And every woman who delivers vaginally — and sometimes even those who experience a lengthy labor before delivering via C-section — can expect some level of perineal postpartum pain. In fact, more than half of all women will have at least a small tear after childbirth. Understanding the causes of these tears, as well as the various types you might experience, can go a long way toward helping you to prepare for labor and delivery. And you can also learn how to ease any discomfort you experience and possibly work to prevent tears in the first place.
A vaginal or perineal tear or laceration is a rip in the skin and sometimes the tissue or muscle around your vagina and perineum, the area located between the vaginal and anal opening. Vaginal tears are relatively common, occurring in up to half of all women. There are a handful of different types of vaginal tears that can happen during labor and delivery, and their labels are based on severity.
Stitches are required to treat tears that are longer than 2 centimeters or about an inch in size, which includes second-, third- and fourth-degree lacerations. A first-degree tear, however, usually heals on its own. You may be stitched up right in the delivery room, though more severe tears are sometimes repaired under anesthesia, possibly by a specialist, in an operating room.
In cases in which a third- or fourth-degree laceration occurs, immediate care should include adequate pain control, steps to avoid postpartum constipation and evaluation for urinary retention. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists ACOG support the use of broad spectrum antibiotics to reduce the incidence of postoperative infection for third- and fourth-degree lacerations.
Whether you had a vaginal tear or an incision, a new wound like this one will take time to heal, usually seven to 10 days. Stiches used in the repair of various tears will dissolve on their own within six weeks. The site of the tear, however, will likely hurt for several weeks — and more severe tears may take longer to heal — so take it easy in the meantime.
Your provider may recommend that you use a vaginal product with estrogen available by prescription only. If you try these measures and find that sex is still uncomfortable , wait a while longer and get creative with your mate in the meantime. If the pain continues for a couple of months after you've given birth, be sure to seek treatment.
Keep in mind that it's normal to have little or no sexual desire for a period of time after giving birth. Discuss this with your partner and be assured that your libido will return eventually. BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals.
We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies. A partner's guide to pregnancy. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Practice bulletin Prevention and management of obstetric lacerations at vaginal delivery.
Chou D et al. Cochrane Library. De Souza Bosco Paiva C et al. Length of perineal pain relief after ice pack application: A quasi-experimental study. Women and Birth 29 2 Dodd JM et al. Rectal analgesia for the relief of perineal pain after childbirth: A randomised controlled trial of diclofenac suppositories. BJOG 10 East CE et al. Local cooling for relieving pain from perineal trauma sustained during childbirth.
Hedayati H et al. Topically applied anesthetics for treating perineal pain after childbirth. Lu YY et al. The efficacy of cold-gel packing for relieving episiotomy pain — a quasi-randomised control trial. Contemporary Nurse 50 1 Manfre M et al. Hydrocortisone cream to reduce perineal pain after vaginal birth: A randomized controlled trial. Molakatalla S et al. Aspirin single dose for perineal pain in early postpartum period. Naz S et al. Diclofenac rectal suppository: An effective modality for perineal pain.
Journal of Pakistan Medical Association 66 8 Overview of the postpartum period: Physiology, complications, and maternal care. Join now to personalize. Why is my perineum so sore? How long does it take a tear to heal? What can I do to relieve the pain and help the area heal? Granulation tissue can sometimes be treated in a perineal or gynaecology clinic with a painless procedure using silver nitrate. Having experienced wound breakdown once, does not make it any more likely to happen with further vaginal births.
If you have any concerns in any future pregnancies, discuss these with your healthcare professional, so that you can make a birth plan that you are comfortable with. We would like to understand how people are using this resource to help ensure it is relevant and useful. To give us your feedback, please complete our short survey.
If you have any questions, please email womensvoices rcog. Toggle navigation. Home Patients Perineal tears and episiotomies in childbirth Perineal wound breakdown. Toggle navigation Other pages in this section.
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