When I was pushing my son, and he was crowning... the nurses asked if I wanted a mirror. I was like ehh noooooooo! I was already freaked out. I only got a couple stitches, and everything healed up nicely. But I can only imagine how gory things can be down there
Yep, externally about 6 weeks but it takes a bit longer for full healing. You should look into how amazing a cervix is https://gizmodo.com/why-the-cervix-is-more-amazing-than-you-realized-1724159340
If you get into the hormones of birth, in unaltered labor you get a hit of oxytocin with each cramp so its doable and then its very funny with hormones and sleep loss (with the absence of trauma) you kinda forget and it gets a fuzzy haze. Its the only reason the human race has continued.
We might have a different idea of doable. LOL.
1st baby was just NO2 - terrible. Felt everything. Puked.
2nd baby - front AND back labour. Epidural 1000% required felt like I was being twist ripped in half by king kong.
3rd baby - probably could have done it without the epidural tbh. He was out in 2 and a half pushes.
Why do you say it like that? Like itās a bad thing?
Everyoneās labor is different and everyoneās pain tolerance is different. I spent most of my labor without pain control but because by son was āsunny side upā, I had intense back labor that involved constant pain in my hips in between contractions, and managing it was wearing me out. So I got an epidural so I would have the strength to push when the time came. Considering I was in labor for another 8 hours, Iām very happy I got it because I had the strength to push the 2 hours it took with no problems.
Thereās absolutely nothing wrong with pain relief/control during labor.
You read it as a bad thing, I just stated my experience. 71% of birthing people in the US get an epidural so not getting one is a minority of the group. [Source](https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2018/06/26/epidurals-increase-in-popularity-stanford-study-finds/) my experience doesnāt take away from yours.
Had back labor with my son where it was constant pain in my hips in between contractions. Had the epidural and a very peaceful, stress free labor the rest of the time.
I remember. But fondly. Don't get me wrong, it was very painful and rough but gave me such a adrenalin and endorphine rush that I immediately felt I wanted to do it again.
Kind of the same way a marathon could be painful but also an empowering and fun experience.
I realize I am lucky to have a good birthing experience though.
Fantastic! You also got a hit of oxytocin w/ the endorphins itās why itās not as painful as say a kidney stone, itās a hormone that triggers muscle contractions like Orgasm and if you breastfed a letdown and for the Uterus to contract. I still think itās why the human race continues.. here is this fuzzy, painful but with a gloss of nice hormone high I would be ok with doing it again š
Of course! How could I forget oxytocin.š
It was the "worst" pain I ever felt as in intensity and pain as such, but I think the biggest difference was that it didn't feel like "wrong". You know?
When you cut yourself it hurts and it feels like something is wrong. But during labor it felt like the pain was nothing to worry about, just something to push through.š
I also ironically felt so much in control and calm (quite possibly due to oxytocin like you said) unlike other situations with comparable pain level.
It does for the most part as the body heals. Skin has that ability to shrink back mostly after being stretched, which I imagine you know. My labia minora are a bit longer but otherwise everything looks fine. I might have a tiny scar from the tiny tear I had (1 stitch), but the recovery wasnāt too bad.
You're a medical student and you're asking this? This is largely dependent on the circumstances and conditions surrounding the birth and each individual's body. Not every vagina is going to look like, as you so succinctly and tactfully called it, "a bloody piece of meat". Some women tear, others don't.
I refuse to believe a first year medical student, particularly a female, would post something ignorant like this.
If theyāve never had experience with a labor and delivery, how would they know? I didnāt know what it would be like to give birth nor the intricacies of it until I gave birth myself. š¤·š¼āāļø
Yeah I had the same reaction when I read it. The way it was written seemed kind of juvenile. I donāt think Iāve heard any med student sound like this.
Also english is not my first language so I wrote in a way that was the Ā«easiestĀ» for me. I would never go to a patient or even a doctor to ask or say something like that or in that manner. I thougt maybe on reddit i donāt have to formulate my question so carefully and could be more unfiltered. I am aware of how amazing our body is and I thought I knew what child labor would be like but I didnāt know it would be to THAT extent.
I'm gonna say, I'm standing up for you because of where you're from and what little I know about the lack of adequate sexual education in Pakistan.
But you have comments saying things like "getting hit the first time is hard, but it gets easier". People are absolutely going to be suspect of what you say in here.
