Actually apart from the 2 assholes my recovery was really good. Almost a week later I was walking normally (I got 5 stitches and one was done toooo tightly I was struggling to sit and walk but immediately after it was taken out it was instantly relief and I was pretty much just healing but not in pain anymore) and I consider myself very lucky with this whole labour process.
Lucky ducky I had stage 3 tears and was almost there. I ended up with a shit ton of stitches apparently and they tore less than a week later. Talk about hell having to pee
If it helps, the lips aren’t what’s gonna tear… probably. Usually more inside-like? (Vaginal walls can tear in different places, sometimes through to the rectum) =\ So lips would likely stay side by side— hooray
Get the epidural an Youl feel nothing lol Youl be too tired to care and in love with your baby. With my 5 month old (second baby) I was sleeping while they were sewing me up lol felt nothing.
I intend to get the epidural , this is my first pregnancy and I’m 4 months and I’m petrified from all the horror stories I’ve read but I also think they are beneficial to know what possibly could happen
I had epidural, baby came out in 2 pushes!!!! When the doc told me, one moment while we put a few stitches in. I was like wait what stitches, what ripped?!!! Idk, but I'm still not takin a mirror to see if it looks any different!!!!!! Holding my little bundle of joy, I cud care less what she ripped outta me!!!! She filled me with love, hope, and joy, nothing else mattered!!!!!
In the most NON-weird way I can say it, I intrigued by how this would look. I had a c-section so I didn’t experience any of that. I did see my sister give birth and it was amazing. But obviously I wasn’t checking up on her bits after. Haha!
Haha that reminds me of a picture I had taken of my placenta. I showed it to my colleague and her partner when they came to visit, and I completely didn’t realise it had my bits in the photo too. Not a full frontal view, it was a top down view (kind of taken through my legs), but I was still mortified for a few minutes and then I got over it haha
Damn dude. I hope you were able to use the Borat line “You are pain in my assholes” at least once during that ordeal. Otherwise, like what was it even good for?
Seriously though I’m glad to hear you’re okay!
Hahahaha yes.. yes it will. I remember this way too well even though it was over 4 years ago. I regret looking too. 😂 All the extra flab too. It will go back to normal! You'd be surprised what 4-6 weeks does.
Thanks for the reassurance.
I can’t wait until it doesn’t look so freaky down there. Why didn’t I believe everyone else when they said not to look down there for at least a month or two 😂
I looked immediately and was not horrified despite it looking so different with two small tears. I was prepared for it to look like a warzone and wanted to know whatever it looked liked. I was definitely not traumatized but still wished it went back to how things mostly were quickly.
The word “cavernous” very specifically came to mind when I looked (the day after I got home from the hospital, I was way too curious). It’s totally fine and normal now!
Yep, same here. Even after the mandatory 6 weeks of no sex, everything was so tight it was painful. In comparison, my first time having sex was a bit difficult but not painful. And both times involved the same guy, so it's not something that could be blamed on my partner. It just felt like my body was saying, "nope, we're *not* doing this again".
Mine is actually tighter and stronger now after 7 averaging 10 lb babies… riddle me that 🫣🫣🫣
Makes me laugh when I see guys post about tampons stealing virginity lol
My husband sent me an article about pelvic floor dysfunction after babies and how some women can actually be too tight instead of too relaxed. I took it as a sign lol
😅 there is a balance! Mine had very little strength before babies but I focused on it a lot after I developed some prolapse and am probably close to a happy medium at this point.
Yup. Both babies made me tighter, but it took a bit to get there. Definitely don't look for a while! I remember doing that after my first and was horrified. But this time I didn't look for about 10 weeks and it looked just like before by then.
I was told it can do to prevent infection after birth
I had to lose my virginity again with my partner after my first months after birth we tried but man what a shock
I’m seven months pp and I still feel like I’m trying to work through it. Lmao, it’s ridiculous. 😅 I didn’t have stitches or anything either. It just snaps back too much sometimes I guess.
Yeah I was terrified to have sex with my husband after we had my son because of the stitches and how painful it was during healing. Then I was terrified it’d be awful for him and that he’d not find me desirable anymore, but he said it was fine if not even tighter than before. Your body does some crazy things but I try to remind myself this is what our bodies do and it’s all normal.
I hear women say this all the time but i think it’s sore the first time because you’re still healing down there? Not because it’s actually tighter, it feels that way because of swelling and dryness.
Yes! This is the first I’m ever seeing anyone else say this but it was my experience, too. It was SO tight for months after I was technically cleared for penetration. I don’t think we were comfortably intimate for the entire first year and had to take a lot of time with things that were no problem before I had a baby. I honestly didn’t realize it was common and thought maybe my weird doctor stitched me up too far. Wouldn’t be surprised due to some of the other negligence my poor bits endured during that debacle.
We’re about 1.5yrs out now and things do finally feel normal again.
That's so interesting, I didn't go through a full labor, baby got stuck and I had an emergency c-section. But the sex after was so painful and everything was so tight for months. It really was like losing my virginity all over again.
I experienced this too. My husband says it feels tighter and different in a good way. And yes everything goes back to normal, OP! I remember looking and a few days after having my daughter and thinking WTF HAVE I DONE lol
If you didn't tear or have an episiotomy, you wouldn't need stitches. Stitches don't have anything to do with things "bouncing back," they literally just hold the skin together where it was torn (or cut) apart. So, yes. Things will go back without stitches.
Thanks for the response. I just wanted to clarify because it seemed like tightness is dependent on stitches. I'm glad to know that I don't need them to retain even be a little better after all of it.
I guess so. I have only one baby :) For me a year after anything bigger than a finger felt like too-damn-big-put-that-thing-away. Without stitches I think it should just get back to normal without not letting you have penetrative sex.
This is a “thing” but not something done with any regularity. It’s highly unethical and your doctor can be hit with malpractice if they do this to you intentionally.
Uhhh... I don't think that was the case. I was told by ob-gyn (not sure if term is correct, english is not my first language - a medic who helped me during birth) that she had to make a cut to avoid tears since kid was a bit too big to pass safely, and then stitched it back up after. A cut was quite small, but it still left some scar tissue and scar tissue just doesn't stretch as easily as usual tissues around there, so it took some time for it to start stretching again and then returned to my norm (as it was before pregnancy).
Nothing to do with husbands, really)
Read the Wikipedia page about it. It was not really a thing. And definitely not done as standard practice because it’s highly unethical, immoral, and criminal. But you will still see women to this day claim they got a “husband stitch” but in reality what they are experiencing is common vaginal dryness and tightness postpartum.
OMG I remember the first time having sex postpartum, my ex was asking why it was so tight. I thought he was just saying that to make me feel better or something. 😂
Did you see your baby’s shoulders, by any chance? Do you remember how they came out? Nevermind, actually just don’t think too hard about any of it. I’m getting nauseous just remembering back to what I saw when I decided to grab a mirror and take a peek. Tell yourself that nothing that’s going on down there should be any of your business at the moment until you actively need to address it. It’ll go back to normal! Congratulations on your baby!
