PREGNANCY-BIRTH Messages for June, 2000: Re: vaginal tears and incontinence

Re: vaginal tears and incontinence

From: Melissa

anonymous@obgyn.net

Thu, 29 Jun 2000 08:39:51 -0500 (CDT)

I am sorry to hear about your painful birth experience and recovery. With my first baby (who was 8lb4oz), I suffered a spontaneous 4th degree tear (which only differs from a 3rd degree in that it also goes through the inside lining of the rectum). I also tore through my urethra and through one whole side of my vagina (inside). It took me 6 months to feel normal, as well. I underwent physical therapy to rebuild my pelvic floor muscles so I would not be incontinent. It worked really well. All they did was teach me some variations on Kegel exercises and by doing them faithfully every day, I have rebuilt a lot of strength. When I went in every week, they used a sensor to measure the strength of the muscles to see if I was doing the exercises effectively. I only mention this to let you know that there is something you can do to help down there. Even if you don't go for PT, try to get into the habit of doing a ton of Kegels every day. It becomes second nature after a while and you don't even realize you are doing them.

Anyway, I have been doing a lot of research and posting a lot of questions on various birth bullentin boards. I too was worried about ever having to go through that experience again. One journal article I found(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10190670&dopt=Abstract)said I would be about 3.4 times more likely to suffer a severe tear again, than another woman who didn't tear so badly before. Which sounds bad, but the overall chance of it happening was still only about 11%.

I would think that in your case you would have a better chance of surviving intact because the doctor tore you unnaturally. The next time things might go better and the baby will be able to come out on its own. The doctor didn't do anything to me and I still tore really badly. You can just play it by ear. If the baby seems really big, then you can maybe opt for a C-section. Otherwise, I would try giving vaginal birth another chance.

Feel free to search the archives for "Melissa tearing" to see what I posted and what the responses were (make sure you check the box that says "Only display messages that include all keywords"). Good luck to you!

- Melissa

At Thu, 29 Jun 2000, patty wrote: >
>My first child weighed 9lb. 4 oz. and after pushing for 3 hrs the doc
>practically ripped him from me. I suffered 3rd degree tears and anal
>incontinence for several months. It took my a good 6 months to feel
>better. My question is wouldnt a c-section be better than this? I am
>scared to conceive again ( although we are trying) because of the pain
>and long lasting effects of the tears. I think I would like to have a
>c-section on #2 because my friends who had c-sections got better a lot
>quicker than I did. Is asking for a c-section inappropriate, I just
>dont want to have long term problems with my rectum. Can anyone answer
>this embarrasing question? THANKS

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