Question for those who tore/have torn before

[YayJennie]

I had a small tear on my labia that my midwife gave me the choice of whether to have it stitched or not. She said there was a good chance it would heal back together on its own, and that it was mt preference as to whether or not to get stitches. I choose not to, and it appears that the tear did not heal back together. I'm only 2 weeks pp though. Is there anything I can do at this point to help it heal? Does anyone have unstitched tears that healed? Are there any problems you've had that I should be aware of? The only thing my midwife said about it not healing back together was the possibility of decreased sexual pleasure because of the fact that it was a labia tear that tore completely. I'm not too concerned with that (my husband promised that wouldn't be an issue ), but I'm wondering if there are other issues that I may face in the future.

[galincognito]

sorry, i'm not much help. i had stitches so i'm not really sure about your situation.

[liberal_chick]

You aren't going to like what I have to say, probably.

I had a 2nd degree perineal (sp?) tear that was unstitched. My tear healed, but it healed apart and not together. I'm 5 wks PP.

I got some sort of infection and went to the GYN, who told me that she can see muscles through my tear and that they could eventually prolapse. I'm going to have to have surgery to repair the tear. I am incredibly bummed.

[DomerJen]

my inner labia tore, and i had stitches. my mw warned me to be very careful b/c after some time (a week maybe?) if the stitches split I'd be up the creek...

[Hollin]

my inner labia tore with my first and even though I got it stitched it didn't heal together. My doctor told me to just ignore it so that's what I've done. It's not really a big deal to me. It's not like I'm a hoo haa model or something.

[vanessab23]

I tore my outer labia and it was hanging down like a curtain that had been half way torn down from a window-- no joke....it felt like it too....yuck

I declined sutures (maybe that was a mistake) and within a week (?) the labial tissue that was hanging had either been reabsorbed by my body OR it necrosed and fell off at some point.

BUT then I found out at 10 days PP that I had a retained placental lobe and ended up getting a D&C on day 11.....and which point I told the OB to just go ahead and suture the labia and the perineal tear that I had declined sutures for after the birth.

At 6 weeks PP I can still feel it when I wipe, but it's not bad pain, just sore.

You could still get sutures now but it would probably require a "debris and repair" which midwives don't usually do (OB's do them).

Good luck and try not to worry too much-- the vagina is AMAZING.

[texanatheart]

I had a minor inner labial tear with ds1 and did not get stitches. I kind of wish I had, because there's a small loose piece of skin there now. It hurt like the dickens to pee for a while, which was a bummer. I had a much smaller internal tear with ds2, and now I realize that the tear with ds1 was more of a tear than I realized.

In the long run, as Hollin so eloquently put it......

Originally Posted by Hollin

It's not really a big deal to me. It's not like I'm a hoo haa model or something.

[YayJennie]

Originally Posted by Hollin

It's not really a big deal to me. It's not like I'm a hoo haa model or something.

I laughed so hard at that I had to read it to my husband!

Thanks for all the comments. Now, at almost 3 weeks pp, I have absolutely no pain or soreness, so I am not about to go mess with a good thing and get sutures at this point. I doubt it's a big deal, and will check with my midwife when I go in for our checkup, but I appreciate all the feedback. It's good to know that sutures aren't a surefire way to have the tear heal back together too. It makes me feel better about refusing them!

[HappyHelpmate]

I know the OP already responded to the answers on this thread, but I wanted to throw in my 2 cents. I had a 1" 2nd degree tear I guess it was on the perineum (where I'd previously had an episiotomy with DS1). My midwife did suture it - she didn't give me an option, but I would've chosen it anyway. Well, several of my stitches CAME OUT! the ones closest to the vaginal opening. I had my MW look at it when I was 2 days PP because I told her that it felt like the two sides of the tear weren't meeting together, and she said the stitches came out and that she couldn't do anything about it because it was already healing too much for more stitches to help. She said it's not a big deal because it will continue to heal anyway, but that I'll just have a skin tag where the tear doesn't meet up. She actually shared with me that she has one, too, - LOL -from a botched episiotomy with her first child.

[purplepeace]

I had 2nd degree tears with both my births and no stitches for either. Both healed fine. I was very careful not to spread my legs, sit cross legged, go up and down stairs much, etc for 2+ weeks. I used a peri bottle each time I peed and had several sitz baths as well. All looks as good as new 4 weeks out this time around!