OK, don't spare me - what happens to piles during labour?

[plantsitter]

and surely it couldn't hurt more than actual child birth itself, could it? I have a terrible fear my bottom is going to turn inside out, though I suppose this isn't possible...

I don't know. All I can say is that I never suffered with them in my life until the day after DS was born. And I didn't even have to push him out, had Em CS. The pressure from contractions alone did terrible things to my rear end. Thankfully they have since 'retreated'.

"The pressure from contractions alone did terrible things to my rear end." blimey. Can't wait.

Sorry plantsitter. You did plead for honesty.

I stress the problem was only temporary.

[gulity backtracking emoticon]

No I did you're right! I can take it really, and I do appreciate your candour. Glad they finally retreated!

OK I am going to be candid here only because I kind of wish I'd had someone give it to me completely straight before my own experience of labour.
The good news is that it is all completely temporary and they will go away again all of their own accord.
The bad news is that your bum does (practically) have to turn itself inside out. This may well mean that the haemorrhoids will swell and pop right out and not pop back in for a little while. You need to be able to let go of any worries you have about how it might look/feel and bear down through your bum during labour or the baby wont come out (I worked against my own contractions for a while until my MW explained that I wouldn't get anywhere fighting them ).
I could barely sit down for the first few days afterwards (literally) and was scared to look in a mirror. I could not walk but shuffled slowly. My bum and its little "chums" were enormously swollen and painful. I got a perineal area ice pack from mothercre which was a godsend. The idea of having a poo made me break out in a cold sweat. I ended up using a combination of prepH ointment and sainsburies own suppositories which had a local anaesthetic in it for pain releif. I waited too long (9-10 days) to go and see my GP who gave me stool-softeners and a much better ointment (scheriproct) than you can get over the counter. These brought relief within a few more days and now (7 weeks on) there is almpost no external sign they were ever there, and certainly no physical symptoms.

I had a quite severe case and not everyone will suffer quite so much discomort. The main thing I wanted was reassurance it was in anyway normal because it did not feel or look like it as far as I was concerned. Also in those first few days after you have given birth you sometimes feel like your body will never be the same again and to be told that it would, it just might take 2 weeks, was reassuring. I hope this is helpful. They will go - but they might get pretty bad for a few days. Your GP can help - so don't be a hero and sit (or not!) in agony!

pmsl @ plantsitter
i love the turn of phrase...

looks like they have told you all there is to know. i never had them either - until the arrival of dc1. as the others say, tis temporary. mostly ...til you go and decide to have three more

Honestly? I reached down when pushing for the first time to feel if DD was crowning and felt them and thought I was pooing so huge row broke out as I insisted I wanted to go to the loo!

I lost the row.

DD was born 2 pushes later!

Good Luck and try not to worry, mine were less of a problem than the tear I got by being distracted!

Wow, reluctant, thanks for being so honest!

It doesn't sound much fun but I s'pose I'll just suck it up. and you're right, knowing it's normal does help. Erm a bit.

Thanks everyone else too - 'specially Mrs SB - sorry if I seemed ungracious!

I had piles and late pregnancy and nothing changed during labour and the birth - it was just the same afterwards and has cleared up completely now (5 weeks). So no need to panic, you might be lucky too

Everyone's bum turns inside out to an extent....'tis called anal pouting

I had piles with both my pregnancies and during labour they got much worse and kind of hardened too.

Afterwards, both times, the things that helps a lot were ice packs, Germaloids cream (it goes all hot on your piles and feels quite nice!) and drinking Lactulose stool softerner.. Also tweaking the poo out of your bottom with your fingers (gross, but very nessesary in my case) with your feet raised on a stool / laudry basket makes it so much easier.

Heres a secret: for my first poo, when DS2 was 3 days old, i squatted in the shower cubicle and held the shower head at my piles/anus with luke warm water whilst i pooed. It helped so much and once the first poo was out of the way, the rest were easy.( The piles went away after 3 weeks, although now i have a little dangly skin tag thing there which isn't very nice, but doesn't hurt or anything....

Sorry if thats all a bit TMI! xx

I could have written Reluctant's posts. I'm sorry to say the piles were awful, so much so I had to go to A&E with them . What I would say is if you do start to suffer with them go to your GP and he can prescribe much better cream than the over the counter ones and get some strong painkillers. Paracetemol etc will not even touch the pain if you get them badly. With the right painkillers and treatment they do clear up.

Well you did say you wanted honesty....

someone once told me that her bottom 'fell out' during labour!

(They must have put it back, because she was walking quite normally a few weeks later, but those were her words.)

Sorry!

No no AccedientalMum, mine definitely didn't do that

i only had one or two pre-labour with ds2. then OUCH, just after transition, i felt a whole circle of the little darlings bloom 'pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop' as the baby crowned. twas weird and highly noticeable to me, didn't hurt more, but did make me worry at oddness more than childbirth itself. mind you, ds2 was 11lb 11oz, so it was a bit freak o' nature time. took a good few months to get them fully healed. AND i found that extending my pelvic floor exercises to encompass my backside has been neccessary to regain full control back there. oh, don't we love tmi good to be prepared, i say.

This is all really helpful and honest and you're right, it is good to be prepared. Thank you.

what about if you don't have piles before labour? does your bum still turn inside out?

mine didn't last time.

another thing to worry about for this time...

..well put it this way. My husband thought he saw the head crowning and the midwife said "nope, just the piles"....

I had an anal fissure after the birth of DS1 not pleasant - hurt like hell.

with DS2 I was prepared:

• fybergel
• fybergel
• fybergel

is that how you spell it?