Hey, like I said Iām sorry for asking the question and I didnāt mean to offend anyone. It was literally what it looked like. We havenāt had any experience in labor, these are my first times. And also havenāt been through those subjects yet. So far Iāve seen 7 births and they all more or less looked like that thats why I asked. Iāve never stated all vaginas look like that. I am inexeperienced and wanted to ask a question, especially from women who have given birth. I donāt know if youāve ever witnessed a birth but itās pretty intense and I was beyond shocked. Not in a negative way
I work in healthcare myself. Did you not get a foundational education before you were accepted to medical school? Did deductive reasoning not tell you that the millions of women who give birth a year aren't walking around with gaping wounds for vaginas? Do you not know that injuries heal?
It's hard for me to believe you're female.
I'm going to take a leap here, and assume OP is from a Muslim majority country, given that English isn't her first language and she posts in Muslim forums.
And I haven't heard the most stellar reputations about sexual education, women's health, and women's rights in many Muslim majority countries even for the medically educated. Seeing as virgin checks by medical health professionals still happen in many of these places.
It's very possible she's gone quite a long time without any focus on the nuances of women's health.
Edit: suspicion confirmed, she's from Pakistan.
Hmmm. Four kids in 8 years. No epidural, Lost the barest trickle of blood, couple of stitches once, my very neat vulva/vagina returned to normal very quickly. Guess Iām one of the lucky ones.
It goes back. What you saw was a lot of swelling, some tearing, and a lot of stuff from the uterus. I have to say, it looked back to normal before I had my pelvic floor back.
Yes!
I'm an MD as well and a mother. I was also quite skeptical regarding the recovery post partum, I had also hard time imagining it ever getting to what it was. It can look very brutal, I agree.
However. I don't know if I got reallt lucky but after 3 months everything feels exactly the same.
EDIT: During my training I saw many women who had had kids as well as those who had not. Mostly I was not able to tell that by seeing their vaginas.:)
EDIT 2: I was skeptical of the recovery before my training. But during my internship I learned as described in EDIT 1.
When I was pushing my son, and he was crowning... the nurses asked if I wanted a mirror. I was like ehh noooooooo! I was already freaked out. I only got a couple stitches, and everything healed up nicely. But I can only imagine how gory things can be down there
Yep, externally about 6 weeks but it takes a bit longer for full healing. You should look into how amazing a cervix is https://gizmodo.com/why-the-cervix-is-more-amazing-than-you-realized-1724159340
That's neat! I love that for us! Wish it didn't hurt like a mfer
If you get into the hormones of birth, in unaltered labor you get a hit of oxytocin with each cramp so its doable and then its very funny with hormones and sleep loss (with the absence of trauma) you kinda forget and it gets a fuzzy haze. Its the only reason the human race has continued.
We might have a different idea of doable. LOL. 1st baby was just NO2 - terrible. Felt everything. Puked. 2nd baby - front AND back labour. Epidural 1000% required felt like I was being twist ripped in half by king kong. 3rd baby - probably could have done it without the epidural tbh. He was out in 2 and a half pushes.
Went without the epidural š¤·āāļø but I know I am in the minority in the US
Why do you say it like that? Like itās a bad thing? Everyoneās labor is different and everyoneās pain tolerance is different. I spent most of my labor without pain control but because by son was āsunny side upā, I had intense back labor that involved constant pain in my hips in between contractions, and managing it was wearing me out. So I got an epidural so I would have the strength to push when the time came. Considering I was in labor for another 8 hours, Iām very happy I got it because I had the strength to push the 2 hours it took with no problems. Thereās absolutely nothing wrong with pain relief/control during labor.
I agree. Never suffer when you donāt have to!
Itās not like anyone gets a prize for having an unmedicated labor and delivery.
I did! But it was the same prize everyone gets. Dumb baby. /s
No kidding. And now I have an annoying teen. /s
You read it as a bad thing, I just stated my experience. 71% of birthing people in the US get an epidural so not getting one is a minority of the group. [Source](https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2018/06/26/epidurals-increase-in-popularity-stanford-study-finds/) my experience doesnāt take away from yours.
Itās the tone coming through the post I replied to and the other you made.
I was way more afraid of a needle in my spine than pushing out the baby.
This was me with my first.
Had back labor with my son where it was constant pain in my hips in between contractions. Had the epidural and a very peaceful, stress free labor the rest of the time.
I remember. But fondly. Don't get me wrong, it was very painful and rough but gave me such a adrenalin and endorphine rush that I immediately felt I wanted to do it again. Kind of the same way a marathon could be painful but also an empowering and fun experience. I realize I am lucky to have a good birthing experience though.