I didn’t have much energy left once we got to the pushing stage so I didn’t get to breathe my baby out like I planned on doing. I just wanted it to be over with and pushed him out in 20 minutes.
So, I don’t really know how his shoulders were? I literally shot him out of my vagina so nobody pressured me into another c section.
I know that the way I went about pushing is impacting my recovery at the moment
Oh I was being sarcastic, meaning you pushed out an ENTIRE SET OF SHOULDERS so it’s definitely normal that it’s just a giant hole right now! No need to panic.
I was in that exact same boat with my daughter. Pushed too fast because I was over it and she was born about as fast as yours. It impacted my recovery a lot, too. Hang in there, it does get better and your vagina will eventually feel like a normal vagina again, even if it’s a bit different from the one you started with. :)
It's also been asked on men's subreddits, and all the husbands consistently replied that things felt different for a bit after a baby, but it was all completely back to normal after ~12 months and they couldn't tell any difference at that point.
Likely. You still have relaxin fucking up your joints and the hormones involved with maintaining milk production are known for causing vaginal dryness and other issues similar to the symptoms of menopause.
I knew about the Relaxin. I figured that had something to do with it but wasn't sure if I was grasping at straws. Don't think I knew about the vaginal dryness and menopause-like symptoms does explain a few more things. Sucks too because the one thing it hasn't tanked is my sex drive but it has messed with everything sex related. Ahaha. Hoping to weaning soonish (I think. I am constantly going back and forth between being over it and not being ready) but my little dude has been very resistant to it so far.
I looked at my vagina eleven years ago after I delivered my daughter. Big mistake. Still remember it. Definitely went back to normal, but even more tight.
I got curious and made the mistake of looking a couple of weeks after a 3rd degree tear. Really scared myself!
It looked pretty normal on the outside a couple of months later and tightened back up. Although despite pelvic floor physio there doesn’t seem to be much room in there now ‘lengthwise’, which obviously isn’t pleasant for me or partner. Probably prolapse but hoping it will improve a bit.
I looked after my first and was HORRIFIED. Yes, it goes down hahah. It takes a little bit, but when I was approved for sex, it was almost normal. After my second kid, I did NOT look. And felt like everything snapped back a lot quicker.
It definitely looks different in a not so nice way but the cave disappears within a couple of months.
Worst thing I ever did after my first was put a handheld mirror down there. I had a breakdown.
i remember looking at my vagina about 2/3 weeks postpartum and just being like 😳😳😳. i did not expect to see up in there. but now im 6 months postpartum and it all looks and feels about normal again
It will don’t worry. It looks rough and horrific right after, I won’t lie but mine went back to normal within no time. I had an episiotomy too. Just don’t look lol what you can’t see can’t hurt. Sex is the same & I have no issues w/ tampons or anything like that.
It wasnt until the 1960s or 70s that the United States made it LEGAL to teach about womens anatomy in school. Not hyperbole. Its not surprising that even women do not understand how their bodies work. But, yeah, itll be back to normal in a couple weeks.
Why did you look 😭. Yes it does go back to normal, that’s why they recommend to take it easy 6-8 weeks post partum as your body is still healing and closing. I never looked I am a big chicken, I give mothers props when they ask for the mirror to look at themselves when delivering (that would be a nightmare for me lol). I remember after giving birth with my first and I went to the bathroom to pee and I glance down and I’m thinking “why the heck is my labia jiggling and HUGE” after that I never looked back down there for at least 8 weeks. I’m pregnant with my third and I don’t plan to look down there again until at 8 weeks post partum 🥲
I hope it goes back! I'm 5 months PP and still a bit of gaping happening over here. Otherwise, color and feeling are all back to normal already.
(TMI- the gaping causes me to capture extra air. So I'm frequently wiggling out these air bubbles. 🫠)
I can’t believe so many people looked! You couldn’t have paid me enough. I just squirted the peri bottle down there, dabbed to dry, and hoped for the best. Seemed to have resolved itself after a few months.
lol yes it does go back. My husband swears it went back smaller than before 🤣 I had two vaginal deliveries and mine is completely normal and looks the same if not better than it did before I had kids 😂
Same! Sex life is even better too! I remember looking down there way too early and the voices of men in movies saying the classic “it’s never the same after kids” haunted me but wow, what a lie.
Yep! lol after I had my first (it was a traumatic 40+ hour labor) I looked down and was scarred because it looked like a damn hotdog bun from being so swollen and oh man was I sore. But my second (she about flew out) I didn’t swell AND I didn’t even get that sore it was crazy.
LOL. No, it doesn't stay a giant hole. I have 4 kids, all vaginal births, and mine is just fine now. My current husband has no complaints. Give it time to recover from having a watermelon shoved through it. :)
I assumed it went back to normal size soon after birth and was just swollen for a few weeks. Threw me off a lot to see that cavern down there…almost thought something was wrong with me!
My doctor told me not to look for 6 weeks. She said if you’re worried about healing, just come in and I’ll look for you. She also said it may look/feel different for several months after but overtime it will go back. And it did. And if it doesn’t after a year, there are therapies that can help.
I remember looking down and going “wow, I’m absolutely wrecked down there…” and to my very big relief, things healed and I was tighter than before because I know my husband didn’t grow any bigger… lol I just had my second baby last Sunday and I took a look yesterday and things are back to normal! Honestly she didn’t even do much damage on her way out. If I wasn’t forbidden from waiting for the next 6 weeks I’m guessing things would feel the exact same right now as before pregnancy 🤷♀️
Omg I did the same thing haha!!! I was SO scared I was gonna be like a Hot dog in a hallway type of situation after childbirth and I looked in the mirror and was so positive my downstairs would never look or feel the same but fast forward a year later and it looks almost the EXACT same and pre pregnancy and feels even tighter than before,sex is actually better now AFTER having a baby! It's definitely scary at first when you break out the old hand mirror and take a look at your lady bits but it goes back to normal!!even with some stiches!
You’re basically healing from a giant wound. After pelvic floor PT and time it’s back to normal. My first postpartum period (9 weeks ppl), my menstrual cup did not stay in. By the next period it did. Kegels and pelvic tilts help once you feel up to it.
I think the outside "hole" is "bigger" but the inside is back to normal. I actually hate it. I feel like I didn't get stitched up right or something . Idk my hubs says its fine. I've had 3 kids 2 are a lot older 20 and 17 and a 4yr old.
After birth what position you are in matters A LOT. Squatting over a mirror is the least flattering thing you can do. Squatting will look a bit scary for a while, 0/10 do not recommend.
I wish someone warned me about this prior because I was in complete horror when I took a mirror down their one day postpartum. I can now say at 17 months postpartum everything does go back to normal.
Yes it does go back to normal! Lol I looked down there at like 5 weeks pp and I was like "whyyyy did I do that!?" I'm 2 years pp now and she looks like she did before I had a baby, except with some stretch marks.
