Permanent Damages/Changes Caused by Natural Birth?

[Anonymous]

OP here - thank you for the VERY informative, educational responses. Just goes to show the range of experiences (and the need to be prepared for anything!). Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

I agree with <b>mindbodybirths</b>. I did not push by holding breath and counting to ten thing...I let my body do what it needed to as it was ready. It was cool to feel my body pushing the baby out all on its own.

[Anonymous]

I had a drug free (36 hour!) labor w/ my son, had a slight external tear requiring only 3 stitches.
I would totally advocate for a PREPARED natural birth w/ a practitioner who is experienced w/ natural births.
(We did Bradley method w/ a midwife, but there are lots of other methods and practitioners)
Through our birth classes, we learned ways during labor to stretch the perineum (thru massage, etc) so that it would not tear. Also, our midwife encouraged me to push w/ my body, listen to my body (not by "counting to 10" w/ each contraction). Also, she worked w/ me to deliver his head veerrrrryyyyy slowly to do less damage.
Not sure that if we or our care provider had been less prepared, that things would have gone so well.

That said, I did struggle w/ an internal hemoroid that was less than pleasant but resolved itself w/in 8 weeks. Sex was less than thrilling for awhile, but not painful (although I attribute that more to nursing hormones and lack of sleep! The sex is back to great now.) In terms of urinary incontinence, the only trouble I run into is when I wait too long to go, then I really have to go RIGHT NOW! Need to do more Kegels I guess...

My sister, who had 2 epidurals, has some of the same troubles.

[Anonymous]

Yes, some pelvic floor damage is caused by how one pushes, and the nature of the particular birth. But the fact is that most of the vagina (except for the 1" portion at the end which is surrounded by muscle), is just tissue, and that tissue stretches during birth, and once stretched it doesn't go back to as tight as it was before. You can do Kegels to tighten the muscles at the entrance to the vagina, but you can't do anything to tighten the stretched out fascia inside. At least, this is what my physical therapists who specialize in pelvic floor issues tell me.

FWIW, I had a natural vaginal birth, and there was no way in hell I was going to NOT PUSH - the whole concept of "breathing the baby" down became pure BS when in the midst of a long, painful labor.

[Anonymous]

"Slower, gradual birthing also greatly reduces tearing, but unfortunately it's also greatly inconvenient, time-wise, for doctors and hospital
staffs to wait for you and your baby to birth as your body needs to. "

I totally agree with the above and feel my doctor urged me to push when I was not ready, but he was. I was not armed with any information back then, and I did what he said. So, I gave birth naturally but had significant tearing.

I was totally back to normal after about 3-5 months, but had to have surgery for a fistula 6 weeks after the birth.

Luckily, for me sex is the same, appearance down there is the same (at least from my angle and my hsuband hasn't mentioned anything!) and I do not feel it is any looser down there. I did do Kegel exercises before and after childbirth, which I think helped with that. No permanent damage and no reason not to do natural again, except that it hurt like a *&&%%$%@#!!!!

[Anonymous]

I gave birth med-free twice and as others mentioned, am tighter than I was pre-kids. Also, my kids were 9.5 and 7 lbs at birth and I am 5'2" and 110 lbs. Your external size has nothing to do with how easy/hard it will be to birth a baby (someome mentioned opting for a c/s because of their size).