4th degree tear & long labor story

Rodeoqueen13

I just had my healthy baby Jackson Ryan a week ago today. I ended up with a 4th degree tear. On top of that, I have developed what are called fistules or holes between rectum & vagina. I am going to have to have surgery in a few weeks to repair. Has anyone else gone through this? What was your outcome? I'm so scared of what might permanently happen to me...i cry every night.

nicoleok87

Omg this is my nightmare. I'm so sorry!! Why did they say u ripped so bad? Was baby big?

SamiUK

*hugs* hope all turns out ok, i only had a little graze and a tiny labial tear (9lb13oz baby @nicoleok87 ) and that hurt enough especially when going for a wee afterwards i find bending really far forward so a$$ is up in air to wee don't hurt, I'm sure they'll be able to fix it

Rodeoqueen13

@nicoleok27 Here's my story...a week ago thurs I went to the dr (38wk checkup) and was only a finger tip dilated, dr said no baby that weekend. The next night I noticed I lost a big chunk of my mucus plug. The next morning at 630 a.m. my water broke unexpectedly. I felt no contractions. Went to hospital, still at only a finger tip dilated, was having contractions 6 min apart I couldn't feel. They started me on pitocin, & kept increasing it as I was dilating very slowly, got am epidural at only 1.5cm as it was unbearable. They noticed I had 2 bags of water & my second bag broke sometime around 2 a.m. I kept making slow progress & was ready to finally push around 5a.m.the next morning. I made good progress the first hour then slowed as he was stick on my pelvic spines (hips weren't wide enough) baby was such a trooper & heart rate was good they kept letting me push for a total of 4.5hours. They tried vaccum once he was around pelvic spines, but still couldn't get him out. Dr had a local anesthetic done to prepare for episiotomy but want looking like id have it. I signed paper work to have c section & they were prepping OR. They upped my epidural & were laboring me down when I felt another contraction & had to push. He finally started coming out! So that he wouldn't go back in the Dr used his finger in my rectum to hook the babys mouth to help pull him out. I'm not exactly sure either when he did the eoisiotomy, but he did sometime. Jackson finally came out...but I was in so much pain. It took an hour to stitch. In the next day I noticed stool from my vagina. I have at least one hole that will need repaired. The Dr admits he was partly to blame for my tear... this Dr was a replacement as my Dr was out of town. My dr wasn't very happy the way things ended up for me but is referring me to a specialist to get repaired right the first time...the sucky part is they can't do surgery too early as they have to give it time to try to heal. Jackson was 7lb 10oz & almost 2wks early. Hes doing great. He got a littler best up coming out & got a hematoma on the back of his head which led to some jaundice. We both stayed an extra night. So the reasons for my tear? along what the Dr did with his fingers, the long time frame of pushing & the episiotomy are to blame. I wish I had a C section earlier or to begin with. I'm in so much pain & stuff isn't working right down there. Help!

Rodeoqueen13

To subscribe my tear a little better, I had episiotomy, then tore to rectum. Then I tore also inside vagina down into rectum sphinter, through the sphincter then it split into a Y shape.

Mom2McKenna

Wow! I'm sorry for you that sounds horrible!!

Rodeoqueen13

Is there anyone else out there who has suffered something like this? I'm not getting much for discussion!
@Mom2McKenna it has been horrible. A night mare actually, to make it worse I've had to be on pain meds to manage & this past week I haven't been able to remember the small details

sexysecondtimemom

Congrats on the birth of ur son!! Ur labour story sounded like a nightmare and I hope u can begin to heal soon. I can't imagine the pain ur goin thru!!

Jess510

I'm very sorry you had a hard labor as well as the healing you need to endure.

Rodeoqueen13

@Jess510 thank you for the words. It will be a long road to recovery & hopefully recovery goes well.
I'm just trying to find others with a similar story....need some reassuring words Ill heal. It's been depressing.

@sexysecondtimemom thanks for the words. I hate to post a scary story but it's reality &i want to know if I'm like the only one who has had such a rough delivery?!

Rodeoqueen13

I'm so depressed! Aghh! I dont know what will happen to me. I also lost my job at 33 wks pregnant & am having a tough time paying bills & hope this surgery is covered. It's nice to know I don't have to go back to work but financially I dont know what I can/will do when I can't try to find a job right away now.

Rodeoqueen13

@SamiUK thanks for the hug. I do know if the baby were any bigger theres no way he would have made it out vag. Glad I wasn't to my due date or he might have been as big as yours.

nicoleok87

Omilord! I'm so sry...I hope u find help! Sitz bath?!

sassypants

You poor woman! I did not have fistules, but I did have 4th degree tears inside and out with no episiotomy. I also developed fizzures which were excruciating. I too had to have surgery and I can tell you will start to feel sooooo much better. In the meantime, have you tried ice packs? I had to wrap them in cloths and sit on them. Also, can you ask your doc for a nerve medication? I'm so sorry. That doc should never have let it go that far.

