Your body after vaginal delivery

Lily189 · 2021-09-10T09:48:21+00:00

Hi everyone I have an 11 month old boy which I had to have an emergency c section I'm currently 6 months pregnant and the hopsital is happy for my to try a vbac which I'm really hoping for I was just wondering how your body felt after a vaginal delivery vs a c section I might sound silly but I dont know because havnt got to experience it but did you feel weird down below and does it ever feel normal again How was sex after What are some ways help your body heal from a vaginal birth All advice would be great tia

Original poster

Lily189 · 10/09/2021 11:26

Bump

OP posts:

FTEngineerM · 10/09/2021 11:28

In the first few days my pelvic floor muscle felt like a thin elastic band, every step I could feel my organs giggling up and down putting pressure on it.

My vagina was ok ish, a little stingy, but I also had episiotomy which got infected ☹️. After 1 month everything was cleared and felt fine. Tried sex but it felt horrendous, really really painful so we stopped.

Tried again a few weeks later, at 6 weeks and it was much better. Felt like before.

YouDoYouBoo · 10/09/2021 11:31

I was really lucky after my VB with dc1. Perfect recovery. I had a couple of stitches but really nothing to write home about. I felt back to normal within a few weeks. Could have sex without issue. No continence issues.

I did not like my recover from ELCS with dc2, but at the same time, it was fine. Sex hurt like hell for some reason I don't understand. Think the surgeon had to do battle with my pelvis to get him out! I also have the CS overhang so look constantly a bit pregnant. HOWEVER, it was much safer for DC that I had the CS in my circumstances. So it was a no brainer. But since you purely asked about my body and not DC wellbeing, then there you are.

Many women on here have the exact opposite experience btw, and had beautiful recoveries from CS with awful VB recoveries, so you will get mixed responses.

Chelyanne · 10/09/2021 12:16

1st I had vontouse and episiotomy due to fetal distress, sex was quite tender the 1st time but was okay after a couple of months. 2nd & 3rd were bigger babies but unassisted, stitches for episiotomy and tear but sex resumed after a month with each. Scar tissue from tear is a bit thin so is easily irritated.
You need to do exercise to rebuild pelvic floor and core strength after.

Elcs with our twins I felt pretty normal after the 1st month, painless despite an infection. Tender around scar at start of AF or after heavy deadlifts. Had semi-elective CS this time and still healing, almost finished my 2nd lot of antibiotics for an infection. I had started to get scar rupture as went in to labour before my elcs date and lost a lot of blood, scar is below my other and bigger. Baby is 4.5wk old, sex is last thing on my mind lol (hubby's sad about that). Will not be going in the gym (I powerlift) for a while so not sure how that will go yet but I can lift our 6 year olds and carry heavy shopping bags without issues.

All births can be different, my VB's were all very different and my CS's were too. I'd still consider more babies as dh wants another but not soon after the rough birth last month.

JeffGoldblumsGlasses · 10/09/2021 12:22

I think this is one of those situations where no two people's birthing experience or recover is ever the same.

Me for example, first and only birth. Vaginal delivery, came away with abbrasions that's it, was discharged after 3 hours. First 3/4 days was stingy to pee and a bit swollen and bruised. had sex after 14 days. No issues.

By the time DS was 3 months old I was back taking part in spin classes with no issue. Sex was fine, partner never mentioned anything "feeling different".

I understand I am amazingly lucky to have had this experience of recovery compared to some women.

YouDoYouBoo · 10/09/2021 12:24

@YouDoYouBoo

I was really lucky after my VB with dc1. Perfect recovery. I had a couple of stitches but really nothing to write home about. I felt back to normal within a few weeks. Could have sex without issue. No continence issues.

I did not like my recover from ELCS with dc2, but at the same time, it was fine. Sex hurt like hell for some reason I don't understand. Think the surgeon had to do battle with my pelvis to get him out! I also have the CS overhang so look constantly a bit pregnant. HOWEVER, it was much safer for DC that I had the CS in my circumstances. So it was a no brainer. But since you purely asked about my body and not DC wellbeing, then there you are.

Many women on here have the exact opposite experience btw, and had beautiful recoveries from CS with awful VB recoveries, so you will get mixed responses.

Should have said; VB was ventouse with shoulder dystocia, macroberts manoeuvre, plus what they called a tiny first degree cut to get her out. I think my recovery may have been good partly because I used a contraption called an epi no in the run up to the birth. Not sure if they're still a thing but if they are it might be worth asking a mw. My hippy independent mw raved about it.