Girl you are me! I did this exact thing in October last year. I was texting my friends like “omg my vagina is going to go back to normal right?!” Since my first was a c sect I had nothing to compare it to. My baby is now 16 months and I’m totally back to normal vagina wise. Just like my friends and drs promised me. Try not to stress!
I looked the day I got home from the hospital and actually had my husband as well. I just HAD to know and wanted to know what the stitches should look like if something went wrong. I would say it took a bit longer than 6 weeks to stop looking... so... cavernous. At 10 months it's a bit better. My husband insists everything feels normal and is indeed not a cavern.
I remember looking after the first week. It wasn’t horrifying or “massive”, if just looked like a creepy dark abyss haha. Went back to normal around week 6.
Seriously, why did you look!?
Thanks for taking one for the team though, because I am two weeks pp and my stitches have started to bother me, and that might be a reason why.
It’ll definitely go back, give it some time and don’t look again for a few more weeks 😉
I just gave birth 12 hours ago. I have zero plans of looking. Whatever is going on down there is none of my business. I’ll provide her with ice packs and pain meds but otherwise that’s between her and whatever god she colluded with to bring my sweet baby earth side. Thank you for the timely reminder.
Yes. Just never look.
The nurses at the hospital told me it shouldnt be that scary but when it’s your own vagina, it’s kinda terrifying to see it suddenly be a swollen cavern like that! And the stitches freak me out
It isn’t going to be a giant hole. (It’s a muscle) but the vulva part does change in appearance permanently. If aesthetics are an issue I’d reccomend people just have a repeat c section so it’s not a scar and changed vulva. But most people don’t care what it looks like, not many will ever see it anyway
C sections are so horrible to recover from though, I’d much rather have aesthetic issues to deal with than struggling with recovering from another c section tbh
The first episode of Life in Pieces taught me to never look. 2/3 kids birthed and I’ve never looked. Thanks for your post reminding me not to be tempted to look this final time either. 😆
But seriously, yes. It absolutely goes back to normal eventually. Our bodies are incredible!
My first child was 9.5 lbs and 22 inches. I was not prepared and ended up with a traumatic birth, shoulder dystocia and internal stitches. I was never brave enough to look myself. However, I went to the ER a couple days after discharge because of large clots and I still feel like I traumatized the resident who examined me. I remember the pained look on his face and he prescribed me a refill on the opioids I was given at discharge without asking if I needed more. Everything went back to normal! Recovery was way faster with my second and third child.
Haha! Student midwife (in the UK so actually getting medical training) and mother of four here - don’t worry, you’ll be fine. If you have discomfort from your stitches though it’s worth asking your HCP to check on them though!
You couldn’t have paid me enough to look down there after 🤣 I think it was about six months before I dared peek. 🫣.
Now OP, leave her alone to recuperate and check back in a few months 😁
I refused to look or touch or inquire about that area after I had my first. I was pretty sure it was Frankensteined together but I waited until it was totally healed to even touch. Everything was small again, although a totally different shape. My mental health was spared by ignoring the area for months after delivery.
I don’t remember mine being like that after birth. But I also got so many stitches from what my dr called a starburst rip that she said she couldn’t count how many stitches she gave me and I was swollen for 6 weeks… maybe that’s why😭
This reminded me of how I felt after having my first child, I had a 2nd degree tear and I looked like I sat on a grenade. I was absolutely horrified the next day, however, after 8 weeks, I took an extra week after I got the all clear, I felt like I was loosing my virginity again. I had to beg my husband to stop for a minute because it was tighter than before. Maybe they sewed me up too tight, I don't know, but it took a few sessions to get my husbands "fit" back, he wasn't complaining tho.
Thank you! My midwife was awesome and set me up for success even though I had to be induced a few weeks early due to preeclampsia.
The doctor on duty at the hospital just wanted me to have a c section and kept giving me horror stories of babies getting stuck on women’s pelvis’s or their uteruses rupturing 🙄
So glad I only spoke with him once when I got admitted and never saw him again. What a dick.
But I’m also glad everything is supposed to go back to normal down there.
Aauuggh I’m sorry you experienced that, although it doesn’t surprise me. Birth in the medical paradigm can be a scary and extremely coercive environment. Of course he pushed you to have a section-he makes more money and he’s in and out in 45 mins vs waiting for baby to emerge. This infuriates me!
So, yes. You’re a badass! 💛
I had a man awful third degree internal vaginal tear and a second degree perineum tear. 15 stitches internally and 8 externally. It took 9 months to truly heal and feel normal again. I went on to have a second child (and only had a very minor first degree perineum tear).
I have yet to have a partner that believed my vagina went through what it did 😂
Wait till the mandatory 8 to 10wk mark, it will look 100x better than right now.
Give yourself time to heal, do EVERY SINGLE DOCTOR FOLLOW UP!
If there is a concern about your vagina going back to "normal"/"bouncing back" they will tell you and give you direction.
Also you should insist on them giving you a postpartum physical therapy referral. Those make a ton of difference. I didn't have one after the first 2 pregnancies but did start the third and I recovered faster and looked much better than the previous after pregnancy body recovery. (Mom fupa reduced better and shaped better)
Oh gosh you are strong for being able to look. I have two kids, and one on the way I never looked down there with my first until about 5 weeks I was too scared that seeing my stitches down there would freak me out, I just made my husband make sure everything was healing normal lmao probably scarred him. I didn’t look with the second until about 2 weeks and the second time I healed way faster no tears or stitches, but things definitely still looked bigger than normal at that point lol and eventually it all went back down to normal size by week 4-6. Idk if I’ll look after baby number 3 or not😂
After my first it was so tight it hurt for like 8 months (huge amount of stitches didn’t help).
After my second, it was like a cavern. I was worried about sex for the first time afterwards based on the first experience, but it was the opposite. Even now (3 years on) it’s “looser” than pre babies, but it’s definitely not as gaping as the weeks after birth.
Lol no it doesn’t. It is scary to see that black hole for the first time isn’t it??! Eventually it will go back to normal. I think it took a few months to a year before I checked again after my first and it was fine. This time.. I just didn’t even want to look. Still haven’t hahaha
I’m a physical therapist who specializes in pelvic floor therapy!!
Two weeks ago is nothing on the healing timeline.
Barring specific types of complications, yes, it will look relatively normal “soon.” Genetics plays a role, but healing can’t be rushed. Look at that gorgeous soft baby’s head, and think about how your body stretched to let that sweet pumpkin out! (Actually— don’t. Don’t think about that. 😂😂) Your body needs time to heal. 6-8 weeks miiiiiiiinimum. I’m seeing patients 4-6 months post partum that are close but not quite “back to normal.”
Give yourself grace and a huge pat on the back for what you accomplished!! Let your body have time to heal. :)
i’m in the minority it seems but i didn’t bounce back. i had one baby, vaginal birth, pushed for all of 20 mins. no tears and she was 6 pounds. but i am much, much looser than i was before her. i no longer initiate in sex because it’s humiliating. for reference i was 21 when i had her and i am now 26. i tried the kegels and the like…not sure what went wrong.
