Bruising as opposed to tearing

[rubles]

I am just interested to find out, because it is something that I have never heard mentioned, whether anyone out there has been like me and bruised VERY badly but only had a minor tear. Prior to my dd's birth I had been concerned about tearing but I never gave a second thought to bruising. (My midwife said I was absolutely black and blue 'down there' after my dds birth.) As a result of it I suffered in the same way that people with tears/episiotomies do. Or worse actually.

I'd like to know how common this is, and also if there is anything that I can do next time to try and avoid it....I think my second stage was about 1.5 hours, so I don't know if that was a factor...

I think I did stand up and fall over lol

fastasleep, I can't believe that you are actually admitting this even on MN! lol!!!!! (And also completely horrified for you.)

I didn't know you were Cornish lm! I'm very intersted in Cornish and Cornwall.

(The pregnancy and post partum constipation appalled me,speaking as someone who has never been constipated before or after!)

Message withdrawn

I think I'm going to ask for a Cesearean !

Eeeeek !

Naaahhh it all goes back to normal, honest!

Yeah but it sounds h*lluva painful !

Really scared now ...

I bruised quite badly both times and, yes, I found the discomfort from the bruising worse than the stitches (large episiotomy first time and bad second degreee tear second time). But it settled down pretty quickly.

Trust me it's not worse than a C-section!! Months/years of dithering over your scar colour, whether it's infected, why is it still numb etc etc....

Also, you have to weigh the bruising, pain, etc against the fact that you have a lovely new baby. It isn't that bad (well, yes it is!) otherwise we wouldn't go on to have more children, would we?

Why did we?

Don't say that I'm half way through having another one! Madness. Just reminded myself why it was so bad lol...

Nah second time round was a piece of p*s, I mean, cake, compared to first.

oh i agree lonely mum! Although the bruising and tears aren't great, mine did heal pretty quickly. It was a good excuse to really look after myself after the birth too, lots of lovely lavender and tea tree baths and ages spent locked in the loo for some peace and quiet! Its all worth it I promise Rubles - don't worry at all!

Everyone says it's easier but I don't believe them- - 70 minute labour last time... I mean it can't be quicker can it? It's going to be awful...DS was only 6 pounds.... this one's going to be a pudge freaks out

Sure it can get quicker fastasleep. A friend of mine had her first baby in about 20 minutes, start to finish!

I was bruised really badly with ds, couldnt believe it was possible to be that badly hurt down there and survive - let alone EVER have a poo or sex again, although have done plenty of both since The woman in the next bed told me "dont be tempted look at it in the mirror"
DD is 14days today, I am almost totally back to normal down there already, and feel great but I must say that is mostly due to discovering Duphalac!

I'm going to be perverse and look in a mirror next time I know it lol

Message withdrawn

I thought that fastasleep, but havent been brave enough yet after 14 days! My imagination is bad enough.

Ughhh-I'm having flashbacks now-I had 2nd degree tears after dd & the stitching was far worse than the birth itself.Dc2 is due in 2 wks & it is all slowly coming back to me now!

I have experienced both a c-section and an epsiotomy with bad bruising. Both took 6 weeks to fully recover from. I found the vaginal birth recovery awful because so painful to sit down. At least with a c-section it only hurts when you try to get up or down. My bruising was so bad that I couldn't even wee for two days. It took two midwives 10 minutes to insert a fine tube cathater because I was so swollen. Oh god I can just visualise it now they had a massive torch and kept saying "o no wonder you couldn't wee, poor thing"