Episiotomy healing open..help!

[Fleflyfle]

Hi,

9 weeks ago I gave birth, forceps and episiotomy. 4 days post birth my stitches completely opened and was told this would heal naturally.

After 2 rounds of antibiotics I started to heal and I have no pain. However at my 8 weeks check I was told I was healed however I still have a hole!!
the doctor told me it’s not as bad as I think and might not come together… I’m devastated - it still looks awful to me!!

Please can someone let me know did they fully heal? how long did it take? , and if not how do you feel - what did you do?

TIA xx

I think I'd ask for a second opinion and say that you aren't happy. For generations women have just been told to suck things up like this when they shouldn't have to.

I don’t think it’s fully healed tbh! I’m giving it up to 12 weeks then going back! I just wanted to know if anyone else has had a similar experience or if it does take a long time to heal!

This was me a few months ago. I cried and cried every time I looked down there. It took e about 14-16 weeks in total to be fully healed. Like you I had a slight hole which was the last bit to heal. I managed to get a gynaecologist appointment and a follow-up gynae appointment which I had around the 18 week mark. He confirmed I was fully healed at that point. Push for a follow-up appointment!

And trust me - it won't be as bad as you are imagining right now. I never thought I'd be able to have sex again and I am!

I felt mine pop as I got out of bed to feed DD. It did take a while to heal, with lots of remembering to get out of bed/car like a princess (swing round legs together) and I also aired it out as much as possible to help it heal.

I would certainly keep on at HCPs as some unfortunately don't heal or form granular tissue.

I was told by my midwife that my stitches were “neither use nor ornament” so she took them out. I healed with a split that still gives me a bit of trouble 20 years later. Speak to your MW and get her to look at it, you have to live with this forever so don’t let them fob you off, you have a right to have birth injury fixed appropriately.

I'm sorry this happened to you.

Mine popped open too and I found it very hard to accept that I was told to just heal with it open! I was devastated too I remember the day so clearly.

They said it would heal fine but I'm 10 months now and it doesn't look great but it's healed. Took a few months to look healed, looked red raw for ages. I joke about the saying that it takes a year to heal from birth so fingers crossed 2 more months and it all pings back to normal.

What helped me accept was that it's appearances mainly, I had other issues which affected my health more. I had a bladder prolapse and so many people have seen my mangled bits, they haven't helped much just looked.

I was ready to accept my postpartum body but I thought it was going to be saggy boobs and flabby tummy!

People saying to get it fixed.. I don't understand how?? No one will restitch it so what else can be done?

Most has healed it’s just the deepest bit and I have no pain - paying that last but will if not I’ll make a follow up appointment.

I did read a lot at the time about open episiotomies healing fine, it seemed that most do.

And there has been healing before it popped open. My midwife said the deeper layers would have healed a bit.

Mine was painful, itchy until second birth when a midwife restitched me admitted that the junior doctor had made a bit of a fist of it after first baby. 64 stitches and so lumpy.

My episiotomy healed open after ds1, after I’d completed my family and knew I wouldn’t be potentially causing any more damage 🙈 I was referred to gynae who cut out the scar tissue and restitched me back together, which healed beautifully. I’m not trying to worry you in thinking that it will not fully heal, it may well do, just that whatever does happen it can be sorted.

Thanks idontwanttoplayanymore , i don’t want anymore children and she said because I’m not in pain they won’t fix it! Haven’t tried sex yet though!

how long did it take for you to know it would never close ?

My experience was pretty much identical to yours although I have never even looked at my scar. I had a perineal clinic appointment after 12 gruelling weeks and was told it had healed. No idea how its healed but its never caused me an issue and sex was fine. If you are worried I would book at GP appointment and get a gynae referral

I really feel for you. I couldn’t sit down for weeks and eventually a nice gp referred me back to the hospital. They put silver nitrate gel on the wound which was nippy but did heal it up pretty quickly. No idea if that might help you? Hope you feel better soon x

@Fleflyfle It took a good few months for mine to fully heal over, and I remember at the time feeling like it would never get there. And it was obvious from the moment that my stitches fell out that it would never heal as it should because the edges weren’t coming together at all. At the time they wouldn’t do a repair and I had to let it heal naturally. But where it had healed the scar tissue was sensitive when having sex, and uncomfortable using tampons to the point where I was unable to, but not actually painful as such. When I had it repaired it had been long enough to know that it was not going to improve with time and we shouldn’t have to live with discomfort. I was prepared to come up against reluctance to repair it but I didn’t have that at all.

@idontwanttoplayanymore i think I’m going to leave it another month and see, if not I’ll go back the GP and ask for a referral if it helps over and as long as I’m not in pain I can live with it. But healing open or in pain, I can’t just accept it!

I am hoping that they understand and don’t expect me to just ‘live’ with it and I just keep getting told you and your baby are here and safe that’s all that matters!! 🙄

You're still only 9 weeks PP, they say it can take at least up to 12 weeks and that's with wound that still has stitches in tact. It takes time to heal. The doctors advised me to have sitz baths every day and to keep it aired for as much as possible during the day. So I would sit in the lounge on a towel with no underwear. Like I said, it took me about 14 weeks to fully heal and mine was an almighty wound!

Thank you @ChobKnees this gives me hope! 😀

Hi. Private message me if you want. It takes a lot of time. I went through this two years ago and the wound didnt look completely closed for ages as in many months. But when i look now its not a big deal at all just like a line scar. No open areas etc. honestly for it to look better i would give it a year maybe. PM me if you want a chat or have questions. Xx

Hi , my episiotomy stiches open after 1 week of postpartum. I get my regular check up ,nurse told me to refer at hospital doctor give me antibiotic ,now 1 month ready I have no pain but when I see it's still have a hole , and my period not stop yet
Is it healing or not

10 years ago I had one that looked like Edward Scissor hands had been at it. The damn thing just wouldn’t heal. Antibiotics etc. Months went on with it and they kept telling me lavender oil in the bath. In the end I did salt baths and it healed but it’s never looked the same. I’m not that bothered really but appreciate some women worry about these things