episiotmy-did you have to have one?

[solongtogo]

Did you have one?

[goldengbridge]

Yup- I had one. I pushed for an hour and a half and there was no way DS head was going to fit. I didn't feel a thing. I also had an Epidural. I was sore for about 6-8 week afterwards.

[NicoleWisconsin]

Nope... But I did have a second degree tear. I will say that DS was born after 6 minutes of pushing, so I attribute the tear to my perineum not having time to stretch.

[mamacita]

Nope-- not for either kiddo. Tiny tear the first time, nothing the second.

[Cohl]

Nope and no tears or anything. I was a lucky girl!!

[AlisonCO]

Yes and I tore after the episiotomy. I pushed for 3.5 hours and had a vaccum assisted delivery - DS has a huge head :D

[moderngal]

nope- I had a 2nd degree tear after 2.5 hours of pushing. I am glad I was able to tear instead of being cut.

[dzmattie]

Do you want to know?

I had one - and then I still tore - after 3 hours of pushing. Doc ended up doing a foreceps delivery - I had a 4th degree tear - more stitches than a C-Section (supposedly...who knows though) Took about 8 weeks before I could walk normal....

Looking back the Doc said we should have done a CS earlier - ugh.

[NYN]

for those of you who had it, can you please post the baby's weight if you don't mind...i am being told that i am having a 9.9lber and my doctor wants to try for a vaginal delivery which i am thankful for but i am now imagining the worst at all times.

[AlisonCO]

My son was 7'9'', but as I said has a HUGE head - seriously it is in the 95% and always has been.

[lee60657]

I had one .....and I also had a 3rd degree tear :( ... DD was 7 lbs 9 oz. I was lucky however and I had healed by my 6 wk appt.

[1_mommy]

i had one and then a 2nd degree tear. dd was 7lbs 12ozs. i only pushed for 15 minutes, so that may be why i tore too. i wanted her out pretty bad

[monique]

DS was 10 pounds 2oz and yes, I had to have an episiotmy. DH asked if it was necessary before the cut and the Dr. said yes because he was too big and you can tear the other way if there is no cut. I had a stage 4 cut which is pretty much the whole thing and although I was sore after, I am pretty sure I would have been sore just by pushing a baby out! I was fine after a few days, never took any drugs for pain, just used the ice pads and I was fine.

[BTB]

I had a medically necessary episiotomy, despite DD being small: 6 lbs, 12 oz.

I prepared my perineum during pregnancy with Kegels, vitamin E massage oil, and squats, and more massage and warm compresses during labor. I spent 90 minutes pushing, so no speed racer there. And because I had told the doctor I'd rather tear, I had two tears already, and still DD was simply not coming out. We tried to be patient, but her heart rate was dropping and it would've been foolhardy not to have the episiotomy done. My only regret is wishing I'd permitted it sooner. It would've been an easier recovery for me too, because I'd have only had the episiotomy, instead of having it AND two tears to heal.

[MrsT]

Nope - had a tiny tear though. My doc wanted to do one, kept saying it was "no big deal" but DH and I kept saying no. I had one or two stitches (my doc didn't say, but my doula told me that).

BTW, it's pretty rare that an episiotomy is "necessary" though in some cases it is - and sometimes an epi makes you tear easier than without it. My doula put it this way - think about a piece of material. It's hard to rip it UNTIL you make a little cut in it and then it rips much more easily.

There was a recent study finding that most epis are unnecessary and may be more harmful. Here's a link....Washington Post: Episiotomy Article (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/03/AR2005050301206.html)

ETA: I am not saying that the PP epi wasn't medically necessary - every case is different. I just wanted everyone to be informed that they aren't ALWAYS necessary even though some docs seem to routinely do them instead of taking the time to let the perenium stretch. (Like my doc!)

[knzbound]

Yes, I had one. DD was 6 lbs. 12 oz. and I had been pushing for only 45 minutes at that point, but she was in distress (crashing heartbeat from cord around her neck) at the end and they did an epi + vacuum-assist to get her out quickly. I didn't think the recovery was that bad, but of course I have nothing to compare it to. I'd take the epi any day over an emergency c-section, which was probably the next step in my case.

[bamboo]

nope, no episiotomy, and no tears at all. DD was 6lb 12oz, I pushed for an hour (unmedicated homebirth), only when the contraction made me push, and only had very mild bruising.

[Brady]

Yep, I had been pushing for almost two hours, the Doc. was talking about forceps, so I decided I'd rather have an epi than forceps delivery. My son was born within a couple minutes after the episiotomy.

ETA- my son was 7lbs 5oz, and no issues with healing from the episiotomy either.

[kerrykate]

I had an episiotomy after I pushed for 1 hour 45 minutes, DD was 7.3 lbs. I had to have a stich or two and my recovery was very easy.

[linda_loo]

dd#1 - yes, of the 4 docs in the practice, the one who was on call was one known as "Dr. Cut". He didn't even try to help me out, he just cut.

dd#2 - (18 months later, with a midwife attending), no episiotomy; small tear with 2 stitches.