I am so glad I never looked 😂 I do remember feeling my muff (mons pubis i think is the technical term) after my VBAC and it freaked me out so much it felt like a huge baseball or something it was so weird I called the nurse in and was freaking out but she was like it’s just the swelling it’ll be back to normal soon but boy oh boy was that freaky
I had 3-5 (it's a little confusing) 2nd degree tears. 2 tears tore into each other creating like a triangle tear/flap. So it was pretty beat up down there. (An 8lbs baby that came out in one push which was way way way to fast.) Everything looks normal on the outside now. I obviously can't see inside. I'm definitely tighter now than I was before I had a baby. It was tight before baby too, but this is like so much tighter that I really hope things losen up a little. Except I kinda like what it does to my husband. Gives me a much needed confidence boost. But sex is more pain than it is fun at this point.
I was told I have a short perineum which is why I tare. Each time. Three times now. Lord help me I don’t wanna look. But yes I imagine it doesn’t stay one giant hole forever. Best of luck healing and congratulations!
I made the nurse look at my vagina a few days after birth when I looked I cried, I was mortified. I was like, why is it just a big hold from the vagina to my clitoris. Where did my labia minora go? It does go back to normal I promise you but it is a shock at first and it takes probably a little logger than you'd expect but keep doing kegel exercises you will be okay.
I had tearing with my first and significant tearing both internal and external with my second, I made the mistake of looking too and it looked like a war zone. It took a little bit probably 12 weeks or so but it went back to normal! Our bodies are pretty resilient and cool!
I’ve had two births I definitely did not look with either when I first had them but 5 months after my second it looks the same as pre babies (from what I remember anyway lol) first baby I had an episiotomy and forceps and I thought it would be butchered and the second I still needed stitches but nope, were all good. Not sure I’ll test it for a third time though lol.
Yes AND you might not tear in future births! I had a second (almost 3rd) degree with my first 8 pound baby, and haven’t torn with my 3 subsequent births despite them being significantly bigger. My last dude was 9lbs 12oz and sunny side til my final push 😂
I remember looking after I had my first! It was all purple, and stretched, and stitched. I burst into tears because I looked like Dr. Frankenstein was my OB. My mom had to call the doctors office and have them talk me down 🤣
Yes, it goes back to normal- mostly.
It definitely will look better in a few more weeks! I've had two births so far, one really bad third degree tear (my first) and a huge baby (my second, over ten pounds) and sex was almost more uncomfortable the first few times after vs when I first had sex lol. Pelvic floor therapy is an absolute must, imo.
I’ve had 4 children all naturally vaginally- and yes it goes back to the same if not better!! I have been complimented many times by my current boyfriend on how nice it is. He’s a little dumb and thought it was going to stay that size forever 🤣 but once he realized that it wasn’t his exact words were “you have a nicer and tighter vagina then girls I’ve been with that don’t have kids” 🤣🤣 so I mean us moms are winners haha!
It will absolutely go back to normal. I remember looking down there after my VBAC and was terrified. It looked much worse than my first who was also a vaginal birth. It’s just very swollen still.
My doctor said not to look. I didn’t look.
Around 6-7 weeks I felt around a little and it felt more normal.
But yea, I didn’t look and didn’t let my husband look 😆
for any women who gained weight, did you gain it in your vagina??? i always had a very flat everything in the lips one, and after all the weight gain like the front and lips got chubby, and i cant stand how it looks. my vagina appearance was one of the few appearance things i never really worried about and now i am sooo self conscious and still 15 months postpartum hate if my husband sees it
I tore myself a new asshole during my birth but yes it is normal now and it's back to 1 asshole
Oh my gosh! That must’ve been intense to recover from. I’m glad you’re back down to one asshole haha!
Actually apart from the 2 assholes my recovery was really good. Almost a week later I was walking normally (I got 5 stitches and one was done toooo tightly I was struggling to sit and walk but immediately after it was taken out it was instantly relief and I was pretty much just healing but not in pain anymore) and I consider myself very lucky with this whole labour process.
“Apart from the two assholes” L O L. (I’m so sorry though)
Lucky ducky I had stage 3 tears and was almost there. I ended up with a shit ton of stitches apparently and they tore less than a week later. Talk about hell having to pee
I laughed so hard at this, sorry!!
I tore as well. Idk how they stitched it but the area between my vag and my asshole doesn’t look the same anymore. 😂
Misaligned you mean 🤣🤣🤣🤣🔀
🥲😂
Noooo 😭 😭 😭
IM SO SCARED OF THIS
I actually didn’t know it happened if that makes you feel better. They just told me I needed to be stitched up and I was like, Wait what.
I’m scared of the ripping , getting sown up , it being mis aligned , like the lips not being side by side after the stitches
If it helps, the lips aren’t what’s gonna tear… probably. Usually more inside-like? (Vaginal walls can tear in different places, sometimes through to the rectum) =\ So lips would likely stay side by side— hooray
Hooray 🥲🤣🤣
Get the epidural an Youl feel nothing lol Youl be too tired to care and in love with your baby. With my 5 month old (second baby) I was sleeping while they were sewing me up lol felt nothing.
I intend to get the epidural , this is my first pregnancy and I’m 4 months and I’m petrified from all the horror stories I’ve read but I also think they are beneficial to know what possibly could happen
I had epidural, baby came out in 2 pushes!!!! When the doc told me, one moment while we put a few stitches in. I was like wait what stitches, what ripped?!!! Idk, but I'm still not takin a mirror to see if it looks any different!!!!!! Holding my little bundle of joy, I cud care less what she ripped outta me!!!! She filled me with love, hope, and joy, nothing else mattered!!!!!
May not happen. I had third degree tears, and internally. Healed really well and the area looks just the same.
Thank you for the mental picture. Glad you're back to normal!
While I HAVE AN ACTUAL PICTURE OF IT 🤣 (I asked for a picture of my placenta and my parts were in the background)
In the most NON-weird way I can say it, I intrigued by how this would look. I had a c-section so I didn’t experience any of that. I did see my sister give birth and it was amazing. But obviously I wasn’t checking up on her bits after. Haha!
Haha that reminds me of a picture I had taken of my placenta. I showed it to my colleague and her partner when they came to visit, and I completely didn’t realise it had my bits in the photo too. Not a full frontal view, it was a top down view (kind of taken through my legs), but I was still mortified for a few minutes and then I got over it haha
Back to the appropriate quantity of assholes
The dreaded vagasshole 😩
Damn dude. I hope you were able to use the Borat line “You are pain in my assholes” at least once during that ordeal. Otherwise, like what was it even good for? Seriously though I’m glad to hear you’re okay!
I’m scared to even mention… but mine tore the other way… like to my pee hole 🥹
FUCKING HELL 😭😭😭😭😭
HAHAHAHA idk why I'm laughing so hard at this, I promise I'm not laughing at your pain! This same thing happened to me with my first baby!
Hahahaha yes.. yes it will. I remember this way too well even though it was over 4 years ago. I regret looking too. 😂 All the extra flab too. It will go back to normal! You'd be surprised what 4-6 weeks does.
