Did you use perineum massage or not and what happened when delivering?

Ok, so Im not very comfortable with the idea of having to start perineum massage soon, but the thought of tearing badly or having an episiotomy is worse. I have heard it said that the massage really does make a big difference, so I just want to get other peoples experience and what they did or didnt do and how their body dealt with it.

So did you use the massage? How often did you do it? (i have heard from 5 - 10 mins everyday from either 34 - 36 wks ). Did you tear or need a cut? Did you not tear or need a cut and didnt use massage in preparing? Did you do regular perinium massage and still tear or need cutting?
Add anything you`d like to share with me and others about what you did or didnt do and how it went - thanks :)

I don't have any experience of this either - just thought I'd add that I'm not entirely sure how you're meant to do it...or where you're meant to be doing it to be more precise!

ok Ill jump in... never done any kind of pereneum massage in my life.

dd1... 13 hour labour, episiotomy done, horrendous recovery from internal and external stitching. 8
pound baby.

dd2 .... 45minute labour, yes very quick. no cut or tear, 9 pound baby.

HTH

I did it from about 34 weeks but TBH I can't remember how often I did it. Most day's I would say. I didn't tear or have to be cut with either of my sons so I think it is worth a try.

I did but they wanted bub out NOW so I needed an episiotomy.

I used the Pink Kit. There is stuff about it on the BB main site. It tells you what to do, where, for how long etc. I would do it again in the hope that I wouldn't need to be cut or risk tearing.

I did worry about it (needing stitches for whatever reason) an awful lot while pg and it was tender afterwards but not too bad, It is forgotten fairly quickly.

didn't do it at all, thought about it but chose not to worry about it.

labour was 5 hours. DD was 8lb13oz. just tore, had 5 stitches in and 5 stitches out but seriously, didn't feel a thing, was too much on a high and didn't even notice him stitching me up until the last minute, even then, didn't feel it. didn't have epi, just gas.

i didn't get stretch marks though so maybe i have stretchy skin?

healed really well and FAST! i think the thought of tearing is what freaks us out but it was definately not bad here and i had 10 stitches!

Didn't do it at all. Had a very long labour, ending in 2.5 hours of pushing and forceps. No episiotomy - two teeny tiny stitches with an 8lb 10oz baby.

I asked my midwife in one of my appointments and she reckons it's a waste of time and it's all about how stretchy your skin is naturally eg. some people get stretchmarks and others don't. I didn't get any stretchmarks so I think my skin is naturally quite stretchy.

But if it makes you feel more prepared, then go for it.

I didnt do it for either of mine and had no tearing, no stitches or anything
It wouldnt do any harm though i suppose!

I did it kind of half-heartedly maybe a dozen times? I did find it useful in a sense as it gave me an idea of which muscles I needed to relax. Of course on the day it feels completely different, but it may have helped. Had a 6 hour labour with ARM and synto, no stitches, no tears or grazes. Although as the others said I also didn't get any stretch marks so maybe I just have stretchy skin (although now I have stretch marks on my BBs cause they have gone from a B to an E :o). The midwife thought I would need an episiotomy but my OB bless him, never mentioned it or appeared to even consider it.
GL!

i was going to but never ended up doing it. But it didn't cause a problem for me i had a 7 hour labour no tears no stitches no help pushing the baby out i was very lucky i think everyone is different depends on your skin

We used perineal massage and a device called an Epi-No with our first baby, and just the Epi-No with the second. DW had grazes both times, but nothing major.

The way we were taught perineal massage, for the woman to do on her own, was to insert a thumb into the vagina, and then press down and spread out the tissues aruond the bottom of the entrance to the vagina, stretching the perineum. You can also use a natural massage oil, like sweet almond oil.

Attempted to do it but found it uncomfortable and difficult to do. One of those weird things where I wasn't comfy asking DH to try either because I didn't want to make him feel bad if he did it wrong and hurt me. I tore but I think that was a lot to do with vacuum assisted birth, so he came out faster than he would have so my body wasn't stretching slowly.

Just wanted to say that apparently I tore both times, but honestly I would never have known if they hadn't told me. No pain after, and no problems after.Didn't do massage, but did ALOT of pelvic floor. Never had leaking!!! xo

I did it for my first. About 10 min from 36ish weeks onwards every night. I used olive oil I think. Birth was good, a tiny tear that didn't need any stitches. The massage helped me know what feeling to expect when Caty's head was crowning which was helpful.

No massage for #2 and no tears (waterbirth probably helped!).

I second webbmeg's praise of pelvic floors. I'd say they're more important than massage too.

My Ob recommended NOT doing it. So I didn't.

I didn't tear at all - just a couple of little grazes. My bub had a 35cm head circumference. I think that my pelvic floor exercises helped because I was able to push when I was told and hold when I was told. I was also bathed with some warm solution 'down there' as he crowned. I was also on my side as I birthed and my stage 2 was only just over 30 minutes.

I'm never going to do it.:D

Really? Did he say why he recommended against it?

Nope, didn't do it and only got one graze in 3 births - the graze was the 8 pounder!

schimckers, I think he had treated a girl who did it wrong and had damaged herself 'downstairs'. He said once your in or close to labour you have hormones to help you stretch. But beforehand there's the potential to damage yourself. On the other hand, SIL's OB recommends it.