[lcarlson90]

I know that I had an episiotomy and a small tear but I am not sure which happened first. My DS was 8 lb. 11 oz. but he came out with his arm above his head which caused most of the problem. It must not have been that bad because I healed pretty quickly.

[SiValleySteph]

I had a 4th degree episiotomy. :eek:

We have the birth on DVD and when he grabs those ginormous scissors...

Well, I don't like that part. I remember that point when he grabbed them doing the delivery (I swear, those scissors were at least a foot and a half long!) and I just looked away. Didn't want to see that!

I pushed for 2 hours and the nurse was really great about stretching the pernieum. I had requested no episiotomy, I'm not totally sure why Dr. decided to do it. The baby's heartrate was dropping during pushes at that point (we could all tell from the monitor), so perhaps that's why. I didn't ask at the time because I wasn't really concerned. After the epi, the baby was delivered pretty quickly.

The thing that really bugged me is that it didn't really hurt that much, but then the recovery nurse came and was like "OMG, 4th degree episiotomy, that must kill! I had a 3rd degree and that was bad enough!" :rolleyes: Thank you nurse for that reassuring comment.

Anyways, it healed up by the 6wk post-partum appt, but it is still sore there sometimes.

Oh, DS was 8lbs even and 21-3/4" long. :D

[Mrs. M.]

I didn't have an epi. I would not have torn, but DD had her arm up, which tore me after her head was out :( It healed in about a week though. The stitching was the worst part because the numbing stuff did not work on me.

[lukesmommy]

I had an epi, Luke weighed 9 lbs 5oz so I need some extra room. But after the epi was done, he still needed more, so I tore pretty badly too. I don't know what degree it was but I had about 35 stitches. It didn't hurt for very long, and wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be!

[hub1176]

Yes I had one and still had a 4th degree tear. DD was 6lbs7oz but I have a small pelvis and after 2 hours of pushing she was stuck - and needed to be vacuumed out. Thank G-D for epidurals because I didn't feel a thing!

SiValleySteph OMG! That's what the nurses said to me as well, and were even said it was going to hurt when I went to the bathroom :o I so wanted to call them afterwards just to let them know it didn't ;)

[bluhimmy]

No epi; had 2nd degree tear. I pushed for over 3.5 hours, and also had vacuum assistance. DS only weighed 6 lbs. 1 0z, but he had his right hand up by his head the entire birthing process.

[ez2luv]

Yes, plus I tore in 2 places as well.

I had pushed for 2 hours, and my doc had to call up a specialist and he decided to cut immediately.

I think healing from that was the worst part of delivery!

Actually, like SiValleySteph - I'm still sore there too sometimes. Is that normal?? (it's been 10 months)
Also, a couple times I've moved or turned wrong and it tears - and bleeds.
I'm afraid it's not really healed but is that possible??

[jenn0911]

I had a 4th degree tear...no episiotimy. But after months and months went by, I was still sore (especially during sex) and sometimes had problems when I sneezed (if you know what I mean). When I had #2, the OB actual looked perplexed as she was sewing up yet another tear (no episiotimy again) She made a comment about the previous sew job...not sure of the exact words but basically that it wasn't done right. Boy, when she got done...whole different story. No more pain, no more leaking, nothing but normal!

[mama915]

With DS, yes I had an epi and he was 8 lbs 14 oz

With DD, no but I did tear and she was only 7 lbs 10.5 oz

The thing for me was, it has taken longer to heal from the tears than the epi. I think next time I'd rather have an epi.

[calltammy]

I had one with both my kids!

[Ohana]

Nope. I put on my birthplan that I would rather tear than be cut, and the OB was great in massaging my perineum while I was pushing. I did tear (don't know how badly), but given that I tore upwards, there's no saying if an epi would have prevented it.

[SlvrPhenx]

I had an epi. I had no confidence that a baby would be able to fit out of there without some tearing or cutting. After 2 hours of pushing the moron midwife reached down and cut once. Then looked up and asked "did that hurt?" when I yelled "OW!" So then she picked up the second pair of scissors that were magic and CUT again and asked "did that hurt too?" when I yelled this time. She finally got it through her thick skull that the epidural didnt work and gave me a local before the 3rd cut. Then they had to use a vacum anyway to get DS out. He was 6lbs 12oz but I guess I just wasnt made to pass a baby. The the mw's credit she did try to stretch everything down there before she cut.

I dont know how many stiches because the midwife couldnt tell me. I know she used 3 sets of sutures and I felt everyone because the local had worn off. Sorry I made that sound so horrible but it was kinda tramatic to me. DS is almost 14 months old and I noticed at my last gyno appointment that I have very little feeling around there. I dunno if its a side effect of the birth or what.
I wont be using the same practice to have another child if I ever do

[ezl247]

Oh yeah, I had an epi and a 2nd degree tear. DD was 6lbs 12 oz and her head circumference was only the 10th percentile. FWIW I am small framed.