How long does it take for a vaginal tear to heal?

The mother will suffer great pain during natural childbirth, and modern people strongly advocate natural childbirth, so many women also choose natural childbirth. However, women are very likely to suffer from perineal tears during normal childbirth. This tear is caused by the fetal head causing continuous and high-intensity pressure on the female vaginal opening and surrounding tissues during delivery, resulting in tearing here. The length of time it takes for a laceration caused by a normal birth to heal is generally determined by the degree of the laceration. Women with milder cases will generally heal in about half a month, and the wounds will generally be completely healed by the end of the confinement period.

How long does it take for a vaginal tear to heal?

This varies from person to person. Since the perineum may be torn or require episiotomy during delivery, the wound may experience symptoms such as edema and pain after delivery. When sitting, you can use an obstetric breathable pad to support the perineum, reduce the pain of the episiotomy wound caused by squeezing, and ensure that the wound is breathable and dry to promote healing. When sleeping or lying in bed, use an obstetric support pillow to lie on the side without perineal wound to reduce the chance of lochia flowing into the perineal wound. After each bowel movement, the vulva should be rinsed with a healing device and wiped dry from front to back with toilet paper to avoid bacterial infection of the episiotomy wound. Be careful not to let dirty water enter the vagina, and do not take a bath before the lochia is completely discharged. It is generally available in hospitals, but it is cheaper online. Please be careful to identify it when purchasing. Please take good care of yourself.

Causes of perineal lacerations

Delivery of the fetal head is the most important step in the delivery process. When the fetal head is about to be delivered through the vagina, the vaginal opening and surrounding tissues are compressed due to the continued descent of the fetal head. Local swelling, thinning and even shining can be seen. At this time, if you do not pay attention to protecting the perineum, not only the perineum may be torn, but it may even be torn all the way to the anus.

Perineal tear grading

I degree perineal laceration: refers to laceration of the skin and mucous membranes of the perineum, including rupture of the labia and vestibule mucosa.

Second-degree perineal laceration: The perineal skin, mucosa, and muscles are lacerated, but the anal sphincter is intact.

Grade III perineal laceration: complete laceration of the perineal skin, mucosa, perineal body, and anal sphincter, often accompanied by laceration of the rectal wall.

During natural childbirth, the mother's perineum may have the following conditions: intact perineum or 1st to 4th degree tear. First-degree or second-degree tears are relatively minor lacerations that will not affect postpartum recovery, and the wound heals quickly: if a first-degree tear does not bleed, in many cases, it will heal on its own without even needing stitches, which is equivalent to a slight crack in the mucous membrane at the corner of the lip in winter; a second-degree tear that affects the subcutaneous tissue only requires a few stitches from the inside with absorbable sutures, and the sutures do not even need to be removed.

What needs to be avoided are lacerations of degree 3 or greater. This type of laceration threatens the tissues, muscles and even the rectum around the anus, and episiotomy is an important means of prevention. The doctor or midwife uses scissors or a scalpel to cut the perineum to expand the vaginal opening to assist in the delivery of the fetus. There are generally two ways: one is a straight perineal incision along the direction of the vagina, and the other is an episiotomy at about 40 degrees to the vagina. After the incision, stitches are needed, 4 to 5 stitches on the surface skin and dozens of stitches inside.

Episiotomy is only performed when the perineal tear reaches 3 degrees or more. Therefore, mothers should not think that episiotomy is necessary for childbirth. However, mothers should take care of the wound caused by the perineal tear after delivery.