Yes to sitting on the donut! And the peri bottle is great, too. Get into the sitz bath as often as you can, but that wasn't my favorite either.

I had a third degree tear with my first and I think it was a good 5 or 6 weeks before I could sit comfortably and move around easily. (Definitely could not understand all the people who were pregnant again by their 8 week checkup!!!) Take your pain relievers, too.

FWIW, I went on to have two more kids and barely tore at all with either of those births.

A few more thoughts for you OP. Definitely rest as much as you can and don’t walk or stand excessively or lift heavy if you can avoid it. I also liked this balm and the corresponding spray. And Peri bottles when using the bathroom with warm water were soothing before wiping. Keep your stools soft (fiber, stool softener) and don’t strain when you have a BM. I found it helpful to use folded toilet paper to gently support the perineal area when pushing for a BM to send the force back towards the rectum (and to minimize strain on the perineum). Definitely take it easy and get a pelvic floor PT referral at your 6 week check.

https://www.amazon.com/Earth-Mama-Perineal-Pregnancy-Postpartum/dp/B000JVEEZC

Remind me again, why don't more women opt for scheduled c-sections?

If you can lie down while breastfeeding, it will reduce the pressure on your lower body, so the pain will be less intense. This is what worked for me in conjunction with a sitz bath. I added coconut oil to the bath which helped to soothe and heal my tears. FWIW the obgyn said that I’d had the worst tears she’d ever seen. I healed in less than a month.

Anonymous wrote:I had a second degree tear but also tore my levator ani (deep pelvic floor muscles) and had internal sidewall tears. It hurt for about three years, even with pelvic floor PT, though it slowly improved over time. And I still get flare ups. That’s the honest answer. Please see a pelvic PT when you can. Also second the donut. I used mine for the first year. Vaginal steaming also helped reduce my pain and epsom salt beths.

Thirding the donut and just note that the Boppy nursing pillow makes for a fine donut in a pinch. I was over my third degree tear in two weeks but I truly made myself slow down and focus on healing (helped it was the first child).

I resisted the sitz baths and peri-bottle as “woo” but once I started doing it consistently I have to admit everything seemed to heal up faster.

About a month for my 3rd degree tear. I started feeling manageably better by about 2 weeks (could go for short walks), but still needed baths. I also had a thrombosed hemorrhoid to go with it.

I “only” had a standard 2nd degree tear but I was miserable for a month. The sitz baths really helped but I was so exhausted they were hard to squeeze into the day. I asked my husband to make sure I had 15 min a day to do it. I walked very very little. I took a lot of Advil and Tylenol for 14 days straight. My stitches didn’t all dissolve so they had to be pulled out at my 6 week appointment and then I had another rough week or two after that. By 2 months things were much better and I went to pelvic floor PT around then and went for a few visits to learn the exercises. It really helped!

I had a second degree tear but also tore my levator ani (deep pelvic floor muscles) and had internal sidewall tears. It hurt for about three years, even with pelvic floor PT, though it slowly improved over time. And I still get flare ups. That’s the honest answer. Please see a pelvic PT when you can. Also second the donut. I used mine for the first year. Vaginal steaming also helped reduce my pain and epsom salt beths.

Also, try to figure out a sitting position that will be ok. You may need a donut cushion for a bit. If you are really feeling overwhelmed, it's ok to stop BFing too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a 3rd degree. It took awhile. Make sure you are taking it easy. Take lots of advil. I think I was still taking the occasional percoset at 10 days out. Are you doing the sitz bath? I know it can feel like one more thing to add to your list, but it really will help you heal to sit in warm water.

Most of all, rest from walking. I know it's hard. I was able to go on short walks after a few weeks, and those gradually got longer. After 6 weeks, I felt much much better.

I am doing the baths every day. My bathtub is on my 3rd floor so it's annoying to get to. It's so hard to sit and I don't want to BF (but I am). My poor husband has been doing so much and handling 95% of things for our toddler.

So my advice is to get a sitz bath on put it on a lower level. Even doing 10-15 minutes short sits will help immensely. Seriously, try that for a few days! Get a few clean towels and the sitz bath and hang out until the water goes cool. Then just dry off and move along. Then later, do it again. You don't have to climb to the 3rd story each time!

I think it depends. I had a weird internal third degree tear. Baby was born in November and by February I could go out for walks comfortably. I didn’t do sits baths. I would do those as much as you can. Also be on the lookout for PPD please.

Anonymous wrote:I had a 3rd degree. It took awhile. Make sure you are taking it easy. Take lots of advil. I think I was still taking the occasional percoset at 10 days out. Are you doing the sitz bath? I know it can feel like one more thing to add to your list, but it really will help you heal to sit in warm water.

Most of all, rest from walking. I know it's hard. I was able to go on short walks after a few weeks, and those gradually got longer. After 6 weeks, I felt much much better.

I am doing the baths every day. My bathtub is on my 3rd floor so it's annoying to get to. It's so hard to sit and I don't want to BF (but I am). My poor husband has been doing so much and handling 95% of things for our toddler.

I had a 3rd degree. It took awhile. Make sure you are taking it easy. Take lots of advil. I think I was still taking the occasional percoset at 10 days out. Are you doing the sitz bath? I know it can feel like one more thing to add to your list, but it really will help you heal to sit in warm water.

Most of all, rest from walking. I know it's hard. I was able to go on short walks after a few weeks, and those gradually got longer. After 6 weeks, I felt much much better.

I'm about 10 days PP and my 3a degree tear is still miserable. It hurts so much to sit or move and is affecting my breastfeeding and general well-being. How long did it take you to recover from a 2nd, 3rd or 4th degree tear??