perineal massage?

[narockshard]

The childbirth class we just went to said there hasn't been conclusive evidence that this even works before actual labor, so not to bother going through it beforehand. I'm kind of glad about that because it just sounds pretty miserable...

[anna7602]

I tore during my first labor and am willing to try anything to avoid it (unmedicated birth, the tearing was what hurt more than anything else). I bought special perineal massage oil by Weleda and will break it out around week 36. However, the instructions I received from my doula and prenatal yoga teacher didn't say anything about the burning sensation or sticking fingers inside. They both just said to gently massage the area.

[linz]

Whoa I thought you meant like pregnancy massage, wasn't expecting what I read when I opened this post. That sounds awful though. I know when you are in birth the nurse will massage the area to help it stretch.

[rbp]

I am kind of freaked out by the idea of perineal massage.  :?

[blushing]

I plan on doing it. I have been told from 30 weeks and DH has agreed to do it. Like anna7602 I will try anything to avoid tearing again. Last time I had second degree and vaginal wall tearing... it wasn't pretty.

[shekels1222]

I did this (myself) during my first pregnancy. I still had a 2nd degree tear. I don't know how much it actually helps but doesn't hurt to try.

[ringstrue]

No way. From the professional I heard talk on this, it has much much more to do with how the labor progresses and how you are pushing and how the doctor manages your skin there. If you have concerns I'd talk to your doc about how they like to prevent tearing during labor.

I did tear with DD but it was just a 2nd degree tear which is apparently the same length as what an episiotomy would be.

[Deleted]

I really need to do this third time around. I had a terrible time healing after DS2.

[pitterwoo]

I've tried it twice so far. Not sure if we'll do it again. It hurts and makes me more scared for labor. As H was stretching, I started singing "this used to be a fun place" to the tune of Pink's This used to be a Fun House. :s

[cmarie11]

My midwife taught my husband how do it, and recommended doing it twice a day for a minute at a time starting at 36 weeks. She said it doesn't necessarily reduce tears, but it cuts down on pushing time. It's more than just "massaging the area", as there are specific muscles to focus on, similar to trigger point therapy. And no, it's no comfortable, but either is pushing for hours.

We ended up doing it about every other day until I delivered at 38 weeks, and I only pushed for 3 ctxs and had a small first degree tear. My midwife even commented after the delivery that she could tell it helped. We'll definetly dd it again for our next baby.

[lo]

I might try it myself. I can reach just fine at almost 31 weeks and it seems that I would have to get HUGE to not be able to reach anymore. We'll see. I already had my husband check my asshole in a moment of Hemorrhoid panic (false alarm!), and I think we would both prefer it this way.

[FastHands]

May 7, 2014 13:53:18 GMT -5 shekels1222 said:

I did this (myself) during my first pregnancy. I still had a 2nd degree tear. I don't know how much it actually helps but doesn't hurt to try.

Just burns. Lol

[FastHands]

Newp.

[zarapipe]

May 7, 2014 13:47:28 GMT -5 rbp said:

I am kind of freaked out by the idea of perineal massage.  :?

Yeah. Didn't happen last time and won't this time. That's just me though. Whatever floats your vag

[shekels1222]

May 7, 2014 16:50:40 GMT -5 FastHands said:

May 7, 2014 13:53:18 GMT -5 shekels1222 said:

I did this (myself) during my first pregnancy. I still had a 2nd degree tear. I don't know how much it actually helps but doesn't hurt to try.

Just burns. Lol

Well yeah that! Haha.

[vaportrail]

This is terrifying.

[smock]

I read some study that indicated the decreased risk of tearing if you do the massage regularly is only around a 5% decrease. And so I decided it wasn't really worth the effort.

[jewel]

May 7, 2014 13:47:28 GMT -5 rbp said:

I am kind of freaked out by the idea of perineal massage.  :?

Thinking about having my husband do this nightly kind of gives me the uncomfortable giggles.

So, no.

[Odonata]

Yeah. My H will never agree to do this. Lol. And I wouldn't want him to (or me to myself!)

[pinotgrig]

I asked about this at my appt today! And was told unless I "really wanted to do it" that I shouldn't bother. She didn't seem to think there's been any medical evidence to back this up and likened it to the "nipple prep" we talked about a few weeks ago.

[lilles]

You can try having your DH/nurse/midwife put some on you on the outside not inside during labor. That is what my midwife did for my second delivery (didn't have a midwife with the first) and I didn't tear. I had a tear with my first delivery. I didn't do any massaging during either pregnancy and am not doing it this time around either. I won't have a midwife this time but I plan on asking DH to massage the outside with oil when I am close to pushing and hopefully it will help again.