"Give me a cut over a tear any day!" - Page 2

[Theia]

I've read some of the horror stories about epi's that never heal back correctly. My homebirth ended up with me being transferred to the hospital after 15 hours. I ended up having 3 tears, one cervical, one vaginal and one peri. I think the peri was around a 2-3 degree. But I wasn't cut, and the doctor sewed me up afterwards. I've had no issues from them and I am grateful for it. I am guessing the DR was afraid to ask if he could cut me cuz I kept saying "No" to all his other interventions. He must have figured out by then that I'd just say no to an epi as well.

[tireesix]

I have to say though, if you get a Doc like my first (although I don't birth in hospital anymore and didn't want to with my first), then maybe, a cut is better lol. He was really nic when he walked into the room, he asked if he could do an epi (at least he asked right?), I said no, from that point on, he turned into a right UAV.

If that wassn't bad enough, the othe Ob/Gyns closed ranks (except for my lovely one at a different clinic). My Gyn was horrifieed by how I had been stitched and said I NEEDED it to be redone, I was referred over to gynae (its complicated, tthe Gyn I was seeing was part of Genito Urinary Medicinee, for Ops etc, you need to be referred over to the Gynaee Dept which is different) the gynae oveer there stated that the pain I was suffering was from my vestibulitis (however it was in the wrong place to be that) and that because the guy who repaired me is so good at what he does, there is no way he could have made a mistake with mine.

I lived with it until I next gave birth, the female gyn who repaired me that time did a great job. Its difficult to describe.

[battymama]

My mum told me it was because it was neater. She had one because i had to be gotten out with the vacume (true need her back collapsed and was unable to push) I dont think she really thought about it to be honest, until i told her a few facts about it, now she agrees with me.

[bscal]

I have had both. I had a small snip with my first child that took 2 stitches to fix afterwards. Honestly, I recovered just fine from it, but the doc did that little snip just as DD's head was already coming out (to help her come out faster maybe? IDK.) I had a good amount of tearing with #2 and her arm was up so her elbow caught me along one side. I had an internal tear on that side that took about 20 stitches or so. I felt back to normal pretty soon, except in certain positions it felt funny for about 6 months. With #3 I tore a LOT! I felt the urge to push at 9 1/2 cm and my wonderful OB said go ahead then and massaged with olive oil. That baby came out so darn fast that I ended up with quite a bit of tearing. I think that one was around 30 stitches or so. I felt completely normal in 4 weeks.

Beth

[mikayla's mama]

My OB insisted on one due to the vacuum extraction... just one more thing I can add to the list of "if I only knew then what I know now".

Episiotomy took months and months to heal and almost a year before I felt normal down there again. I also had a nasty tear into my urethra so it didn't prevent me from tearing. The tear hurt worse initially because of the location but it did heal much much faster. I tore again with my second and it was nothing.

[Full Heart]

I got into it with a woman once. I am surprised we remained civil it was not a pretty discussion. And she finally just came out and said that it totally skeeved her that her skin could tear. The thought of the sound, the way it would feel. She would much rather be numbed and cut. I can imagine the fear that raced through her, the thoughts she had.

Of course women don't understand the risk factors, the chance of tearing once you are cut, the bruising from the scissors, the numbing meds might not work, etc etc etc. How exposed are most women to birth? Esp natural birth where tearing happens vs an epis? They just don't know.

I have never torn or had an epis. A couple of skid marks but nothing requiring stitches. And I STILL worry about it. 7 births and I still worry! I don't want to tear. So I take every precaution so I don't. Wouldn't be awful to say go ahead and cut me so you don't tear only to have never torn? Then how would you know? And I think that thought will keep scissors far away from my bottom. Just let me tear.

[Robinna]

It's a dated idea. My mother was an L&D nurse in the late 60's/early 70's and although had 3 unmedicated births demanded an episiotomy because "damned if she was going to tear". It was the belief at the time that a clean cut healed better... but research since showed that fewer women tore less than routine episiotomy warrants (I know, preaching to the choir). But I guess not everybody is aware of or gives value to that research, just like so many other issues in womens' medicine.

[paintedbison]

Yep... it's just from what has been passed down. Before my first I had L&D nurses telling me horror stories of women they'd seen tear up into their cervix. They were trying to convince me an episiotomy wouldn't be too bad.

I've now had both. The tear healed much much much faster.

[applejuice]

Like other parts of modern medicine, if an episiotomy is a pre-emptive strike against a random tear, I will take my chances with a natural tear. I have had four children, never an episiotomy, two small tears that I never noticed.

It was the belief at the time that a clean cut healed better... but research since showed that fewer women tore less than routine episiotomy warrants (I know, preaching to the choir). But I guess not everybody is aware of or gives value to that research,...

There never, ever was a smidge of evidence anywhere that an episiotomy was better than a tear. NEVER! Again, a sign of doctors using a treasured procedure without a shred of evidence it works. There was always plenty of evidence that episiotomies did more harm than good. Someday doctors will back off of doing so many caesarean sections, but I am afraid of what they will replace it with.

It is not nice to fool Mother Nature.

