit? It's a helpline, often 24/7, where you can get advice from pregnancy to up to 4-6 weeks PN? If not, call your community midwives office.

Your GP should be able to refer you to this, but they often don't think outside the box. It isnt even outside the box, its merely climbing the walls on the inside of the box.

Hi OP, Midwife here.

A first degree tear means it involves the skin only. We tend not to stitch then if they are on the perineal skin as when your legs are together it brings the skin together and they heal nicely. However, if yours is reopening each time you have a bowel movement it could be that you are constipated? You could try movicol or similar to keep bowl movements soft and easy to pass.

I see you have ben to your GP and it may be worth them referring you back to Obs and Gynae to see if they can do anything for you.

It should be healing well by this point.

It should absolutely have knitted back together long before now. I'd arrange to go back to the hospital to have it seen to. A first degree tear shouldn't take that long to heal so I'd be suspicious about the degree. And also shouldn't be left unsutured if it bleeds. Not sure if it's been bleeding other than the BM but either way doesn't sound right snd I'm sorry you've had to deal with this discomfort. Hope you get sorted ASAP!

Just an update. Thank you for everyone’s interaction. I went back to the hospital who kept delaying putting a stitch in. I was 3 months PP when they decided to put a stitch in as it was not healing at all. To say having the stitch out in was excruciatingly painful is an understatement.

thankfully I’m fully healed now. Still tender but healed.

Yeah that doesn't seem right. I'd ask for it to be stitched. It a wound that keeps reopening.