I was going to mention this too but thought it might have been a bit OT.
My midwives instructed my pushing alot to avoid tearing (they told me what sort of push to do... Small quick ones, or long hard pushes or to just simply hold baby there for an extra few seconds so my body could catch up with the sensation) god I loved those midwives!
And that's the key a lot of the times too I reckon. Sometimes the control is taken out of our hands, especially if that baby just wants to get out of there ASAP but listening to the instructions from the midwife/OB at that point and being able to control the push really can make all the difference.