But there are steps you can take to help prevent this: footnote 3 Pay attention to your position during labour. Different positions may put less pressure on your perineum.
You may feel more comfortable sitting upright, lying on your side, or getting down on your hands and knees, for example. Talk to your birthing coach ahead of time so you agree on when and how hard you should push. Have someone provide perineal support. This means pushing against the perineum to protect it from tearing as the baby's head stretches it.
This is sometimes done with a hot, moist cloth. Practice perineal massage. This type of massage may help make the tissue around the vagina more flexible and reduce the chance of having a perineal tear or an episiotomy. To reduce pain and promote healing: Keep an ice pack on your perineal area.
Try an anesthetic spray. Have regular sitz baths in a tub of warm, shallow water. Take pain medicine. Some pain medicines can be constipating, so ask your health professional for a formulation that includes a stool softener.
Take stool softeners and drink lots of fluids to help soften stools and ease pain. Use warm water from a squeeze bottle to keep the perineal area clean. Pat it dry with gauze or a sanitary wipe. Only wipe your perineal area from front to back. Related Information Pregnancy Labour and Delivery. References Citations Cargill YM, et al.
Guidelines for operative vaginal birth. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada , 26 8 : — You should drink at least 2 litres of water every day and eat a healthy balanced diet for instance: fruit, vegetables, cereals, wholemeal bread and pasta. After having an episiotomy, it is normal to feel pain or soreness for weeks after giving birth, particularly when walking or sitting.
The stitches can irritate as healing takes place but this is normal. Pouring body-temperature water over the area when urinating can help. The skin part of the wound usually heals within a few weeks of birth, and after that you should feel much less raw and tender. The need for an episiotomy is assessed at the time of birth. It is always dependent on your wellbeing and that of your baby. A few women will have excessive scar tissue from a previous episiotomy and because scar tissue does not stretch these women may need a repeat episiotomy to prevent excessive tearing.
We would like to understand how people are using this resource to help ensure it is relevant and useful. Or, you may need an episiotomy to help make room for your baby and prevent this from happening. Your doctors might have had to make a small cut to your perineum this procedure is called an episiotomy to help make room for your baby. Regardless of why you may need stitches, the most important thing is that you understand how to care for them and help them heal.
An episiotomy is when your midwife makes a small cut in your perineum to prevent you from tearing, or to speed things up if your baby needs to be delivered quickly. A local anaesthetic is used to numb the area to stop you feeling any pain.
The length of time stitches take to heal will depend on the reason you need them. It tends to take between 2 and 4 weeks for stitches between the vagina and back passage perineum to heal, but everyone is different and you may find it takes longer. Episiotomy stitches will usually heal in the first month or so after the birth of your little one, but be prepared for potential bruising and swelling, both of which are very natural.
Every womans's body reacts differently to labour, and it is hard to determine if you're more likely to tear while giving birth. However, the following factors could make you more prone to tearing:. For minor tears, you'll usually be stitched in the room where you gave birth. Most maternity wards will use dissolvable stitches so there's no need to have them removed. For more severe tears, you might be taken to an operating theatre, where you'll be given a local or general anaesthetic and a doctor will stitch the cut.
The best way to care for your stitches is to keep them clean and dry. Try to wash your perineum using warm water every time you visit the loo and gently pat the area dry using toilet tissue.
You should also aim to change your sanitary pad regularly to keep the area dry and comfortable. Stitches after tearing during labour or an episiotomy can be quite sore at first, but there are some things you can do to help soothe the pain. Cool temperatures will both ease the pain and help reduce swelling in the area. One way of doing this is to sit in a shallow bath of cold water — just make sure you pat your stitches dry with a clean towel afterwards.
Painkillers will help to ease discomfort. It can also be painful when you go for a poo, so try placing a clean pad over the cut and press gently as you pass the stool. And if urinating is painful, try going in the shower or pouring warm running water over the area to ease the stinging. If you are finding it painful to sit, you could try using a Valley Cushion. These are specially designed inflatable cushions that make sitting down a little more comfortable.
If this is the case, talk to your partner and take as long as you need to heal before having sex again.
It really helps to keep the area clean and dry. One way to do this is to give yourself a quick wash with a spray bottle full of water. Simply squirt a few times a day and dry yourself gently. If you do pelvic floor exercises as often as you can, you will increase blood flow to the area and encourage healing. Sometimes, regardless of how well you look after them, there can be complications with stitches.
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