4th degree tear...ideas for healing?

[wombatclay]

Heyla all!

I just got home from the hospital an hour or three ago...I had an amazing VBAC, but due to severe shoulder dystocia I came home with a beautiful baby AND a 4th degree tear.

My two OBs were fabulous during the emergency (the dystocia lasted about 4 minutes, and it was an instrumental delivery with massive tear without any pain meds), my dd has recovered wonderfully from her very scary first 5-10 minutes, and although the suturing took ~40 minutes (one of my OBs actually teaches a class for midwives learning to suture severe tears) I'm told I'll heal completely.

But...well...I'm still nervous about this whole thing! Any advice from BTDT mamas? I'm taking stool softeners and motrin, I've got witch hazel wipes and a sitz bath, and some gentle exercises from my very crunchy OB but...are there herbal blends that will speed healing? Things that worked great or didn't help? Words of advice, wisdom, "it'll be okay"?

Thanks!

[ThreeBeans]

Oh, my. I had a pretty severe 2nd degree with DS, but that's nothing like a fourth degree. My coochie is wincing

I would get one of those ass-cushions to sit on...you know, what you sit on if you have hemmorhhoids? And I would stick ice in my pad.


I'm doing involuntary kegels and cringing over here


Congratulations on your new baby

[mgeis01]

BTDT. Taking frequent short baths was the best thing for me.

With my first I healed fairly quickly from all that. I did have some lingering nerve pain at the suture line for like 6months. If that happens, be sure and talk to your doc. I think there is a fix.

With my second, it took a long time for me to heal and I ended up on abx due to infection. : But when I did heal, everything seemed good as new. No lingering pain.

I've heard good things about the Earth Mama Angel baby bath herbs, but did not know about them when I needed them.

[bryonyvaughn]

Originally Posted by wombatclay

...I had an amazing VBAC, but due to severe shoulder dystocia I came home with a beautiful baby...

C ~ O ~ N ~ G ~ R ~ A ~ T ~ U ~ L ~ A ~ T ~ I ~ O ~ N ~ S

...But...well...I'm still nervous about this whole thing! Any advice from BTDT mamas? I'm taking stool softeners and motrin, I've got witch hazel wipes and a sitz bath, and some gentle exercises from my very crunchy OB but...are there herbal blends that will speed healing? Things that worked great or didn't help? Words of advice, wisdom, "it'll be okay"?

I've never BTDT myself but made a PP herbal bath for a friend with 4th degree tearing. She said it far outperformed the heavy pain meds. Here's the recipe.

• 2 oz Uva Ursi
• 2 oz Comfrey
• 2 oz Shepherd's Purse
• 1/2 cup sea salt
• 2 or 3 bulbs garlic

Put the herbs into an 8-qt pot filling with water 1/2 to 2/3 up the side. Bring to a boil, immediately reduce to simmer and set timer for 20 minutes. In meantime break garlic bulbs into cloves and peel. When timer dings, pour *tea* into another pot covered by strainer or colander. While drawing bath mash garlic (bottom of cast iron pan works great) and add sea salt and mashed garlic to tea. When bath is filled add PPHB and light candles and pop in a soothing CD for mom. PPHBs speed healing of babies' cords too. Just let mom have some time relaxing alone first.

I almost forgot to add taking homeopathic Arnica.

~BV

[Avena]

Hey mama! I jut posted to ya in
Toddlers!

I had 3rd degree w/dd~

Get topical Aloe gel , pour on your pads~ I went thru several bottles postpartum but it was great to have!

~ my stiz bath tea, it's also GREAT as a cooling per-rise when ta have to pee!

~ Arnica 200 X ~ this is high grade for surgery etc....this was a life-saver!

~REST!

CONGRATS!!!!!!:

[bryonyvaughn]

Originally Posted by Avena

~ Arnica 200 X ~ this is high grade for surgery etc....this was a life-saver!

Did you mean Arnica 200C instead of 200X? Normally I'd be concerned about the potential for 200X causing aggravations. 200C is also much more readily available.

~BV

[courtenay_e]

Congratulations on the birth, mama! A four minute dystocia could have been really scary, I'm glad that it was handled so well by the OBs who attended you.

I also know of midwives who put lavendar and calendula in their pp soaks, w

ith all the other herbs mentioned.

I agree with the 200C arnica...I believe you can most likely find a book at the library, or look on line for dosing, but the way WE do it in our house is to administer the arnica every fifteen minutes for the first few hours, and then move it to three or four times a day.

Too, I know that many midwives will tell you to simply GO TO BED for a while. You can heal best if you're feeding your body very well and RESTING. If you can possibly find it, get yourself help...meal preparation *and snacks for you!*, basic housekeeping, etc. Stuff that would be great for a "normal" post partum mom may be even more necessary for a mom healing from such a large trauma to her bottom. If you don't have family or friends available, there are always post partum doulas...or granny types at local senior centers, homeschooling kids looking for a few bucks, teens at churches looking for "volunteer hours" for their confirmations...there are alternatives!

Also, keep your legs together as much as you can, which I have heard helps your tissues be less stressed and more easily "together" as they try to heal.

Be gentle with yourself, mama, and take care!

[runes]

first of all, CONGRATULATIONS!!

definitely take it easy, as much as you can and call in all of your resources. as for the physical recovery, rest rest rest as much as you can, and don't do too much that will stress your pelvic floor. minimize stairs as much as possible.

once the tissues have healed and you no longer have lochia, i would really recommend finding a physical therapist in your area that specializes in women's health. they can help you with strengthening your core muscles and pelvic floor to possibly prevent other problems like prolapse. i have a mild prolapsed bladder from a rough birth and tearing and the PT helped me sooooo much.

to you.

[ctdoula]

CONGRATULATIONS on your new baby!!!

I had a 4th degree w/my first, and was TERRIFIED I'd never be the same. You will be okay! As frightening as it seems now, your body will really heal itself. It will take time (it probably took 5months before I couldn't feel the scar anymore). One piece of advice..... wait as long as you need to resume having sex. Wait until it's really healed. So many moms I've spoken with didn't wait and then had pain, etc. I waited for a long time (5mo) and had no pain at all. Also, lots of fiber, keep your stools soft. And lots of water.

[liseux]

Congratulations! I have had 2 4th degree tears and they both healed very well. I also had severe sd with my 2nd 4th degree so it was more drastic. You have gotten some good thoughts here on the herbs, I also want to add that the most important thing for your healing is the sitz baths, with or without herbs--3 x a day in the tub for 15 minutes for about 3 weeks. It seems like a pain, but if you just put water to cover your butt, then you can bundle & nurse baby in there with some help.

Definitely don't sit on any roid pillows, any boppy pillows or anything that spreads your legs and has your crotch sort of hanging there. These things are bad fo 4th degrees b/c they can weaken your stitches. Don't use ice either, except for the first day after the birth, it can deaden the nerves and blood vessels and you need them for healing.

Keep legs together & avoid stairs. Lay in bed for 2 weeks if you can, I didn't get to & still healed fine --but rest as much as you can . Good luck!