Rodeoqueen13

@sassypants finally someone with a similar story! So did u end up healing ok? That's my main concern. Currently I'm on vicaprofen every 6 hours, but can't always last that long! I've tried ice but it's hard to get on right. Our ice isn't chipped & they r bigger ice packs are too difficult to position right, I need some small ones.
I agree the Dr probably let me go too far, but I kept saying I could push & didn't want the c section at first. Had I known the consequences of tearing I def would have done that.

Rodeoqueen13

@nicoleok87 I have been told by Dr to take baths 2-3x/day. They feel great while in there. I also am taking mineral oil every day to help things slide out & was on colace until it made me too runny, then it just ran out the wrong hole. I'm on a low fiber diet.

garagebandfan

Reading your story made me cry.

novmthumper11

Girl lol the same thing happened yo me with my son Charlie ..here's my story.. four yrs ago btw.. it started I called the doc in the am I had green stuff coming out of me. Went in to be checked. Nurse checked me I was 6cm dilated it was mucous from my plug before.. went to l&d they broke my water not long after got my epi that didn't work btw and like right after that it was time to push.. I pushed for 3.5 hrs! Crowning the whole time hos heartbeat was good.. nurse left after I needed oxygen. They were talking about emergency c section ..doc came in said it was too late for that. Cut me 4th degree and had to vacuum him out even after that .. but he was 8lbs2o. And im really small too btw lol.. took like 35 mins to stitch me up. Now because of this im forced to most likely have a c section this time due to risk involved and depending on how big she is.. we decide in a week what to do... so I feel for you. That healing process really sucks hun. Good luck

sassypants

@rodeoqueen13 get the gel ice packs. They are pliable and will work a little better for you. And yes, the surgery helped and my doc told me I was part of the "perfect circle club" lol. Also, try to stay off your hiney as much as possible. You have so many nerve endings in your rectum that all that pressure can irritate it. If you can, and if baby will let you, try resting on your hips. God, I feel for you so much!! If you can get ice down there, it truly does work wonders.

Rodeoqueen13

@novmthumper11 thx for the support! Somewhat similar to mine. I guess I am just way too small too. My husband tried to tell me this & I didn't believe him. I do want to have children in the future so whether vag or c section I'll just opt for whatever is best for the baby at the time. Good luck with the rest of this pregnancy >:D<
I also had to have oxygen in the end & thought that it was over & was having a c section. The dr even had his scrubs off & was walking away, but I couldn't help but push one last time when I had another contraction. The vaccum didn't work for me, they required it several times.

Rodeoqueen13

@sassypants do glad to hear the surgery worked for you, "the perfect circle club" that's awesome! \m/
I am wondering if that's what caused the fistules is lying on my back & rectum in the hospital bed for 4 days. I've been on my side as much as possible @home now. Just need new ice packs!
Thanks fort the advice & support!

sassypants

Good luck to you hun. I'm sending you good thoughts!!

tinka1326

Never experienced anything even similar hunny I had a minor labial tear with my son and I thought that was bad. I really do hope that you can heal and get whatever treatments you need to correct the damage asap.

Mom2McKenna

My cousin had three surgeries after the birth of her son, the had to use forceps and messed up...part of her vagina was hanging out of her vagina then her bladder started to fall out!! Took 3 surgeries to correct it but it will never be the same she couldn't have sex with her husband for 8 or 9 months because they would do one surgery the wait for it to heal then do the next...she is now expecting her second child in April her son will also be two in April

Mom2McKenna

She was also on lots of pain meds n couldn't walk for a few weeks...I was there for the birth (in the waiting area) I saw her right after she was so white and shaking (which a lot of women do after delivery, I did too) I swore I wouldn't have a baby for a long time lol 5 months later I was prego..my delivery was easy only needed one stitch but my pregnancy was hard..I hope you feel better soon so sorry you had a horrible birth experience

Rodeoqueen13

Thank you for the info @Mom2McKenna It sounds like your cousin had it worse than I do. I hope it doesn't take 3 surgeries to fix me any way...
I had had a great pregnancy, in fact fantastic. I never thought birth would be that hard.
ladies do your research on labor complications & what causes them so that you may make informed decisions when the time comes. I wish I knew more what causes bad tearing & the consequences that I may face.

Jess510

I'm so glad you found some ladies with similar experiences.

Leggs2011

When you say your small. Do you mean your vajayjay is tight, or your figure all together is small? I'm very worried about ripping.

mazdaz

I had 3rd degree tears and luckily seems to have healed ok, i am 7 weeks pp. Although they have stitched it up strangely - they seemed to have stitched some of my right labia over to the left!! I have not tried to have sex yet either

Rodeoqueen13

@Leggs2011
My being small had to do with too narrow of hips. My Dr had never told me this during my appts, but I guess some Dr's do check hip size. If youre worried about your size I definitely should mention it to Dr as I never did & wish I had.

Rodeoqueen13

@August22baby
It's not fun is it! I hopper you heal correct. I think the Dr did an ok job at stitching me, it looks somewhat ok now. It's just the fistules or holes that developed in there that I'm sure had something to do w/his stitching & the severity of the tear.