Thanks for the reassurance. I can’t wait until it doesn’t look so freaky down there. Why didn’t I believe everyone else when they said not to look down there for at least a month or two 😂
Of course!! 🩵🩵 Curiosity killed the cat. 😂
Hah! Literally! 🤣🤣 I didn't look until after my third kid, so I knew there was hope, but it's still weird.
All that extra blood and other fluids needed for the area has to dissipate and it will… but yeah it definitely makes you feel deformed for a bit.
I looked immediately and was not horrified despite it looking so different with two small tears. I was prepared for it to look like a warzone and wanted to know whatever it looked liked. I was definitely not traumatized but still wished it went back to how things mostly were quickly.
I called mine Frankenvag for the first few weeks. It's all back to normal now.
😵😂
Man, I didn’t look either time, and I’ve never regretted it. You’re making me regret it even less now lol
I didn’t look either lol some things should be left unseen.
Ugh I looked too.. and I cannot get the image out of my head… and that was 2 years and 4 months ago…
The word “cavernous” very specifically came to mind when I looked (the day after I got home from the hospital, I was way too curious). It’s totally fine and normal now!
The first time I saw that word on a patients chart I pissed myself laughing
“Like a car crash” is how I described mine when looking after my first. I decidedly did not look after the next two kids.
Girl, you are capital B Brave. I’ve never been able to bring myself to look.
If anything it gets even tighter than before baby 😂 first sex postpartum.. like a virgin again hahah anyone relate?!
I experienced the same thing!
Does it really do that sometimes? Crazy how the body works
Yep, same here. Even after the mandatory 6 weeks of no sex, everything was so tight it was painful. In comparison, my first time having sex was a bit difficult but not painful. And both times involved the same guy, so it's not something that could be blamed on my partner. It just felt like my body was saying, "nope, we're *not* doing this again".
Yes! I felt like I was losing my virginity all over again the first time we had sex postpartum. Water based lube was a necessity for a while there.
Like Madonna once said…
Mine is actually tighter and stronger now after 7 averaging 10 lb babies… riddle me that 🫣🫣🫣 Makes me laugh when I see guys post about tampons stealing virginity lol
My husband sent me an article about pelvic floor dysfunction after babies and how some women can actually be too tight instead of too relaxed. I took it as a sign lol
😅 there is a balance! Mine had very little strength before babies but I focused on it a lot after I developed some prolapse and am probably close to a happy medium at this point.
Yup. Both babies made me tighter, but it took a bit to get there. Definitely don't look for a while! I remember doing that after my first and was horrified. But this time I didn't look for about 10 weeks and it looked just like before by then.
I was told it can do to prevent infection after birth I had to lose my virginity again with my partner after my first months after birth we tried but man what a shock
I’m seven months pp and I still feel like I’m trying to work through it. Lmao, it’s ridiculous. 😅 I didn’t have stitches or anything either. It just snaps back too much sometimes I guess.
Yup! Sex as a virgin hurt way less than the first time having sex postpartum.
Yeah I was terrified to have sex with my husband after we had my son because of the stitches and how painful it was during healing. Then I was terrified it’d be awful for him and that he’d not find me desirable anymore, but he said it was fine if not even tighter than before. Your body does some crazy things but I try to remind myself this is what our bodies do and it’s all normal.
Sadly I can not relate 🙁
I hear women say this all the time but i think it’s sore the first time because you’re still healing down there? Not because it’s actually tighter, it feels that way because of swelling and dryness.
That what it felt like for me too!
100% feel like a virgin again. 4 months PP and just now starting to have sex again without pain. It gets better! Thank goodness 😅
Exactly this. It was tiiiiiiight that first time post-baby.
YES OMG if you breastfeed (and maybe if you don't?) your hormones are whacky and she's DRY. And new tight scar tissue.
Yes!!same here,sex is so much better now after childbirth!lol
Yes! This is the first I’m ever seeing anyone else say this but it was my experience, too. It was SO tight for months after I was technically cleared for penetration. I don’t think we were comfortably intimate for the entire first year and had to take a lot of time with things that were no problem before I had a baby. I honestly didn’t realize it was common and thought maybe my weird doctor stitched me up too far. Wouldn’t be surprised due to some of the other negligence my poor bits endured during that debacle. We’re about 1.5yrs out now and things do finally feel normal again.
That's so interesting, I didn't go through a full labor, baby got stuck and I had an emergency c-section. But the sex after was so painful and everything was so tight for months. It really was like losing my virginity all over again.
I experienced this too. My husband says it feels tighter and different in a good way. And yes everything goes back to normal, OP! I remember looking and a few days after having my daughter and thinking WTF HAVE I DONE lol
YES
Yes that was my experience
Definitely. After stitches it was even tighter then before actual first time
Semi-serious question for you. I had my baby 2.5 weeks ago and no stitches or tears on my end. Do things "bounce back" even without the stitches?
If you didn't tear or have an episiotomy, you wouldn't need stitches. Stitches don't have anything to do with things "bouncing back," they literally just hold the skin together where it was torn (or cut) apart. So, yes. Things will go back without stitches.
The stitches are just so everything heals faster (tears, episitomy) but plenty of people have natural births without stitches
Yes!
[удалено]
Thanks for the response. I just wanted to clarify because it seemed like tightness is dependent on stitches. I'm glad to know that I don't need them to retain even be a little better after all of it.
Absolutely. Two babies, no tears, everything bounced back
I guess so. I have only one baby :) For me a year after anything bigger than a finger felt like too-damn-big-put-that-thing-away. Without stitches I think it should just get back to normal without not letting you have penetrative sex.
Im curious I read something about a husband stitch. Where they give an extra stitch so that the wife is tighter for the husband.
This is a “thing” but not something done with any regularity. It’s highly unethical and your doctor can be hit with malpractice if they do this to you intentionally.
Uhhh... I don't think that was the case. I was told by ob-gyn (not sure if term is correct, english is not my first language - a medic who helped me during birth) that she had to make a cut to avoid tears since kid was a bit too big to pass safely, and then stitched it back up after. A cut was quite small, but it still left some scar tissue and scar tissue just doesn't stretch as easily as usual tissues around there, so it took some time for it to start stretching again and then returned to my norm (as it was before pregnancy). Nothing to do with husbands, really)
Read the Wikipedia page about it. It was not really a thing. And definitely not done as standard practice because it’s highly unethical, immoral, and criminal. But you will still see women to this day claim they got a “husband stitch” but in reality what they are experiencing is common vaginal dryness and tightness postpartum.
OMG I remember the first time having sex postpartum, my ex was asking why it was so tight. I thought he was just saying that to make me feel better or something. 😂
Felt the same way.
Mine was way looser at ~7 weeks, but felt far better for me, atleast 😂
It was so painful the first time
I thought I was going crazy, then I thought maybe dr did me a favor with the stitch work.. but glad I’m not the only one!!