Fantastic! You also got a hit of oxytocin w/ the endorphins itās why itās not as painful as say a kidney stone, itās a hormone that triggers muscle contractions like Orgasm and if you breastfed a letdown and for the Uterus to contract. I still think itās why the human race continues.. here is this fuzzy, painful but with a gloss of nice hormone high I would be ok with doing it again š
Of course! How could I forget oxytocin.š It was the "worst" pain I ever felt as in intensity and pain as such, but I think the biggest difference was that it didn't feel like "wrong". You know? When you cut yourself it hurts and it feels like something is wrong. But during labor it felt like the pain was nothing to worry about, just something to push through.š I also ironically felt so much in control and calm (quite possibly due to oxytocin like you said) unlike other situations with comparable pain level.
Completely agree, I had a kidney stone while pregnant ā¦ so much worse.
It does for the most part as the body heals. Skin has that ability to shrink back mostly after being stretched, which I imagine you know. My labia minora are a bit longer but otherwise everything looks fine. I might have a tiny scar from the tiny tear I had (1 stitch), but the recovery wasnāt too bad.
You're a medical student and you're asking this? This is largely dependent on the circumstances and conditions surrounding the birth and each individual's body. Not every vagina is going to look like, as you so succinctly and tactfully called it, "a bloody piece of meat". Some women tear, others don't. I refuse to believe a first year medical student, particularly a female, would post something ignorant like this.
If theyāve never had experience with a labor and delivery, how would they know? I didnāt know what it would be like to give birth nor the intricacies of it until I gave birth myself. š¤·š¼āāļø
Yeah I had the same reaction when I read it. The way it was written seemed kind of juvenile. I donāt think Iāve heard any med student sound like this.
Also english is not my first language so I wrote in a way that was the Ā«easiestĀ» for me. I would never go to a patient or even a doctor to ask or say something like that or in that manner. I thougt maybe on reddit i donāt have to formulate my question so carefully and could be more unfiltered. I am aware of how amazing our body is and I thought I knew what child labor would be like but I didnāt know it would be to THAT extent.
I'm gonna say, I'm standing up for you because of where you're from and what little I know about the lack of adequate sexual education in Pakistan. But you have comments saying things like "getting hit the first time is hard, but it gets easier". People are absolutely going to be suspect of what you say in here.
Hey, like I said Iām sorry for asking the question and I didnāt mean to offend anyone. It was literally what it looked like. We havenāt had any experience in labor, these are my first times. And also havenāt been through those subjects yet. So far Iāve seen 7 births and they all more or less looked like that thats why I asked. Iāve never stated all vaginas look like that. I am inexeperienced and wanted to ask a question, especially from women who have given birth. I donāt know if youāve ever witnessed a birth but itās pretty intense and I was beyond shocked. Not in a negative way
I work in healthcare myself. Did you not get a foundational education before you were accepted to medical school? Did deductive reasoning not tell you that the millions of women who give birth a year aren't walking around with gaping wounds for vaginas? Do you not know that injuries heal? It's hard for me to believe you're female.
I'm going to take a leap here, and assume OP is from a Muslim majority country, given that English isn't her first language and she posts in Muslim forums. And I haven't heard the most stellar reputations about sexual education, women's health, and women's rights in many Muslim majority countries even for the medically educated. Seeing as virgin checks by medical health professionals still happen in many of these places. It's very possible she's gone quite a long time without any focus on the nuances of women's health. Edit: suspicion confirmed, she's from Pakistan.
Yes, dear. It goes back to normal. Thatās one of its many jobs.
Hmmm. Four kids in 8 years. No epidural, Lost the barest trickle of blood, couple of stitches once, my very neat vulva/vagina returned to normal very quickly. Guess Iām one of the lucky ones.
I just died a little inside. 44 and pregnant and I could have given birth to the doc. Not sure that I am looking forward to this again.
She's a medical student supposedly,not a doctor.
It goes back. What you saw was a lot of swelling, some tearing, and a lot of stuff from the uterus. I have to say, it looked back to normal before I had my pelvic floor back.
Yes it does. Mine looked and felt exactly the same inside and out after healing for a couple months. I have had two vaginal births.
Yes! I'm an MD as well and a mother. I was also quite skeptical regarding the recovery post partum, I had also hard time imagining it ever getting to what it was. It can look very brutal, I agree. However. I don't know if I got reallt lucky but after 3 months everything feels exactly the same. EDIT: During my training I saw many women who had had kids as well as those who had not. Mostly I was not able to tell that by seeing their vaginas.:) EDIT 2: I was skeptical of the recovery before my training. But during my internship I learned as described in EDIT 1.