Getting "mended" after the birth!

[ScaredOfEverything]

Hi Everyone. Am pregnant with my first.

A friend told me that it is best to insist that a doctor does any stiching needed after the delivery, but that 99% of times a nurse will do it. Im a bit anxious about this. Does anyone have any views on what is best?

Thanks as always for any advice

XX scared

I didnt have stitches but i'd have thought that if Midwives do 90% of the repair jobs then they will be better at it

i had a 2nd degree tear with dd1 dr did all stitches had loads of them mainly internally

Fingers crossed you wont need any BUT as with most things it just depends who you get. I would sooner have a midwife with years of experience stitching fanjos than a 15 year old junior Dr whose been up for 3 days straight and is on his first week of obs/gynae rotation. If you aren't confident with the individual who comes to do them then you could ask for someone else. Also I think with a very bad tear you would go to theatre and would definitely have a Dr.

MW definately. If you want to any insisting then insist on an experienced/senior mw.

I had a Jr Dr from Germany for my episiotomy and 2nd degree tear. She gave a running commentary about how "this is the way we do it in Germany."

She did a bloody good job though apparently, the m/w said she'd never seen such neat stitches

Doctors are far more experienced at stiching bad tears, so probably for a more minor tear it wont make much difference who does it, but for something more significant I would want a doctor to do it.
Obviously if it is severe then a doctor will do it any way, but if there is any doubt at the time of whether it should be a midwife or doctor then I would have a doctor.
I had a third degree tear and huge episiotiomy, repaired by a doctor. The midwife was shocked by how good the repair was ( and to look now you would struggle to see any sign of what happened).

I had no idea who was doing it as I was soo knackkered and woozy from anaesthetic. Stitches were v neat though!

Agree with 27

Good luck with it all!

Had dr stitch me after episiotomy with #1 and had a total nightmare for weeks afterwards. Stitches were too tight then they all broke down and not a lot of fun at all. Had m/w stitch me up (tear) after #2 and could not believe how much easier it was healing. Healed in days and comfortable. It may of course have been to do with tear vs episiotomy, but any time I'd prefer a midwife after my experience.

Thanks for the answers ladies. Think I will just play it by ear and hope that I dont need anything too much!