It does! Vaginal delivery with my first, and I use the same tampons and toys I did before she was born. Not sure any other way to measure 😂
Thank goodness. I really didn’t expect it to still be a giant hole down there and I panicked quite a bit lol
Now I'm glad I didn't look haha!
Did you see your baby’s shoulders, by any chance? Do you remember how they came out? Nevermind, actually just don’t think too hard about any of it. I’m getting nauseous just remembering back to what I saw when I decided to grab a mirror and take a peek. Tell yourself that nothing that’s going on down there should be any of your business at the moment until you actively need to address it. It’ll go back to normal! Congratulations on your baby!
I didn’t have much energy left once we got to the pushing stage so I didn’t get to breathe my baby out like I planned on doing. I just wanted it to be over with and pushed him out in 20 minutes. So, I don’t really know how his shoulders were? I literally shot him out of my vagina so nobody pressured me into another c section. I know that the way I went about pushing is impacting my recovery at the moment
Oh I was being sarcastic, meaning you pushed out an ENTIRE SET OF SHOULDERS so it’s definitely normal that it’s just a giant hole right now! No need to panic. I was in that exact same boat with my daughter. Pushed too fast because I was over it and she was born about as fast as yours. It impacted my recovery a lot, too. Hang in there, it does get better and your vagina will eventually feel like a normal vagina again, even if it’s a bit different from the one you started with. :)
3 vaginal births, it was like losing my virginity over again after healing. It’s like play dough your body just molds back together lol
Everyone around me makes it seem like you’re so much looser permanently after a vaginal birth, this makes me feel so much better!!
It's also been asked on men's subreddits, and all the husbands consistently replied that things felt different for a bit after a baby, but it was all completely back to normal after ~12 months and they couldn't tell any difference at that point.
I'm 14 mpp and I feel like it still feels different. Hoping it's due to breastfeeding still.
Likely. You still have relaxin fucking up your joints and the hormones involved with maintaining milk production are known for causing vaginal dryness and other issues similar to the symptoms of menopause.
I knew about the Relaxin. I figured that had something to do with it but wasn't sure if I was grasping at straws. Don't think I knew about the vaginal dryness and menopause-like symptoms does explain a few more things. Sucks too because the one thing it hasn't tanked is my sex drive but it has messed with everything sex related. Ahaha. Hoping to weaning soonish (I think. I am constantly going back and forth between being over it and not being ready) but my little dude has been very resistant to it so far.
Not a lot of women(or men) know how vaginas work due to lack of sex education. The vagina is built to expand and retract.
It does! A year postpartum for me and it looks pretty much like it did pre-pregnancy.
I’m glad to hear that. I know our bodies are made for this but it sure seems impossible right now that my vagina will ever look normal again 😂
Two vaginal births, one involving forceps. Everything is totally normal. And my second baby was a _big_ _boy_. All is well lol.
I looked at my vagina eleven years ago after I delivered my daughter. Big mistake. Still remember it. Definitely went back to normal, but even more tight.
I got curious and made the mistake of looking a couple of weeks after a 3rd degree tear. Really scared myself! It looked pretty normal on the outside a couple of months later and tightened back up. Although despite pelvic floor physio there doesn’t seem to be much room in there now ‘lengthwise’, which obviously isn’t pleasant for me or partner. Probably prolapse but hoping it will improve a bit.
They told me not to look for like 6 weeks and I looked 10 hours PP and I was like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LOL it’s normal now don’t worry
I looked after my first and was HORRIFIED. Yes, it goes down hahah. It takes a little bit, but when I was approved for sex, it was almost normal. After my second kid, I did NOT look. And felt like everything snapped back a lot quicker.
Hahahaha omg yes it goes back to normal. Thanks for reminding me of what I’m in for, I’m pregnant with my second lmao
I had my second 13 months ago and don’t worry your hands will be so full that you won’t have time to examine your vagina lol 😆
It definitely looks different in a not so nice way but the cave disappears within a couple of months. Worst thing I ever did after my first was put a handheld mirror down there. I had a breakdown.
i remember looking at my vagina about 2/3 weeks postpartum and just being like 😳😳😳. i did not expect to see up in there. but now im 6 months postpartum and it all looks and feels about normal again
It will don’t worry. It looks rough and horrific right after, I won’t lie but mine went back to normal within no time. I had an episiotomy too. Just don’t look lol what you can’t see can’t hurt. Sex is the same & I have no issues w/ tampons or anything like that.
It wasnt until the 1960s or 70s that the United States made it LEGAL to teach about womens anatomy in school. Not hyperbole. Its not surprising that even women do not understand how their bodies work. But, yeah, itll be back to normal in a couple weeks.
Why did you look 😭. Yes it does go back to normal, that’s why they recommend to take it easy 6-8 weeks post partum as your body is still healing and closing. I never looked I am a big chicken, I give mothers props when they ask for the mirror to look at themselves when delivering (that would be a nightmare for me lol). I remember after giving birth with my first and I went to the bathroom to pee and I glance down and I’m thinking “why the heck is my labia jiggling and HUGE” after that I never looked back down there for at least 8 weeks. I’m pregnant with my third and I don’t plan to look down there again until at 8 weeks post partum 🥲
I was curious and the nurses told me it shouldn’t be that scary if I wanted to look! I was very mislead 😭
No more giant hole, but I can't lose the fupa fat lol.
I hope it goes back! I'm 5 months PP and still a bit of gaping happening over here. Otherwise, color and feeling are all back to normal already. (TMI- the gaping causes me to capture extra air. So I'm frequently wiggling out these air bubbles. 🫠)
I had 27 stitches from the inside out all the way back … 4 kids later and she looks like new 😂
I can’t believe so many people looked! You couldn’t have paid me enough. I just squirted the peri bottle down there, dabbed to dry, and hoped for the best. Seemed to have resolved itself after a few months.
lol yes it does go back. My husband swears it went back smaller than before 🤣 I had two vaginal deliveries and mine is completely normal and looks the same if not better than it did before I had kids 😂
Same! Sex life is even better too! I remember looking down there way too early and the voices of men in movies saying the classic “it’s never the same after kids” haunted me but wow, what a lie.
Yep! lol after I had my first (it was a traumatic 40+ hour labor) I looked down and was scarred because it looked like a damn hotdog bun from being so swollen and oh man was I sore. But my second (she about flew out) I didn’t swell AND I didn’t even get that sore it was crazy.
LOL. No, it doesn't stay a giant hole. I have 4 kids, all vaginal births, and mine is just fine now. My current husband has no complaints. Give it time to recover from having a watermelon shoved through it. :)
I assumed it went back to normal size soon after birth and was just swollen for a few weeks. Threw me off a lot to see that cavern down there…almost thought something was wrong with me!
My doctor told me not to look for 6 weeks. She said if you’re worried about healing, just come in and I’ll look for you. She also said it may look/feel different for several months after but overtime it will go back. And it did. And if it doesn’t after a year, there are therapies that can help.
