Childbirth

Can I Prevent The Need to Have a Episiotomy?

Although an episiotomy is a minor incision made during childbirth to the perineum in order to enlarge the vaginal opening facilitating delivering your baby, this surgery procedure is only occasionally necessary, and you can definitely take a few preventive measures that help you avoid the need of that cut.

Stating since the early moment when seeking conception, good nutrition is important, not only to lessen the chances of getting an episiotomy, but through the different stages of your pregnancy helping to keep your skin healthy as well, and healthy skin can stretch more easily.

Exercising is another need when you are pregnant, however your daily walking or some other exercise routines may not be enough to tonify the area surrounding your vaginal opening. Making Kegels a part of your pregnancy exercising routine decreases the need for an episiotomy.

Kegels are a set of pelvic exercises designed by Dr. Arnold Kegel, a world-renowned gynecologist, intended to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles which support the urethra, bladder, uterus, and rectum. The exercises consist of the regular squeezing-like clenching and unclenching of these pubococcygeus muscles, sometimes called the "Kegel muscles".

An exercise routine which includes Kegels help anyone to restore muscle tone and strength in the pelvic area, prevent or reduce pelvic floor problems and increase sexual gratification, but in pregnant women the additional compensations include the treating of vaginal prolapse and uterine prolapse preventing episiotomy.

Other forms of prevention include a slowed second stage of labor where the woman gets the urge to push and the pushing is controlled, allows the tissues to stretch rather than tear. At this stage, the baby finally completes a series of movements facing the mother's side, making the largest dimension of his head enter the widest dimension of her upper pelvis before descend.

Pushing is caused by the labor's second stage contractions, when the pressure of the baby is on the vagina and on the rectum, cause the urge to push several times during each contraction, and resisting can be difficult even un-medicated. However, with the help of a health care practitioner observing when contractions occur, coaching her on when to push.

This way the mother takes a deep breath when the contraction begins and then releases it, taking in another deep breath, tucks chin and bears down for about six seconds, before gently pushing downward with abdominal muscles, visualizing her baby moving down and out. It usually takes 3 pushes per contraction, sometimes exhaling while pushing, or holding the breath for 5 to 7 seconds, following the pushing urge when possible.