[Rogelito's Mommy]

I always wondered about this...I never new much about weather it was better to tear or have an episiotomy. I had a natural birth and tore and got some stitches. It did not heal well on its own at all. I went back for my 6 wk pp check up and the thought of anyone touching anything anywhere down there scared the crap out of me. The midwife took one look and said, "Oh, that's not what we were going for." and called in the OB. I ended up getting surgery to repair it (they recut me open and resewed me up) and then another in office procedure later and I still have issues with pain (ds is 8 months). So I often wondered if an episiotomy would have been better. Reading this thread has been interesting.

[milkybean]

I haven't experience either (sniffle), but my mom would talk quite a bit about it. To me (and her) it's like when kids have ear infections, and MDs say "oh you must have tubes put in so there's no rupture".

Um, OK. So you go in and poke a hole in the eardrum to put a tube in, so that you don't possibly have a hole happen in your eardrum. Makes no sense.

But the tube is done with anesthetic and is *controlled*, unlike a "rupture" (which may or may not happen). But the end result is pretty much the same.

Just doesn't make much sense to me, to do something surgical lest something happen naturally.

[moondiapers]

Originally Posted by blessedwinter

I've had both and would MUCH rather tear. Women just don't know how excruciating an episiotomy is to recover from, unless they've had one. My tears had virtually no recovery time.

I've had both. They were about the same to me, healing wise.

[GoBecGo]

Birth is a total loss of control. Heck PARENTING is a loss of control. You no longer, once pregnant, have full control over your body, your hormones, your mind. Once the baby is here you have a million things to consider before you get to your own needs. I did not PEE alone for nearly 7 weeks!

So a tear, yet another uncontrolled thing happening, is just terrible! Can't we be cut? If we MUST be damaged there from that, at least the doctor, who is trained and is not in labour and has special tools etc. and can SEE what they are doing could do a small cut, and then i won't get this uncontrolled rip in me.

Medical care during birth is about controlling outcomes. Many many women cannot imagine that one can so completely lose control and be ok. We are control-mad in modern life. A cut done by a medical professional, they erroneously imagine, MUST MUST MUST be better than a tear that no-one is in charge of.

[PassionateWriter]

its an ignorant statement. period. im not calling the person ignorant but the sentiment that an epis. is better than natural tearing is just ignorant. they cause greater degree tears than would otherwise exist in most cases.

[spu]

I had a 2nd degree tear. From what I understand, tears are also not as deep as a cut, and also with the irreg. edges, are therefore easier to stitch + heal. My mw never even thought to cut. I'm not sure if the tear was from the head pushing out or the nuchal hand/arm which was delivered manually, or that I pushed to hard and fast for fear of a 3rd cs... took a long time to get my tushie back to normal though (will it ever be?!?) LOL!

[jennyfah]

Who was it. . . Shiela Kitzenger, maybe? who pointed out the an episiotomy is the only surgery done with a dull object (scissors). I have had an episiotomy which tore to nearly 4th degree and it was horrific. I mean *weeks* before I could sit comfortably and nearly a year before sex was anything special.

With my second (completely unmedicated, homebirth) I tore slightly along the epi scar, but healing from that was a snap. Give me a tear any day over the long slice with bruised tissues from the scissors on either side. (Shudder!!!)

Jen

[aurora_skys]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

I don't remember where I read this, but some place described an episiotomy as "a guaranteed second degree tear done to avoid a possible first degree tear maybe extending into a third degree tear."

Mind you, considering coached pushing, I'd bet that doctors do see a lot more tearing.

yeah that! my mom is convinced women cant have babies with episiotomies and that a tear would be horrible! when i tried to explain to her that id sooner take my chances with the possibility of a tear than with the gaurantee of a big cut from an episiotomy, she just wasnt having it. its like brainwashing, seriously... im glad to see this topic here, its been on my mind for a while.
complete lack of logic

[mntnmom]

I did get cut...and still had a nasty 4th degree tear that had my OB call in a consult to stitch up right. He did a great repair job, but I can't help but wonder if the epi actually CAUSED the tear.
There is a large body of evidence suggesting that cutting the skin effects the "structural integrity" and leads to worse tearing.
I've had 3 babes since, 2 over 9lbs..and the first time was the only time I tore at all.

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by Rogelito's Mommy

I always wondered about this...I never new much about weather it was better to tear or have an episiotomy. I had a natural birth and tore and got some stitches. It did not heal well on its own at all. I went back for my 6 wk pp check up and the thought of anyone touching anything anywhere down there scared the crap out of me. The midwife took one look and said, "Oh, that's not what we were going for." and called in the OB.

This sounds...weird. I wonder if they were trying out some new stitching technique on you or something? The way she put that sounds like something was going on that you weren't aware of, yk?

[guest9921]

Originally Posted by SublimeBirthGirl

Definitely ignorance.

I was ignorant at one point about it - but mostly, it was the fear of birth in general. I was terrified of losing control of the situation, and I'd much rather tell them to cut me than have them cut me without my prior consent.
I even fricken wrote it in my birthplan. Luckily, I wouldn't let them anywhere near me with scissors, but I did tear with my first in the lithomy position.
The shoddy suture job left me long lasting issues.
I'm so grateful I did not end up with an epi.


I UCed with my second, and I've never looked back.