Sep 12

“You Should Have A Cesarean Section To Protect Your Perineum.”

“You should have a cesarean section to protect your perineum.” – Midwife upon learning that the mother’s prior episiotomy scar required further surgery 6 months postpartum.

56 people dislike these words.

There are 20 comments to this post.

JoAnna had this to say, Sep 12, 2011 @ 2:48 pm (Quote)

What about protecting my uterus and abdomen?

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The Deranged Housewife Reply:
September 13th, 2011 at 6:18 am The Deranged Housewife(Quote)

WIN!

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Maybeth had this to say, Sep 12, 2011 @ 3:03 pm (Quote)

How about supporting the perineum?

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Samantha had this to say, Sep 12, 2011 @ 3:09 pm (Quote)

You should have a lobotomy to protect your patients. Makes as much sense.
Obviously OP didn’t want a c-section. So it shouldn’t be too hard to give her other options that would hopefully prevent enough damage to her perineum that would require surgery.
Why are options and support so difficult?!?

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Lil had this to say, Sep 12, 2011 @ 3:14 pm (Quote)

Oh boy! If it’s the same hospital, and they couldn’t get an episiotomy right, is it really a good idea to let them near any part of your body with a scalpel?!

This comment is completely backwards, and depending on why the episiotomy scar required further care, could be down right dangerous. I get infections fast, at least 2 of my children are the same. I got an infection after my appendix, an infection after my episiotomy and infections for both my c-sections. The first two were bad enough, but the c-section ones were horrendous. The pain I was in and amount of care I needed was long lasting, but the emotional trauma of not being able to pick my babies up was far worse, I wasn’t able to bend down to put dinner in/out of the oven, couldn’t do the washing, had to stop my children from giving me huge hugs -my stitches burst in both cases, and the smell left me very self concious.

My point is, whatever the reason the poor OP had to have a repair 6 months later, it really isn’t worth the risk of repeating it on a grander scale by submitting her to similar problems after a c-section. And obviously the midwife doesn’t trust the hospital team that dealt with the second lot of surgery, otherwise she’s surely just check the scar and make a note in the OP’s records (just to be on the safe side), but trust the repair had been done properly by a team that were aware the mother would possibly need her body to be able to hold up to further births!

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Bonita had this to say, Sep 12, 2011 @ 3:18 pm (Quote)

You should get a new job to protect your livelihood…

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jenni had this to say, Sep 12, 2011 @ 5:14 pm (Quote)

yeah, because i’d like to have you slice open and then fix a different part of my body this time, instead of just having you fix any potential (and potentially less severe) issues with the same location.

i mean, its already broke, and clearly took a lot to fix it, lets just be prepared to fix it right IF it need work this time instead of trying to mess up a whole new spot, k?

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road2vba2c had this to say, Sep 12, 2011 @ 5:35 pm (Quote)

I much prefer my healing episiotomy scar (still healing 3.5 months pp due to removal of excess tissue that grew in and prevented healing) to my c-section scar!

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jaed had this to say, Sep 12, 2011 @ 5:47 pm (Quote)

Wait, wait. Surely not letting a surgeon near her with the shears while the baby is crowning would protect her adequately from another episotomy?

If she had had damage from a tear, that would at least be comprehensible, although major abdominal surgery would not be a good tradeoff even if you concluded she might well tear again. But this one doesn’t even make sense in its own terms. Protect from an unnecessary surgical procedure by submitting to another one?

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anna had this to say, Sep 12, 2011 @ 5:48 pm (Quote)

My friend just had a c-section and the surgeon cut into her bladder 2 weeks after her c-section she still wears a catheter and is looking a having to go back under the knife to fix it..
C-sections do not equal risk free

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Dreamy had this to say, Sep 12, 2011 @ 6:19 pm (Quote)

This actually can be true. But only rarely, when the tear is severe and there is a chance at lifetime incontinence, etc. with any further stress.

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VW had this to say, Sep 13, 2011 @ 12:49 am (Quote)

OP here. I had a forceps delivery for my daughter (hence the episiotomy), which resulted in a medium-sever case of shoulder dystocia. After the birth, I developed an infection in the perineum, and grew a band of skin across the entroitus that needed to be surgically separated at 6 months postpartum. No problems after that.

When the midwife I interviewed for my second pregnancy told me I should have a c-section, I was not surprised, because someone else had recommended c-section b/c of the previous shoulder dystocia. It was her reasoning that just didn’t make any sense to me.

I’m happy to report that I gave birth to my son 5 weeks ago, without any medications or complications, and had a first-degree tear that my midwife offered to put a stitch into, but I declined. Healed beautifully, and my perineum feels like a million bucks

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JoAnna Reply:
September 13th, 2011 at 5:01 am JoAnna(Quote)

Congratulations!

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Dee Reply:
September 13th, 2011 at 6:25 am Dee(Quote)

Great news!! Congratulations on your successful delivery!

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Kristin had this to say, Sep 13, 2011 @ 3:07 am (Quote)

So let me get this straight. To protect a perhaps 4in area of skin, you are going to paralyze me, cut through several layers of skin, muscle, and into my uterus, risking the chance you might cut my child in the process, risking infection, making the chance of me hemmoraging greater, my recovery time longer and more difficult, and **possibly** getting me addicted to narcotics?

DO YOU HEAR YOURSELF TALKING???

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Liz had this to say, Sep 13, 2011 @ 7:32 am (Quote)

While I think this comment is extreme, I am toying with the idea of a c-section after two very traumatic births that shredded my vagina internally. I am scared I will end up with a fistula if I have another vaginal birth.
At this point I am just trying to figure out which would be more painful and risky for me. I am encouraged that the OP had a great birth. Maybe there is still hope for me.

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Lisa Reply:
September 14th, 2011 at 6:21 am Lisa(Quote)

Birth empowerment is all about making informed choices and choosing what *you* think is best for your situation. Whether that ends up being a c-section or vaginal delivery, I hope you have an absolutely wonderful birth!

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amanda Reply:
September 14th, 2011 at 7:13 am amanda(Quote)

liz, i think in the end it has so much to do with trusting your care provider. i also chose an elective section for my last birth, becuase in the end i didn’t trust that i could have the care i needed in an emergency (since it had happened in the past). there were no other options so the c-section was what i felt the most comfortable with. i hope you are able to find the way to birth that is best for you and the circumstances you are in.

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VW Reply:
September 15th, 2011 at 1:57 am VW(Quote)

I agree with Lisa and amanda…it should be your choice based on your history, your feelings, and your circumstances. I considered an elective c-section for different reasons, decided against it, but got very close to going for it, so I totally understand that feeling. All the best with whatever road you end up choosing!

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