How Can I Help Tears Heal After Giving Birth?
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Kaely Harrod 0:02
Hello and welcome back to Kaely Daly Today's question is,
Kaely Harrod 0:06
how can I help tears heal after giving birth? So this is piggybacking on our last question of how common it is to tear in the midst of birth. And so what does that healing process look like? And how can you help it easier? This is Kaely Daily, the bi weekly podcast about all things doula Tips and Tits where we answer one question about pregnancy, labor, postpartum or lactation, in order to have your journey in this parenting world be just a little bit more informed and filled with consent. Hello, welcome back. My name is Kaely Harrod, I am the host of this lovely podcast, Kaely Daily. It is a biweekly podcast about all things doula tips and tits. And it is hosted and made possible not hosted, it is sponsored, made possible by my class, the birth prep blueprint. So that is comprehensive childbirth education for busy families who want things kind of on their own timeline, right. So that information is in the show notes. And also, because you're listening to this awesome podcast, you get 10% off of that, I also have my newest free gift to you all is my oxytocin guide. If you have been around this podcast for any length of time, you know that I talk all the time about oxytocin. And it's important in labor, and it's important to just in life. So I have that guide free for you is linked in the show notes. So you can grab that. And I would love to kind of connect with you and hear how you're liking that and if it's been helpful for you. So today's question is a piggyback on the last question. So the last question was, How common is it to tear during vaginal birth? Today's question is, how do you help yourself heal from that? How do you help healing be easier? Now, I'm just like, always, there are some general principles. But there's not a guaranteed way to make healing easy. I do not want to downplay the fact that some people have a really hard and long and, and tough recovery from a tear. So that is true for some folks, for most people, in the first couple of weeks, you're gonna heal completely and not have ongoing issues, okay. But there is a big range of what can be normal, it is not normal to be in constant pain for weeks and weeks and weeks. So if you are not feeling a lot better in the area of of where you tore, in the first week to two weeks, I would say it's a good idea to have a conversation with your provider about it, because that is not what I would consider normal healing. Okay, so that's just my first, my first, I don't know what caveat and also encouragement that I think as new parents, it's easy to think that it's going to be hard and to then dismiss things that are harder than they really need to be or should be. Okay, so back to the general principles. So after a vaginal delivery, usually it's recommended to use ice packs. However, those ice packs should only be used for 24 hours, because after that 24 hour mark, you really want to nourish that area, those tissues with warmth. So there's a few ways to do this, some people do sitz baths, and there's like a specific little like thing that you sit on on the toilet. And it's that that whole thing. Some people do a few inches of water in the bathtub with like specific herbs and things like that. There's lots of resources on that online. And the other thing that is recommended is exposing that area, whatever area had some tearing to the sunlight, it can be through a window, so you don't have to be outside naked for 10 minutes a day or 10 minutes, two times a day. All of that is very helpful. What you want to think about is that, in general, that area is going to be also like very moist and all of that so you want it to have some fresh air. You want it to have some intentional like herbs and warm water and things like that, and not just the bleeding that's happening in the postpartum. Okay. One of the other
Kaely Harrod 4:49
biggest factors is to rest a lot. Your body is healing from birth. It's healing from pregnancy. After rearranging everything your systems are getting back in order, you you need energy for that your body uses energy to heal. So if you're using your energy to do other things, you're taking energy away from the healing process. So I cannot emphasize enough how incredibly important it is to rest in the postpartum time and literally do nothing like lie down. If you're awake, you can be sitting or lying, right, you don't have to be standing doing things I completely and and fully understand how hard this is, I am a person who moved with a two week old and did not rest well with him. And it is very detrimental to your body. Okay, so resting is a huge part of it. The other thing is supporting your digestive system, and helping you not have constipation, because that whole area of the pelvic floor is a relatively small area. So if you have tearing, that goes towards the anus, it's easy for that to be impacted by like constipation, heart, bowels, all of that kind of stuff. And of course, some tears go into the annual sphincter, in which case, constipation is even more dangerous. So. So that's, that's what I that's another thing that is really good to avoid. Now, on that note, there are degrees of tearing. So there's a first degree, second degree, third degree and fourth degree, I'm not going to go into what those mean at the moment, first degree is the most minor of those tears, fourth degree is the hardest to heal from. And then there's of course, a Pz automates now, a PCR dummies in the US are not routinely used anymore. However, if they are used, they're generally harder for your body to heal from. That's part of why they're not routinely used is that actually, we have a good amount of research now that your tissues heal back together better when they have torn versus when you've had an episiotomy. So, um, so I would expect for your healing to look different if you have a first degree tear, or if you have a fourth degree tear, right? Or if you have an appeaser anatomy, and so all of that is going to be a big spectrum where it might be significantly easier to heal from a first degree tear than a fourth degree tear, obviously, right, I feel like that's very, that's a no brainer, sort of, but also know that your body is needing to heal those tissues, no matter how significant the tearing was. So with a first degree tear, I think it's easier for us to like, kind of get up and do too much, rather than rest like we actually need to, because it doesn't feel as significant as a fourth degree tear. Okay, so that's it for today on this topic of healing, I would really love to hear your questions. I'm always I'm open to hearing your questions. And and we're coming up on the end of season one, because season one is ending at episode 50. And so then we'll have a little break, but probably like a few weeks off before season two. So I'm very excited about starting season two, I would love to hear what questions you want me to answer on that season. So go ahead and send them to me in a DM on Instagram or reach out via my website. I would love to be in touch and be able to answer your questions. Until next time, I wish you well informed consent filled birth. These episodes are edited and produced by Kaely rod as I'm sure you can probably tell and our amazing, amazing music is credited in the shownotes as well. So we look forward to seeing you on the next episode. And in the meantime, have a wonderful and consent filled births.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
If a person tears during vaginal delivery then the next question is usually how can I heal? Healing vaginal tears is a spectrum, just like anything in birth and postpartum. This episode dives into some tips about how to help that process proceed.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Ice can be really helpful for the first 24 hrs but should not be used on the vulva and perineum after 48 hrs
After ice warmth is helpful for healing. Many people use warm baths or sitz baths during this time.
Avoiding constipation or unnecessary strain or pressure on the pelvic floor aids in healing
It is normal for it to take anywhere from days to weeks to heal from a tear depending on severity.
RESOURCES
FREE OXYTOCIN GUIDE:
6 Ways to Increase Oxytocin for Labor Progression
https://www.harroddoulaservices.com/free-guide-6-oxytocin-tips
CONNECT with Kaely on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/Harroddoula/
This podcast is hosted by the Birth Prep Blueprint - comprehensive Childbirth Education for expectant parents to feel calm, prepared and confident about labor and birth. Podcast listeners (that’s YOU!) get 10% off! Use the link below to get that great deal!
https://thebirthprepblueprint.com/offers/884d5a56-9089-4482-a944-6bb7c26c9b04
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Kaely Daily is produced by Kaely Harrod of Harrod Doula Services
It is sponsored by The Birth Prep Blueprint Childbirth Class
Music by Madirfan: Hidden Place on Pixabay
