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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Original poster

What do your lady bits look like after vaginal birth?

106 replies

kebabbits · 24/05/2005 20:51

Is it just ME or is anyone else a bit shocked by the appearance of their bits after giving birth vaginally?

I mean all I seem to see is the internal muscles - I'm sure there used to be more external skin there.

Should I just stop looking?!

(I'm not using my normal nickname on this thread, no chance!)

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Catbert · 24/05/2005 22:13

I didn't want to look straight afterwards - but I was vaguely interested. I just didn't want to be horrified.

Thankfully, it all looks just fine now (following 2 vaginal births, only 2 small stitches after 1st.)

I don't think this is fake either. Probably something lots of women worry about. I did, esp. after my step mother-in-law said how she was so glad she had 2 C/S as she didn't end up with a "frilly fanny" .

I was more horrified when I took a look to see what my bottom looked like when me chalfonts started playing up again recently... I thought my poor bottom had fallen out. Hurrah for germaloids.

Now THAT'S more information than anyone needs. Sorry.

Original poster
kebabbits · 24/05/2005 22:13

Oooh I see what you mean - INNER labia then, I was thinking of OUTER - inner makes more sense!

OP posts:
tooembarassingbyfar · 24/05/2005 22:15

i think the grazing is basically your labia laddering in the same way tights do because they stretch too much. can laugh now, wasnt so funny at at the time!

mmmmchocolate · 24/05/2005 22:15

outer labia - what you on lol x

BunInTum · 24/05/2005 23:25

Good god! I'm hoping that picture is not what normally happens?! Got eleven weeks to go to due date and was nervous already but now am shi*ing myself! Please ladies, someone tell me theirs looks gr8 after vag birth!!!

SleepyJess · 24/05/2005 23:31

Oh no.. I really didn't want to see a picture of an inside-out vagina..! But it's my own fault.. I clicked on this thread, saw mention of pics..and scanned downwards for links!! How gross am I!

First time pregnant people, do not panic! This is not normal!! This is seriously unlikely to happen to you!! I think it happens when you are middle aged and have had more than 14 vaginal births!!

Satine · 24/05/2005 23:38

I think best advice to 1st time mums is DON'T LOOK for at least a month after a vag delivery - give everything a chance to settle down before terrifying yourself and flogging everything on eBay to pay for LA style fanny surgery!!!

highlander · 25/05/2005 03:03

I've said it before - thank f*ck I had a CS......

handlemecarefully · 25/05/2005 08:26

Bunintum

Chill - in the majority of cases everything looks quite normal again after a few months (but I mean months, not weeks)

Lizzylou · 25/05/2005 08:30

I didn't look for quite a while, I had lots and lots of stitches and I seemed to be back to normal after a few months, but not before! To be honest, I felt really squeamish about my vaginal area as a whole and hated anyone looking (midwife, DH) there. Now, all is well...back to normal completely.

triceratops · 25/05/2005 08:45

Mine was never the same. I had quite a bad tear and I seem to have a ridge of scar tissue. It doesn't bother dh and I have to say that I don't think about it usually but after the birth when you are feeling a bit unsexy anyway it can be a bit of a dent in your confidence. I hope they can do a better job of sewing me up this time.

hamster · 25/05/2005 09:17

I had a few stitches thanks to a butcher lady with a ventouse during my labour. Ds then came out all to the left with his hand on his face, so I was ridiculously swollen on the left for about a month afer.
Things just sort of went back to their place then. I think it looks as it did before....I think.....

SoupDragon · 25/05/2005 09:32

Do you need to know what it looks ike?? I have anepisiotmy and 3rd degree tear with DS1 (and my momory is over 1 hour of repair in theatre under spinal block) so there way no way on earth I wa going to look. Didn't look after DS2 either.

Having said that, 4 years later it doesn't look the same as it did pre-children. Not sure why this should be a surprise - it's just had something the size of a blummin melon pushed through it!!! Of course it's going to get a little, er, "stretched round the edges". Still works the same as before though

spub · 25/05/2005 09:35

Mine was never a scene of outstanding natural beauty and having torn up and waaaaaay down the way too it is even less of a picnic spot than before.
Just glad that babies don't emerge from a place that's on view very often.......

JoolsToo · 25/05/2005 09:37

how the long winter evenings must just fly by .....

SoupDragon · 25/05/2005 09:47

Just because you've never looked, JT, doesn't mean it's strange . It's not as if we spend hours looking at it from every angle!

JoolsToo · 25/05/2005 09:51

no snaps in the family album?

handlemecarefully · 25/05/2005 10:25

lol at spub

(must admit...and this is tmi - I could do with plumper, firmer more youthful looking whatsits)

SoupDragon · 25/05/2005 10:32

I have a scrap book page in both DS's baby books dedicated to before and after shots, JT.

donnie · 25/05/2005 10:54

well, I tore after both my dds and was stitched up and I have studiously avoided looking too! Partly because I can feel how the stitches are mending and dissolving by hand, and partly because I just don't want to see something which might be a bit frightening/shocking to me, pathetic though that may sound. Dd2 was born 18 days ago and I have not looked at my nether regions yet! the midwives are happy with my progress and keep telling me the registrar ' has done a great job, looks lovely down there '(!)and I have hardly any soreness so that's good enough for me. So it seems that there are many people who don't want to look!

PrettyCandles · 25/05/2005 11:14

I don't look the same nor feel the same (to me or to dh). In some ways this is worse than before and in some ways it's better. I find it difficult to believe that women can look no different after giving birth vaginally - but clearly it happens! I guess I'm just a little bit of you.

Thanks for those links. They may have been gross, but I'm glad to have seen them because now I have a better understanding of the repair that was done to my bits when ds was 8m - and also why the surgeon insisted that I would be emotionally better off for having a general rather than spinal!

WideWebWitch · 25/05/2005 20:17

tooembarrassingbyfar, I can't be arsed to change my name for this but I had the same after baby no 1 and it, er, corrected itself by re-tearing during the delivery of baby no 2, ouch. I really think women ought to be told not to keep their legs TOO close together when they've got labial grazes tbh! My friend used to refer to it as webbed fanny, lovely turn of phrase. Gawd, the things I post here!

tooembarassingbyfar · 25/05/2005 20:21

that sounds painful www, congratulations on getting pg again afterwards, i dont think i could have faced sex again if i hadnt got it sorted! it is fine now btw incase anyone is panicking reading this

morningpaper · 25/05/2005 20:28

No tooembrassingbyfar, I'm sure that NONE of us are REMOTELY worried about our fannies SEALING UP.

Especially those of us due to give birth soon...

tooembarassingbyfar · 25/05/2005 20:39

sorry morningpaper but i think i mentioned before one of the midwives at the hospital knew of a woman who had to have surgery to sort her out because she didnt notice in time. best to be aware imo. and lets face it if you dont want to panic, this aint the thread to be looking at!