My expert midwife - is it worth it?

[3dogsandababy]

Baby is due any second now (I wish 😩) and I've ordered a bottle of spritz my bits for after the birth. I'm hoping that it arrives in time and the reason for the late purchase is because it's £19 for a bottle!
Is it worth it? This is my first baby and I'm terrified of pain (birth and after) so any advice is welcome please.
Also wondering what women did all those years ago when they had nothing and just had to get on with it... I've no idea how I'd have coped

I honestly thought you were talking about alcohol! I had to google it and it's got good reviews. I'd buy anything that would help! First pregnancy...yeah that area was sore but I was told to take pain relief (paracetamol or ibuprofen) and it helped loads. After I have birth, the midwife came and gave it to me....about 45 mins later perhaps. Have showers ( after pregnancy) and don't think of that area too much...yeah it hurts but it heals too...please don't worry so much like I did...our bodies have their own way of working things out... I was scared of taking a warm bath immediately because I didn't want my stitches to come undone so soon...

If you don't like using normal pads try incontinence knickers they really helped me. The pads kept touching the sore area. Definitely felt better in the incontinence knickers. All the padding definitely helped.

As for the product....I'd buy it too!

As for the actual birth I was terrified! Started screaming and lost all my energy...midwife calmed me down...use gas and air... also take lucozade (midwife told us to keep 2 packs in the car so 12 bottles) I drank 2 through labour! You'll feel hungry afterwards and midwife brought me 2 toasts. Don't panic yourself. I only panicked because I was 8cm dialated and the nurses thought I was lying and wouldn't give birth for another week...then I gave birth in 2 hours...it was like a gong went off in my head...

Stock up on painkillers and take them religiously.

When you wee, pour warm water over yourself at the same time to reduce stinging. Wee in the shower is most effective.

Sit on a black towel instead of wearing undies. (Frequently wash the towel obvs) Lets the air get to it so it can heal. I found the pads being plasticky made the skin go damp and yuck so only wore undies when leaving the house or having visitors.

Pain wise take deep breaths and have a mantra for the in and out to focus on. You need deep breaths to feed the muscles with oxygen. Without proper breaths your muscles tire much faster and the pain will be worse.

Good luck

Spritz for bitz is amazing. Keep it in fridge, spray on your pads...amazing!

I bought it and than has an emergency c-section so totally wasted!

Take painkillers and keep taking them, I took paracetamol and ibuprofen for the section and it was fine, I think it would be fine for perineal stitches if you kept up with it

Good luck. Remember that giving birth is a tiny part of being a mother. The baby will arrive and it will all be worth it

Also dates are supposed to ease labour. Look into them. Eat them 2-3 weeks before your due date. But make sure you research dates and labour before you eat them.

My midwife friend said bowl of warm water with 2-3 drops of lavender essence and your C section wound will be fine. She was right, this is basically what 'spritz for bits' is if you look at the ingredients

Thanks so much for all of the advice! Due date is literally today so possibly too late to start eating dates...
I've got really cushiony maternity pads for after so hoping they'll help, although we won't be going anywhere or having visitors due to lockdown so sitting on a towel and airing is definitely doable!
Spritz for bits should arrive tomorrow or Friday but at least I've got options now incase baby beats it here 😊

Some good tips that I found a godsend.
Keep taking your pain relief regularly and stagger them out every few hours. It's much each time keep on top of pain than to have to get it under control again.
Fill up some condoms with water and stick them in your freezer. Use them outside of your knickers to sit on. It helps to ease the pain and the swelling. Also soak some pads in witch hazel and stick them in the fridge. It helps soothe the area and reduce the risk of an infection.
Finally avoid becoming constipated. Drink plenty of water before and after the birth.
Good luck !

You can still eat dates...they help with the constipation! Trust me I wish someone told me! Good luck and hope you have a safe delivery!

Used it with my second and found it helped a lot.

And remember that pain isn’t guaranteed after having a baby; I’ve had both episiotomy and tears and both healed well without any significant pain or need for spritzing/cushions etc.

Spritz for bitz was amazing, I wish I had it for my first I bought it for my second and had 2nd degree tear and it was a god send! Drink lots of water! My midwife said to me the more scared you are to poo afterwards the less likely you’ll go so have lots of fibre and don’t fret it. I found I didn’t wee a lot of my 2nd and my bleeding was heavier/flooded pads, midwife said that can sometimes be linked as going to the loo pushes the blood out, so go for a wee even if you don’t feel like you need one as your bladder is getting used to having more room so you naturally need to go less.

You will be ok, you got this x

Salt baths! Totally underated! Salt has good healing properties! I did have a second degree tear that required stitches but didn't use anything apart from that.
I took paracetamol for a few days after birth.

I have no advice re birth pain as we're all different. I found sitting on a birthing ball helped lots as I like to move around. I also said back rubs were underrated aswell! 🤣

Hope everything goes well 😊 xx

Thanks for all the advice and well wishes! Had braxton hicks on and off all day so hopefully he won't be much longer 😊