3rd degree tear.....................

[lanismum]

Hi, I am new on mumsnet, and this is the 1st time I have ever posted a question, its a bit intimate, but here goes...........
my little girl is now 6 months old, after her birth I had a 3rd degree tear, and had to have surgery to repair the damage, this was very painfull afterwards, and I still dont feel 'quite right' even now, I want to try for another baby in december,and was wondering if anybody else had a 3rd degree tear and then went on to have another baby with no tears? is this possible? Did anybody have a c-section after a 3rd degree tear, and which 1 was most painfull!! sorry its a long question by the way......

I had a 3rd degre tear with my 1st baby (he was 10lb 1oz) followed by 2 hours of repair work (or that's how I remember it). I had a lovely ultrasound scan abuot 10 weeks afterwards to check how it had healed and all was fine - the consultant said there was no reason not to have a vaginal delivery with any subsequent babies.

I had DS2 exactly 2 years later and had an episiotomy when the tear looked vulnerable. This prevented it tearing again and all has been fine.

Both times, I healed well - there was no more discomfort/pain with the tear than there was with the episiotomy.

HTH

And welcome to Mumsnet. Nothing like discussing your nether regions to break the ice!!

thanks for answering, I know its a bit of an odd question, but all my mates ad their babies with no tears, makes me sick hahahaha
i just want to do anything I can to avoid this happening again, not only because of the pain, but as you said, the surgery, as I was away from my baby for nearly 3 hours

Oh yes, DS1 was born at 3am - I saw him at 7! Madness.

Anyway, perineal massage is meant to help I think - you massage it with oil for several weeks before your EDD.

It's not an odd question at all. There are some things you really don't want to discuss face to face with friends!!

yeah, its all a bit embarrassing, I just really hope I dont have another big tear, I have an image of myself wearing tena ladies for the rest of my life...........

Can you make an appointment to discuss it with your GP? They may be able to arrange an ultrasound scan with a specialist to see how the repair has healed. Top tip - don't bother asking for photos from this sort of scan.

someone I know had a completely messed up episiotomy and months of pain afterwards. before her second child, she went back to the hospital for a discussion about what went wrong during her first birth (there were other nightmares too) and her feelings about having her second vaginally. i think you can do this at most hospitals. as a result, they agreed that she would have a planned caesar. she says that the caesar was much, much, much better than her experience of the vaginal birth.
in my view, it's not just the possible physical symptoms you need to bear in mind - it's the anxiety before and during the birth too. she completely calmed down when she knew it would be OK for her to have the elective caesar.
good luck
x

i had a 3rd degree tear with ds2 as he was 9lb 7 and his shoulders were stuck, it was awful and i lost count of how many hours(it felt like that long), it took to stitch me back up, i had pain and lots of problems with it for about a year or so after, however dd2, was born last year,and i didnt have a tear and didnt need an epiosiotomy, i was thrilled, the midwife advised me to massage my perenium and im sure it help stop it tearing.

hahahahaha I definately wouldnt!!
Thing is, I was very naughty and didnt keep my appointment to see the surgeon 6 weeks after the birth, she may well have wanted to do a scan then? I didnt go back as I had such a horrible time in hospital, I was induced, and basically left from 3cm dilated, I ended up pushing in a locked toilet, I think thats why I had the damage, after the surgery I had no help with the baby, even though I had 2 drips, a catheter, and was numb from the waist down, I walked out of the hospital the next day because I wasnt getting any help and they were sending my family home at 9pm, so im not too sure if I have left it too late for checks now? do u think its worth asking for an appointment, or have left it too late?

lalaa, thanks for your message, I think it would really put my mind at rest if I could do the same as your friend, as im very nervous about experiencing natural childbirth again, im worrying now, and im not even plannig to try for a baby till december

I only had 2nd degree tear with dd (that was bad enough) took almost a year before i felt ok down there. Im pg again and am also worried about tearing again (swore i wouldnt put myself through it again but here we go again).

marne- yeah, must admit, it hurt like hell for weeks after, im not normally too wimpy with pain, but going over speedbumps in the car used to reduce me to tears

I had a second degree tear as well and repairing that was almost as bad as the birth itself. I tore because DD had her arms at her face as she came out, I have spoken to the midwife re this happening again and she said I will be more in control this time as last time I was told I wasn't ready to push and she said I was probably in shock as I had a fast labour, but this time I will know more of what is happening. I'm planning to do perineal massage and try labouring in water which is supposed to soften everything up.

I would echo what everyone else said about getting yourself checked out to make sure everything has healed and talking over your fears with someone at the hospital. I'm sure it won't be as bad next time round sounds like you had a terrible time of it. Good luck x

I had a 3rd degree tear with my first along with an extended episiotomy. It took ages for it to feel right. WHen i had my second child i had a small tear only, fixed with a running stitch, and it healed no problem.Third and fourth were less problem still wrt healing.

thank you all for taking the time to answer me, nice to know im not the only to have had this happen

Hi,

I had a 3rd degree tear after the birth of my son 10 months ago. He was born 6 weeks early and weighed 5ib 10. I am 6 months pregnant again and although I was very lucky and healed very quickly, I am worried that this will happen again and this time much worse with lasting problems.

I am not sure whether or not to go down the c section route as I don't want to risk being incontinent.
JS

I also had 3rd degree tear with DS1 and have been told recovery from elective C section is no worse than tear recovery. Also caused by child with hands up by head. Glad to read someone else had same experience as thought was just me!

ooohhh this was my first thread, its been revived! im still not pregnant by the way!

I had an episiotomy with my first AND a 2nd degree tear... It was so painful the first week I wasn't able to stand or sit much. Luckily it was much more bearable a week or so after. I read somewhere that episiotomies don't really prevent tearing, but I guess it might in some cases.