Patient's question:
Patient: Female, 28 years old. I heard that vaginal delivery can cause tearing, and the stitches are even more painful than giving birth. If it doesn't come out, they have to cut a hole in the vagina—it's terrifying. Although I'm pregnant, I'm really scared of the day of delivery. Do all women who have a vaginal delivery experience vaginal tearing?Doctor's answer:
Splitting is common, but mostly mild. At that time, your perineum has already been swollen due to pressure from the baby's head, so even if it's a third-degree tear, the pain you feel as a pregnant woman won't be significant—don't worry about it. Since third-degree tearing (where the perineum tears upward into the anal sphincter, causing fecal incontinence) affects a pregnant woman's quality of life, most hospitals now routinely perform an episiotomy when the baby's head is about to emerge. This involves making an incision in the perineum in advance to help guide the baby's head during delivery, reducing the risk of perineal tearing, especially third-degree tearing, from happening again.