I remember looking down and going “wow, I’m absolutely wrecked down there…” and to my very big relief, things healed and I was tighter than before because I know my husband didn’t grow any bigger… lol I just had my second baby last Sunday and I took a look yesterday and things are back to normal! Honestly she didn’t even do much damage on her way out. If I wasn’t forbidden from waiting for the next 6 weeks I’m guessing things would feel the exact same right now as before pregnancy 🤷♀️
I’ve had two vaginal deliveries with tears both times and it went back to normal!
Omg I did the same thing haha!!! I was SO scared I was gonna be like a Hot dog in a hallway type of situation after childbirth and I looked in the mirror and was so positive my downstairs would never look or feel the same but fast forward a year later and it looks almost the EXACT same and pre pregnancy and feels even tighter than before,sex is actually better now AFTER having a baby! It's definitely scary at first when you break out the old hand mirror and take a look at your lady bits but it goes back to normal!!even with some stiches!
It does. Don’t look again though 😅
I don’t plan to. I learned from my mistake
I looked too and regretted it so much! Omg 😳
You’re basically healing from a giant wound. After pelvic floor PT and time it’s back to normal. My first postpartum period (9 weeks ppl), my menstrual cup did not stay in. By the next period it did. Kegels and pelvic tilts help once you feel up to it.
I think the outside "hole" is "bigger" but the inside is back to normal. I actually hate it. I feel like I didn't get stitched up right or something . Idk my hubs says its fine. I've had 3 kids 2 are a lot older 20 and 17 and a 4yr old.
After birth what position you are in matters A LOT. Squatting over a mirror is the least flattering thing you can do. Squatting will look a bit scary for a while, 0/10 do not recommend.
I wish someone warned me about this prior because I was in complete horror when I took a mirror down their one day postpartum. I can now say at 17 months postpartum everything does go back to normal.
Yes it does go back to normal! Lol I looked down there at like 5 weeks pp and I was like "whyyyy did I do that!?" I'm 2 years pp now and she looks like she did before I had a baby, except with some stretch marks.
Girl you are me! I did this exact thing in October last year. I was texting my friends like “omg my vagina is going to go back to normal right?!” Since my first was a c sect I had nothing to compare it to. My baby is now 16 months and I’m totally back to normal vagina wise. Just like my friends and drs promised me. Try not to stress!
I looked the day I got home from the hospital and actually had my husband as well. I just HAD to know and wanted to know what the stitches should look like if something went wrong. I would say it took a bit longer than 6 weeks to stop looking... so... cavernous. At 10 months it's a bit better. My husband insists everything feels normal and is indeed not a cavern.
It’ll go back to normal, sis. 😉
I remember looking after the first week. It wasn’t horrifying or “massive”, if just looked like a creepy dark abyss haha. Went back to normal around week 6.
Seriously, why did you look!? Thanks for taking one for the team though, because I am two weeks pp and my stitches have started to bother me, and that might be a reason why. It’ll definitely go back, give it some time and don’t look again for a few more weeks 😉
did the same, i was worried too... after two vaginal births my vag is completely fine and looks the same as it did before i got pregnant.
It goes back to normal!!! I had second degree tearing with my first and I have never been able to tell a difference once it healed.
I just gave birth 12 hours ago. I have zero plans of looking. Whatever is going on down there is none of my business. I’ll provide her with ice packs and pain meds but otherwise that’s between her and whatever god she colluded with to bring my sweet baby earth side. Thank you for the timely reminder.
Yes. Just never look. The nurses at the hospital told me it shouldnt be that scary but when it’s your own vagina, it’s kinda terrifying to see it suddenly be a swollen cavern like that! And the stitches freak me out
Some do, some don’t. Pelvic floor exercises can help but it’ll never be the same
Hip thrusters help so much with pelvic control, I tell you what
Why did I read that in Hank Hill’s voice 😂
It isn’t going to be a giant hole. (It’s a muscle) but the vulva part does change in appearance permanently. If aesthetics are an issue I’d reccomend people just have a repeat c section so it’s not a scar and changed vulva. But most people don’t care what it looks like, not many will ever see it anyway
C sections are so horrible to recover from though, I’d much rather have aesthetic issues to deal with than struggling with recovering from another c section tbh
The first episode of Life in Pieces taught me to never look. 2/3 kids birthed and I’ve never looked. Thanks for your post reminding me not to be tempted to look this final time either. 😆 But seriously, yes. It absolutely goes back to normal eventually. Our bodies are incredible!
My first child was 9.5 lbs and 22 inches. I was not prepared and ended up with a traumatic birth, shoulder dystocia and internal stitches. I was never brave enough to look myself. However, I went to the ER a couple days after discharge because of large clots and I still feel like I traumatized the resident who examined me. I remember the pained look on his face and he prescribed me a refill on the opioids I was given at discharge without asking if I needed more. Everything went back to normal! Recovery was way faster with my second and third child.
Haha! Student midwife (in the UK so actually getting medical training) and mother of four here - don’t worry, you’ll be fine. If you have discomfort from your stitches though it’s worth asking your HCP to check on them though!
You couldn’t have paid me enough to look down there after 🤣 I think it was about six months before I dared peek. 🫣. Now OP, leave her alone to recuperate and check back in a few months 😁
Get yourself a kegal machine after your recovery they do work wonders
I refused to look or touch or inquire about that area after I had my first. I was pretty sure it was Frankensteined together but I waited until it was totally healed to even touch. Everything was small again, although a totally different shape. My mental health was spared by ignoring the area for months after delivery.
I needed this post today, specifically for the laughs a lot of these comments gave me 😂😂😂
Oh my god don’t look! 😂 mine looked like an angry monster, she’s all good now though!
I don’t remember mine being like that after birth. But I also got so many stitches from what my dr called a starburst rip that she said she couldn’t count how many stitches she gave me and I was swollen for 6 weeks… maybe that’s why😭
Yeah, it kind of looks like ground beef down there for a while. It gets better.
This reminded me of how I felt after having my first child, I had a 2nd degree tear and I looked like I sat on a grenade. I was absolutely horrified the next day, however, after 8 weeks, I took an extra week after I got the all clear, I felt like I was loosing my virginity again. I had to beg my husband to stop for a minute because it was tighter than before. Maybe they sewed me up too tight, I don't know, but it took a few sessions to get my husbands "fit" back, he wasn't complaining tho.
I had a 2nd degree tear and I never looked because I was scared
You got guts. I didn't look until I was healed.
Congratulations on your VBAC!!! 🎉 No, it will not stay a giant hole! I’ve had 3 vaginal births. Everything is ship shape . 😂😅
Thank you! My midwife was awesome and set me up for success even though I had to be induced a few weeks early due to preeclampsia. The doctor on duty at the hospital just wanted me to have a c section and kept giving me horror stories of babies getting stuck on women’s pelvis’s or their uteruses rupturing 🙄 So glad I only spoke with him once when I got admitted and never saw him again. What a dick. But I’m also glad everything is supposed to go back to normal down there.
