Preventing Vag Tears?

Question

Hey experienced moms is there any way you can try to prevent vaginal tears during birth? If you do tear; how will you treat it and do you just bleed for days and weeks? Just want a heads up!!! Thank you!!!!

Answer

With my first I drank red raspberry leaf tea starting at 30 weeks. I would drink one cup of tea a day from 30-34 weeks at 34-36 2 cups of tea a day and at 36+ 3 cups of tea a day max. And than I also drank the 5W pills at 35 weeks (that’s what they’re called you can get them at a natural medicine store) all my aunts including my mom would drink these they’re like labor preparation pills I asked my doctor if it was okay I had GD with my son and she said it shouldn’t be a problem because they’re natural herbs in capsules it’s just like drinking a tea and I swear to you I had the easiest labor I only pushed 13 minutes and didn’t tear he just scratched me from the inside while coming out because he had his hand in his face so they stitched inside. My friends have tried the tea religiously starting at 30 weeks and they haven’t teared and their labor was fast and smooth 👌🏼🤞🏼

Answer

I don’t think anything can really stop it if it will happen. My first i tore and had stitches. It is very painful i couldn’t walk normal for over 6 weeks. It was my first time having stitches literally every movement you make you can feel them pull. I bled for about 5 1/2 weeks and started my period a week later. 
 Now my second born was a different story completely. My water didn’t break until i was pushing her out so i think all the water helped her ooze out. I also already had thick scar tissue where i tore before. So i had no tears or stitches. I did have a few skid marks as they called them. But nothing painful it would just sting alittle when i peed. I didn’t have any heavy bleeding and only bled for about 2 weeks and then just occasionally spotted after that. 
I’m hoping this time is more like my 2nd. But i didn’t do anything different to “prepare” for birth either time

Answer

Following

Answer

My girl had a 91st percentile head, came out sunny side up, with the use of a vacuum...
There's nothing I could have done 😐😂
I tore UP my labia, which is the incorrect direction to tear lol my doctor wouldn't stage it because it wasn't the typical. He said maybe a two, but he couldn't really say. 
The healing process sucked of course. I used a squirt bottle and that's it though. Within a week I could walk and sit normally.

Answer

With my first I did perineal massage in the weeks leading up to birth. I had tearing that they stitched but it wasn’t painful and I didn’t even need any sort of pain medicine after birth

Answer

My sister-in-law told me to do perineal massages twice a day with coconut oil from 34 weeks on until I gave birth. It worked for both of her pregnancies and she had no tearing. Unfortunately, I only made it to 34 weeks 5 days and my water broke which ended in an emergency c-section. But, I promise it worked for her!

Answer

I tore with my first. So bleeding and tearing are two separate things. I tore the lip of my vagina in half. It now lovingly waves around like a flag down there. It was more of a nuisance in healing and it stung. Honestly it wasn’t sown properly (everything looks like minced meat down there post birth) so it gets pulled and is still uncomfortable at times. If your breastfeeding and having issues they can give you estrogen cream to help the healing. The vaginal bleeding is all dependent on the woman. My friend was done in a week. Mine lasted 4 weeks. I prepped labor by putting evening primrose oil capsules in my vagina nightly starting 37w per my midwives suggestion. But so much of that stuff (raspberry tea, the oil, dates) prep your cervix not your perineal tissue. Massage is the one thing shown to help because it builds elasticity.

Answer

I never did anything preventative, but I had a very minimal tear with my first; she was a little peanut; and it didn’t require any stitching. It just heals up like anything else. 
My second was nearly 9lbs and I tore a little more, requiring 2 stitches- towards the back/ perineum. Honestly they just itch once healing starts. Then the stitches dissolve and that’s it! 
You will get (or should buy) a peri-bottle to use to shoot warm water on yourself postpartum. I used it every time I went to the bathroom and it felt great and kept everything clean. I was also given a lidocaine ointment to use down there, and omg it makes such a difference. It just takes away the itch and ache. 
As a previous poster said, everything down there looks like minced meat. It’s all very stretched out and raw. However. It doesn’t stay that way, and before you know it you’ll be back to normal. 
As for bleeding, I never had any bleeding from the tear. Just a little bit of weeping as it healed. I did bleed from the birth for about a week to a week and a half and then it stopped. It was heavy and full of large clots (normal) and then it just sort of stops and you’re all done! This can last for several weeks for some women.

Answer

My friend Nichole Joy is a virtual doula and she has a video about this on her website: nicholejoy.com
She also does FB lives in her group and Insta Story Lives to answer questions. So if give her a follow and lay on the questions! 
Things I’ve done:
- eat gelatin and collagen, as they support the health of your skin, including the stretching of it
- perform perineal massage daily
- plan ways to relax and get in the zone during pushing, like music, hypnobabies, affirmations, etc. 
- don’t push if you don’t feel the urge
- don’t be rushed through crowning
- eat six dates a day from week 36 on (larabars are a good way to do this)
Babies naturally move forward through the birth canal and then retreat a bit. This back and forth motion is slowly stretching you out. Don’t rush through it, and don’t push unless you feel the urge. That’s essentially forcing progress before your body is fully ready, which leads to tearing. Think of it as foreplay before sex. If you don’t have time to engorge and swell, penetration can hurt or not go as smoothly. Same concept here.
Push in a position that utilizes gravity, instead of working against it. So don’t push on your back. Squat. 
Good luck!

Answer

I tore with my first but not with my second. I honestly didn’t do anything to prevent it except lots of squats everyday my whole pregnancy and kegels! I also was in the tub for a lot of my labor with my second and I’ve heard that helps “soften” you up and can “help” prevent tearing. Still though you’ll never really know until it happens! This time around I’m doing all the same and Red Rasberry Leaf tea as well as oil to stretch and massage for a few weeks before labor!

Preventing Vag Tears?

Let's Glow!

The Top Baby Tracker App: Embrace New Beginnings with Tender Care

The Top Fertility Tracker App: Your Path to Achieving Pregnancy

The Top Pregnancy App: Nurturing Your Journey to Motherhood

The Top Period Tracker for Empowering Your Menstrual Health Journey