what causes tearing?

Hi,
just wondering what are the causes of tearing during a baby's birth?
Are tears less likely with subsequent births?
The reason I ask is I had a third degree tear first time around (I had an epidural) and am just wondering why and the best ways to prevent this next time, I know perineal massage is possible and might give that a try. Any thoughts or ideas are appreciated, thanks.

I think pushing too quickly when the babies head is crowning can cause tearing also if the head is just too big.

i had some minor tearing because DD came flying out like a pocket rocket once her head popped out. the poor OB had to really test his hand-eye coordination LOL!

i do remember them asking me to breathe out the contractions once her head was out (ie to stop myself from pushing ITMS) and i think this was to minimise any tearing damage etc.

HTH!

positioningif your on your back with your legs up you are more likely to tear.as your pulling everything tight.
being upright helps not to tear. pushing against your body so when being told to push even though you might not feel the need to.. or trying to conrtoll the push so trying to stop the push can do it to

Hi Aimz
There is some research that suggests that perineal massage can reduce the chance of tearing. A few other things that may help are:-
Do not birth on your back.
Birth the head slowly giving yourself the chance to stretch.
Only push when your body tells you to and not when the midwife/ob wants you to (coached pushing).
Visualisation may also be helpful. As you start to feel the burning down there try to “see” your vagina stretching to make room for the baby to slide through.

I have had 3 babies...and teared all 3 times now.

#1 was due to a vac extraction and she came flying out (2nd degree tear)
#2 was a small tear, not sure why but im assuming due to birthing on my back (1st degree tear)
#3 was due to DS pushing hard on my waters and me birthing upright, once the waters broke he crowned straight away...waters was all that was stopping him from 'falling out'. (2nd degree tear)

Honestly I think a good coach for pushing...

No purple pushing (pushing when you don't feel the urge)...
Letting your body do what feels right...
Not birthing on your back...

I had a great midwife and I didn't tear at all. My ob was also well known for his tearing prevention. My gf who tore pretty badly with her first didn't tear with her second at all (with my ob) so it can be done.

As a first time mum to be, I am terrified of tearing. I'm not that worried about the labor or the birth, but of tearing and needing stitches. Some of the things I've read about stitches and the pain afterwards sound awful, so I am glad I've come across this thread.

Just wondering what the options are aside from birthing on your back? I've heard of standing or squatting, but doesn't this make it difficult for the catcher? Are most OB's happy to let you birth in a position other than on your back?

As you can see I'm pretty naive when it comes to this stuff, any tips you can give about alternate positions would be great.

Sorry aimz, I hope I haven't hijacked your thread

Miss Excited.....i birthed my 2 DD's on my back....and my DS standing upright, and that was by far the easiest and best birth ive had. The middy had no trouble catching him. She kneeled on the floor and has he popped out grabbed him. I think the hardest bit was passing him between my legs as his cord was stil attatched (i had delayed cord clamping).

Its your birth so unless theres a reason for your OB to say no, then you should be able to birth YOUR way...good luck :)

the comfiest position i found when pushing was on the bed on my knees propped up with a beanbag. this felt the most natural for the position that DD was taking on her way down. it all fell to craziness with the OB 'needing' me to push on my back. i negotiated (somehow!) to have the bed back raised and the end of the bed fully dropped so that i was in as much of a sitting position as possible. but it still was ALOT more hard work than it should of been.

IMO go to a birth centre! that way you can be pretty much free to birth in as many positions as you feel comfortable with. otherwise, i reckon ask your care provider what the reality of the pushing stage is (in terms of how they want you to be positioned), and try to negotiate this in your birth plan (and make sure DH or any other support person is aware of this too).

HTH

This is a good thread to read.

Thanks ladies! I think I am going to invest in a good book on Active birth, sounds like it is the way to go.

Definitely read New Active Birth miss excited! It's great.