tearing- to suture or not?

[birdiefu]

I was wondering if anyone has any info on if a tear may heal better if not sutured (I'm thinking 2nd degree or less). I had a barely 2nd degree tear with my DS and have had long-term uncomfy sex from where the suturing was done. At my 6wk checkup the doc noticed that a skin tag had grown as a suture reaction and they ended up removing it. That point (the top of where they sutured) has been sore and aggrivated with sex even almost 3 years later. I have a feeling the doc gave me the 'husband suturing'.

Anyhow, is there any research on the healing of a tear with suturing vs. without? I don't want to have a huge patch of scar tissue if not sewn up (that is, if I tear again at all) but I don't want to have the too-tight effect and suture reaction again.

[oakland]

bump

[alegna]

I chose not to be stitched and was very happy with the decision.

-Angela

[Ms Ladybug]

Well, I tore, and got about 5 stiches, and they all, but one came undone. Super shotty job by my OB who was pissed while sewing me up, "You see, if you let me give you an episotomy, you woulnd't have torn. This is taking SO long, blah, blah, blah..."
Anyways, I was freaked when they came undone. But, I saw a midwife (switched OB's right after birth) about 2 wks later, and she said not to worry, it'll heal on its own. By 6 wks, I was completely healed, and just fine!
EXCEPT, for the ONE stitch that stayed. Let's see, the mw said that my OB sewed in some little flap of tissue (she said it was my hymen tissue?) into the stitch. So now it look like I have a little tongue sticking out .
So, yeah, I'd do the NO stitch thing again! Way better.

[pamamidwife]

I think suturing should be done only when it's deep or when the edges do not come together well. Each suture creates two new wounds in the tissue, two new places for infection, and a tightness that many women find uncomfortable until the sutures dissolve.

[hubris]

If I have 1st or 2nd degree tearing with this baby, I will most likely not be sutured. My skin does not take kindly to sutures and rejected them after babies #1 and #2. My plan this time:

1. nourish the dickens out of my skin/perineum (healthy diet, attention to hydration and fatty acids, vit E oil applied daily to perineum, lots of kegels)

2. slow and gradual descent of the baby to allow tissues to stretch nicely (no coached/forceful pushing)

3. probably doing other things that benefit the perineum: water birth, hands off my perineum while birthing

4. no sutures if I tear

5. herbal baths to encourage healing

6. staying on one floor of my house, probably in one room (my bedroom), after the baby's birth to make sure I'm not moving around much. Definitely no stairs and very strategic sitting.

[june'smom]

With my first, I had a tiny tear that the mw insisted on suturing. Sex hurt until after #2. I tore with him but I did not go in to have it "fixed". I was super nervous about letting it heal, but it feels so so much better now. NO more pain with sex. Even dh said I felt more like "normal" for me after #2.

Unless the tear is really bad, I would never have anyone suture me again.

[Novella]

I read something about seaweed use last year when I was pregnant - sorry, but I have no clue where I read it. . . does someone else have a reference?

It was a story about a birth that caused a tear the attendant wanted suture, but the parents didn't like that idea. The couple used some "patches" of a moistened seaweed to hold the edges of the tear together and bed-rest/limited movement for a couple of days. The disapproving attendant was astounded to see the excellent healing that happened within only a few days or the first week.

[amnda527]

Blah! Where was this thread before I had my baby?! I only had a first degree tear and my midwife stitched it. Sex hurts. I even get little pinchy feelings sometimes just for the heck of it. And I noticed a skin tag. Now I'm pissed. Should I call about the skin tag?
PS. Why does that hurt more than just normal healing?

[momto l&a]

I was stitched for my first tear. Very painful, took long time to recover.

Second and third births I tore and didn't get stitched, my choice. Never felt like I had a baby.
Fourth baby I took loads of C and never tore