What are the chances of a 3rd degree tear happening again in second pregnancy?

[charlotte121]

When I had my ds I had an episiotimy and then went onto tear very badly with a third degree tear. I then ended up having to have a spinal block after managing to go through the whole labour with no pain releif which was slightly anoying and had to have a very intusive operative procedure to repair the tear when i wanted to be with my new baby. It resulted in months of agonising pain and a lot of discomfort. It also made sitting very difficult which meant i fould it really hard to bf, and caused some depression.
Having been put on iron tablets in this pregnancy Im now experiancing constipation which is making some of the discomfort from the tear return.
My ds is only 8 months old so all of this wasnt really that long ago and although i would not have a opt for a c-section im petrified of tearing again. Has anyone else ever torn badly with all the complications afterwards and had it happen again???

Hi Charlotte121

U poor thing it sounds like you went through it first time round. I'm surprised your midwife hasn't already suggested a c-section??
I did tear but I did not have 3rd degree tears I just know that the 2nd time round I did tear more than the 1st...ouch!
Have you spoken to your midwife??

I totally understand your fear. My first labour was 2 cuts and a 3rd degree tear, then had to go to theatre to have my placenta removed, nightmare. However, just had 2nd baby 7 months ago, I couldn't decide whether or not to have c-section 2 out of 3 consultants said I would be fine to go natural, I took the chance of going natural and she came out beautiful, no tear at all, just a little bit of grazing, I was grateful that I didn't have to recover from a c-section with another baby, but at the same time, everyone is different, but best of luck

sometimes having an episiotomy can make you tear worse than you would have done.... a lot of factors can lead to tearing....

position of baby, position you deliver in, speed of delivery

charlotte 121. I had episiotomy and tore v. badly. with next baby I also needed api and tore even worse. I had similar problems w. recovery (months, almost a year).

After it had happened 1st time I really hoped next would be better. I did pereneal massage (tho I had read it only worked for 1st delivery, but thought anything worth a shot).

Anyway, it was worse not better.

Am now pg again and def. having an elective section.

DUnno what stats/liklihood are, but didn't work out well for me.

BTW top tip for constipation - magnesium. It's safe in pg, you get it in soluble powder or tablets, and take 1 in morning, 1 in afternoon, 3 if you've got real problems. This is the 1st pg (of 4!) where I haven't really suffered with constipation. Highly recommend it. Prunes, figs, buckets of water didn't work for me, but magnesium pure magic.

hi, i had 3rd degree tear with ds (now 3.2y) and then had not a single bit of a tear with dd (now 23m).....so it doesn't always happen....i was also dreading having all the stiches and problems i had with ds's birth when i found out i was pregnant with dd.

Thanks for all your advice. Im definately going to try to go slower this time as i think that was what caused the tear. am also thinking of trying a water birth to keep things relaxwde

with my delivers 1st time v. quick so did think that didn't help. But 2nd time I was in labour for 2 bloody days, was in birthing pool but had to get out as baby distressed (been in ages). To be brief, it was not at all quick but still tore v. badly.

It's not an easy decision, because you just don't know which way it will got for you.

but best of luck, take the magnesium, and fingers crossed it all works out well..

Hi Charlotte.

The stats are reassuring. Statistically of those women who have had 3rd degree tears, 75% do not tear or tear to the same degree again. Of the 25% who do and require surgical repair, 75% achieve a 'good or better' result.

I did a lot of reading of midwifery and obstetric studies when pg with no 2.

I was offered an elective by the consultant (if you have a third degree tear and any incontinence (and incontinence is what seems to signal the alarm bells) then you should be referred to a consultant during a subsequent pg) but in the end I had an vb with a epidural so it was a very controlled delivery. I did have a tiny tear that was sewn up by the top man but no problems at all.

I would think with your post op difficulties that a referral was in order from your mw. They can also look at the fragility of the tissue.

If you want to know more
www.radmid.demon.co.uk/thirddeg.htm

www.radmid.demon.co.uk/perineum.htm

Fo r your constipation then could you ask the gp for some lactulose (sp??) or suppositories and keep taking it up to and after the delivery until you feel comfortable.