Giving birthcan be so many things: magical, overwhelming, and terrifying, to name a few.
But the prospect of tearing below the belt during avaginal birthis a particularly worrisome aspect for many pregnant people.
Butdeep breathsits usually not the disastrous situation you might be envisioning.
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Your body does a pretty stellar job of preparing your vagina for the massive undertaking of childbirth.
The protein elastin comes into play as well, priming your vagina to be extra pliable, Abdur-Rahman explains.
Those would be first- and second-degree lacerations.
First-degree means the mucosal tissue that lines the vagina has been torn, Abdur-Rahman says.
Either way, this should only take a few weeks to heal.
Thanks to the pressure of the baby coming out,your labia minora can also rip.
Theyll usually heal on their own.
That usually requires stitches, Abdur-Rahman says, and can also take a few weeks to heal.
Things start to get more serious with third-degree tears.
Then, fourth-degree tears rip the lining of the anus on top of everything else.
Third- and fourth-degree tears often require surgical treatment, Abdur-Rahman explains.
Obstetricians often used to rely on the procedure to protect againsttearing during childbirth.
The thought was it helped to prevent lacerations and pelvic floor dysfunction after childbirth, Abdur-Rahman says.
But theyve been declining sharply, especially since 2006, when ACOG advised against routine episiotomies.
One is if the infant is particularly big.
Most people who give birth vaginally dont experience severe tearing.
If the repair is well-done, there shouldnt be any long-term problems, Minkin says.
After that, if you have more children in the future, youll probably tear less.
(Minkin says some women ask forelective C-sectionsto avoid the possibility of tearing altogether.
The truth is, you probably wont feel the actual tearing as its happening.
A lot of times, people dont feel pain until afterwards.
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