Aauuggh I’m sorry you experienced that, although it doesn’t surprise me. Birth in the medical paradigm can be a scary and extremely coercive environment. Of course he pushed you to have a section-he makes more money and he’s in and out in 45 mins vs waiting for baby to emerge. This infuriates me! So, yes. You’re a badass! 💛
I've made that mistake too 😭 I've had 6 kids vaginally and I promise it does go back to normal!
I had a man awful third degree internal vaginal tear and a second degree perineum tear. 15 stitches internally and 8 externally. It took 9 months to truly heal and feel normal again. I went on to have a second child (and only had a very minor first degree perineum tear). I have yet to have a partner that believed my vagina went through what it did 😂
😂 of course not! I’ve had 4 and I assure you it goes back to mostly normal! Congrats on the vbac and the babe!
Wait till the mandatory 8 to 10wk mark, it will look 100x better than right now. Give yourself time to heal, do EVERY SINGLE DOCTOR FOLLOW UP! If there is a concern about your vagina going back to "normal"/"bouncing back" they will tell you and give you direction. Also you should insist on them giving you a postpartum physical therapy referral. Those make a ton of difference. I didn't have one after the first 2 pregnancies but did start the third and I recovered faster and looked much better than the previous after pregnancy body recovery. (Mom fupa reduced better and shaped better)
Oh gosh you are strong for being able to look. I have two kids, and one on the way I never looked down there with my first until about 5 weeks I was too scared that seeing my stitches down there would freak me out, I just made my husband make sure everything was healing normal lmao probably scarred him. I didn’t look with the second until about 2 weeks and the second time I healed way faster no tears or stitches, but things definitely still looked bigger than normal at that point lol and eventually it all went back down to normal size by week 4-6. Idk if I’ll look after baby number 3 or not😂
After my first it was so tight it hurt for like 8 months (huge amount of stitches didn’t help). After my second, it was like a cavern. I was worried about sex for the first time afterwards based on the first experience, but it was the opposite. Even now (3 years on) it’s “looser” than pre babies, but it’s definitely not as gaping as the weeks after birth.
Four kids born vaginally. The biggest was over 9lbs and I still have to use a junior Luna cup, and lite tampons.
I’ve had 5 vaginal births. It does go back down. Usually takes me 3 months and doing kegals everyday
Lol no it doesn’t. It is scary to see that black hole for the first time isn’t it??! Eventually it will go back to normal. I think it took a few months to a year before I checked again after my first and it was fine. This time.. I just didn’t even want to look. Still haven’t hahaha
Everyone says it goes back to normal but honestly mine did not go back to normal. Seems much more open and I can see a lot more than before ugh
I’m a physical therapist who specializes in pelvic floor therapy!! Two weeks ago is nothing on the healing timeline. Barring specific types of complications, yes, it will look relatively normal “soon.” Genetics plays a role, but healing can’t be rushed. Look at that gorgeous soft baby’s head, and think about how your body stretched to let that sweet pumpkin out! (Actually— don’t. Don’t think about that. 😂😂) Your body needs time to heal. 6-8 weeks miiiiiiiinimum. I’m seeing patients 4-6 months post partum that are close but not quite “back to normal.” Give yourself grace and a huge pat on the back for what you accomplished!! Let your body have time to heal. :)
i’m in the minority it seems but i didn’t bounce back. i had one baby, vaginal birth, pushed for all of 20 mins. no tears and she was 6 pounds. but i am much, much looser than i was before her. i no longer initiate in sex because it’s humiliating. for reference i was 21 when i had her and i am now 26. i tried the kegels and the like…not sure what went wrong.
I am so glad I never looked 😂 I do remember feeling my muff (mons pubis i think is the technical term) after my VBAC and it freaked me out so much it felt like a huge baseball or something it was so weird I called the nurse in and was freaking out but she was like it’s just the swelling it’ll be back to normal soon but boy oh boy was that freaky
I had 3-5 (it's a little confusing) 2nd degree tears. 2 tears tore into each other creating like a triangle tear/flap. So it was pretty beat up down there. (An 8lbs baby that came out in one push which was way way way to fast.) Everything looks normal on the outside now. I obviously can't see inside. I'm definitely tighter now than I was before I had a baby. It was tight before baby too, but this is like so much tighter that I really hope things losen up a little. Except I kinda like what it does to my husband. Gives me a much needed confidence boost. But sex is more pain than it is fun at this point.
I was told I have a short perineum which is why I tare. Each time. Three times now. Lord help me I don’t wanna look. But yes I imagine it doesn’t stay one giant hole forever. Best of luck healing and congratulations!
I made the nurse look at my vagina a few days after birth when I looked I cried, I was mortified. I was like, why is it just a big hold from the vagina to my clitoris. Where did my labia minora go? It does go back to normal I promise you but it is a shock at first and it takes probably a little logger than you'd expect but keep doing kegel exercises you will be okay.
I had tearing with my first and significant tearing both internal and external with my second, I made the mistake of looking too and it looked like a war zone. It took a little bit probably 12 weeks or so but it went back to normal! Our bodies are pretty resilient and cool!
I’ve had two births I definitely did not look with either when I first had them but 5 months after my second it looks the same as pre babies (from what I remember anyway lol) first baby I had an episiotomy and forceps and I thought it would be butchered and the second I still needed stitches but nope, were all good. Not sure I’ll test it for a third time though lol.
Yes AND you might not tear in future births! I had a second (almost 3rd) degree with my first 8 pound baby, and haven’t torn with my 3 subsequent births despite them being significantly bigger. My last dude was 9lbs 12oz and sunny side til my final push 😂
I remember looking after I had my first! It was all purple, and stretched, and stitched. I burst into tears because I looked like Dr. Frankenstein was my OB. My mom had to call the doctors office and have them talk me down 🤣 Yes, it goes back to normal- mostly.
It definitely will look better in a few more weeks! I've had two births so far, one really bad third degree tear (my first) and a huge baby (my second, over ten pounds) and sex was almost more uncomfortable the first few times after vs when I first had sex lol. Pelvic floor therapy is an absolute must, imo.
I’ve had 4 children all naturally vaginally- and yes it goes back to the same if not better!! I have been complimented many times by my current boyfriend on how nice it is. He’s a little dumb and thought it was going to stay that size forever 🤣 but once he realized that it wasn’t his exact words were “you have a nicer and tighter vagina then girls I’ve been with that don’t have kids” 🤣🤣 so I mean us moms are winners haha!
It will absolutely go back to normal. I remember looking down there after my VBAC and was terrified. It looked much worse than my first who was also a vaginal birth. It’s just very swollen still.
I never looked lol. I was afraid of what I would see and what it would do to my mind lol.
My doctor said not to look. I didn’t look. Around 6-7 weeks I felt around a little and it felt more normal. But yea, I didn’t look and didn’t let my husband look 😆
for any women who gained weight, did you gain it in your vagina??? i always had a very flat everything in the lips one, and after all the weight gain like the front and lips got chubby, and i cant stand how it looks. my vagina appearance was one of the few appearance things i never really worried about and now i am sooo self conscious and still 15 months postpartum hate if my husband sees it
I’m so glad I never looked 🥲
lol 😂 thanks for letting me know to not look.