vaginal birth after tearing

had a 3b tear with my first, due to have my second at end of may and indecisive about the delivery method. has anyone else tore and gone on to have another vaginal birth? i was told there’s 50% external scarring so there’s a 7-10% chance of me tearing again and then that comes with the risk of incontinence which i could do without as i’m only 28. i’ve been booked for a section at 39 weeks but thinking of maybe cancelling and trying for another vaginal, just wanted to know if anyone has any experience with this and what they did and how it went for them

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I had a 2nd degree tear with my first and just had my second (who was 8oz bigger) with no tears just need to not rush getting baby out and allow your body to let baby out rather than force

Hi Mom, this is just my experience but I’ve posted a poll before asking the same question and a lot of responses were 2nd degree tear or no tear at all. I had my second baby about a month ago, I had a 3c with my first and guess what I got a 3a with my second although we tried every single thing in the book to avoid tearing I.e. perineal massage I even bought the perineal wand, done pelvic floor exercise, seen a pelvic floor physio and also gave birth on all fours but still tore but I healed within 3 weeks whereas I have been told a c section takes a lot longer. Our bodies are all different and our experiences are all different I had a very positive birth second time round even though I tore I was okay and healed well. Please don’t be scared with my comment I’m only just one person.

I also had a 3b tear and I’m due my second in November so I may change my mind a million times but I’ve told my midwife I do not want a c-section. The recovery scares me too much and if it’s not medically necessary then I want to avoid one. She is totally onboard with me wanting a vaginal birth again and has said that even though there’s risks of tearing again, there’s a high chance you won’t/wont to the extent of last time. I’ve been advised to think about an episiotomy to help reduce the risk but again totally my choice. She has also told me to be doing pelvic floor exercises 3 times a day everyday and perineal massage everyday closer to when I’m due. My son was 2 weeks overdue so I was induced and a very big baby. I also pushed him out in 20 minutes so they are all factors that played into how big my tear was. It’s a really tough decision and I hope you get the birth you want x

I had an emergency cscetion with my first so don't have experience of a tear, but the way I'd look at it is if you have a vaginal birth you may have another tear but if you have an elective section you will 100% have a huge wound in your abdomen. I think I'd take the chance of hopefully having a better vaginal birth this time. Personally, I have a lot of nerve damage from my csection even 3.5 years on - so much so that I can often see my baby moving but can't feel her.

@Charlie i actually had an episiotomy and still tore which was just great😂

My first i had an episiotomy and got a 2nd degree tear, baby was 9lb 1oz. But second labour baby was 8lb 8oz and no tears at all.

@Aimee I’ve heard this happening a lot so I think I’m going to decline one unless I really need it for like an assisted delivery etc

@Charlie yeah i had to have an assisted delivery, failed ventouse and then forceps. the recovery from the episiotomy was fine tbh it didn’t bother me, i purchased spritz for bits beforehand which i really recommend and have bought again this time round