FairyWings4 · 10/09/2021 12:35

3x VB here.

With DD1 I did a lot of pregnancy yoga and pelvic floor exercises before birth but still tore (2nd degree). It was painful for about 2 weeks but not unbearable. I just took ibruprofen during that time and it all healed nicely. We had sex 4 weeks after birth and it felt weird and hurt a bit at first but got better each time. Pelvic floor and gentle exercise in general helped me to heal :)

With DS2 no tears and pain stopped after 2 days. I felt very lucky but then tried to go for a walk and after a while it felt like my insides might drop out (tmi sorry), weak pelvic floor I guess! Sex was OK after about 4 weeks and it felt fine carrying my almost two year old around as well.

It was the same with DS3, he's 7 months old now. I went for loads of pain relief this time around so with the epidural I had to stay in for a bit longer (standard procedure). The recovery was fine though, I felt a bit sore but took the edge off with painkillers.

If I had to emphasise one thing, the pelvic floor exercises helped so much, I do them now when I remember but with 3 little ones time is of the essence!

treesall · 10/09/2021 12:46

I was in absolute agony for 10 days. Couldn't sit down comfortably, couldn't walk, every position was very painful. I believe my stitches weren't right, because as soon as they dissolved everything magically felt better, and I was just a bit bruised / tender, as opposed to crying my eyes out in pain! If there's a next time, I won't have stitches unless it's absolutely necessary.

Lifewithtwinss · 10/09/2021 12:58

I had a natural birth the first time, and a c section the second.

To be honest if my body had already been through the section I’d just have another one. I mean I’m mostly fine. Just a second degree tear, less painful recovery than section. But things felt ‘heavy’ for quite a while, and it would be nice not to (tmi) have the haemorrhoids, and it definitely looked much prettier before…. Sex is fine but probably not as good as before either.

Same the other round too. If I could have had a natural birth the second time without too many risks I would have. I hate that my body is damaged from both a natural birth and a section.

blondeirishmummy84 · 10/09/2021 13:11

I had an emergency c section with my first and a vbac with second. Both equally as tough to recover from imo.
I had a very quick vbac with a 2nd degree tear but it healed eventually and after a few months sex felt fine for us both.
I needed the kiwi cup at the time of labour for some help.
Obviously I was stingy, bruised and sore but it was ok after a few weeks. Sitting down was uncomfortable for a while, but I found the pain of a c section more difficult when it came to sitting/standing up in those few weeks after.
What was difficult was that I had retained placenta after vbac that they failed to remove all of so bled heavily on and off for almost 6 weeks. I also lost a lot of blood during the vbac birth and was weak and bedbound for a couple of days, just the same as a c section so thats why in my experience they were equally difficult just in different ways!
Good luck!

Sleeplessem · 10/09/2021 13:30

Personally no stitches or any tearing at all so It honestly felt like before. No pain sitting down, mild burning the first time I peed went away after. First #2 was weird but that’s all. But it’s worthwhile noting that I was quite lucky. I was breastfeeding so didn’t find i had much of a sex drive, first time was like 4 months pp and felt a bit sore but I think that was largely a dryness thing due to breastfeeding (despite lube lol) x

SunnySideUp2020 · 10/09/2021 14:27

Cannot compare VB with C sec but after my vaginal birth (no episiotomy or instruments) it went like this:

First 2 days whole body was achy and it felt swollen and sitting down was painful. Peeing stinged a little as i had a small cut on the labia.
My pelvic floor gone. Urine incontinence.

After going home i had a look and to my surprise i looked normal down there. Like before. Pain was gone too.

Afterwards weeks by weeks it got better pelvic floor wise.

We had sex 5.5 weeks after and it was normal. We took it a bit slower the first 2/3 times. But nothing hurt and everything was working as normal!

LaBellina · 10/09/2021 14:30

No body is the same OP.
I also think it can really depend on what kind of deliver you had. I had about 10 stitches, recovered well but second degree tear because I had to give birth on my back and push him out fast because his heart rate was pretty low. I am sure if I had a less rushed delivery and I had been able to give birth in let’s say a squatting position I might have gotten away with less damage.

lljkk · 10/09/2021 14:30

Everything recovered quickly to satisfactory standard (4 VBs).