Reading Yael's birth story the other day reminded me of something I had been meaning to post. When I had Tom, I asked my ob if I could have a warm compress and she said she doesn't use warm compresses as they draw blood to the site and make it worse. Instead she put a cold compress on my peri. TBH I couldn't really say if it worked or not, but my fuzzy memory of the pain and sensation is that it did ease (as I say though, I can't really be sure). So, my question is what experiences have people had with warm vs cold compresses? Not that I'm planning another birth, but I'd be interested to know.