Recovery after episiotomy? (probably TMI)

[eastendmummy]

I had DS2 3 weeks ago and during delivery had to have a kiwi cap and forceps as his head was at an awkward angle so required an episiotomy.

3 weeks on and I still have some tenderness around the site although midwife said it's healed beautifully (I'll take her word for it though because there's no way I'm having a look) and it all just feels a bit 'odd'. DS1 was emcs so this is my first vaginal delivery.

When will it start to feel normal? I'm not sure if i also have piles as I'm passing blood when I go to the loo and it sometimes really hurts. Also have bad and uncontrollable wind! I have a bit of a dragging sensation but mw said that would be helped by pelvic floor exercises which I'm doing but is all this normal??

bump - anyone?

Well, tenderness round the area is normal. After I had DD2 (epi and second degree tear) it took a while for everything to feel OK, and even longer for sex to feel 'right' too.

Pelvic floor exercises will definitely help with the dragging sensation, which is also normal.

Piles are also one of the hazards of childbirth - bright red blood when you have a bowel movement is the indicator for those. Get thee to a chemist and get some Anusol.

It all sounds just about right, really.....

It's still early days. I healed quite quickly after my episiotomy, but sex was painful for about seven months afterwards. I went to get it checked out after four months. They told me it had healed well, but the scar tissue can be very sensitive for a long time afterwards.

If you're still feeling not right at your six week check, ask them to have another look for you, to see if it's healed properly.

I am about to post an episiotomy related question too so wanted to answer yours first!

I also had episiotomy plus forceps cos LO was basically stuck n I could not push him out. I also had "the worst bruising I have seen in my life - have you looked at it in the mirror??? Poor soul" thanks MW that came to see me at home after the birth! :D

Anyway, my pelvic floor muscles were completely f*cked and I could not hold in a pee for a couple weeks. I sat on ice packs (like the gel packs you freeze n wrap in a towel) for about 3 weeks too but that was more to do with the bruising.

Anyway, just keep doing the pelvic floor exercises as much as is comfortable and although you cant feel anything at first, it does gradually start working. The scar from my episiotomy healed perfectly well but got really itchy once it had started to heal and it felt numb where the stiches were originally. It still feels weird now (2yrs later) and just left a faint white line.

It does get better but no one really prepares you for the recovery from forceps delivery and I thought ALL new mums couldnt hold in a pee after the birth so was quite open about my "issues" afterwards only to find out fairly recently that only one other girl knew what I meant and she had forceps too! Everyone else was shocked about the not being able to hold in a pee situation but didn't want to say anything at the time

As long as there's no signs of infection then it is a case of giving it a while longer to recover. Personally I've had three and have always recovered well though tbh I can't remember what I was like down there before anyway dd1 being 12 this month... If you have pain on intercourse though that is the red flag that you need to go back to your GP and request a referral for someone to take a look. Things can almost always be improved.

Congratulations on the baby btw

it took me ages to recover.I never "got" how people could be on their feet so fast

It all sounds normal, sounds your chuff has taken a fair bashing

Give it time....

Re the bleeding and pain - it might be piles but it could also be a fissure. Your GP will be able to tell you. If so get yourself some lactulose because if it's a fissure it will need you to take care with your diet to get it to heal.

It took me a good 8 weeks to learn to stand, sit and walk without much pain, and another 6 months to fully recover. So hopefully you will soon be better.

It took about 10 weeks for the pain to go away completely after my episiotomy for dd1. During that time, the pain wasn't constant, but was there nonetheless when bending, or moving in certain ways. After three weeks, what you describe sounds perfectly normal, i remember being very tender at that time. Give it more time, and take it easy...i think healing time can be longer if you push yourself a lot and try to get back to normal too quickly. I also found that keeping my feet up when i could, particularly when breastfeeding helped take pressure off the area.