Hi ladies,

Just after some opinions. I am 35 weeks pregnant with my first baby and have to make a tricky choice...

I have a rare skin condition called Lichen Scleroses. It basically means that my skin in 'that' area is paper thin and tears easily. It often even tears when my husband and I have sex. Only a small amount, but enough to bleed a little and cause me pain. It's a pretty horrible condition to have.

So, anyway, I was discussing a recent minor tear with my OB on Monday, and she had a look and decided that I'll either have to have an episiotomy or a caesarian. She said that she can't risk letting me tear naturally (which I know is supposed to heal better) because she said that it would be likely that I'd end up with a 4th degree tear if it's uncontrolled. She said she would cut sideways. But, I'm scared that I'll still tear in the other direction anyway. Given my skin condition, healing can be a problem too.

So then there's the caesarian. I kind of know a little about what to expect as I had a cyst removed when I was 17 weeks pregnant, and that operation is very similar. But, it's still a big operation none the less.

I guess I'm just interested to hear from people who've experienced a severe episiotomy or tear as well as a caeser, and which took longer to recover from. I'd also LOVE to hear from anyone at all with Lichen Sclerosis (It's really hard to find specific information about this on the net).

It's upsetting that it seems that both options aren't the 'ideal' way to give birth, but it is what it is. And, after the scary operation that I mentioned, I am still just SO grateful to be pregnant at all!