E + E Podcast Episode 45: Everything You Need To Know About Preventing Tearing During Labor
Listen to Episode 45
“And then also perinatal massage so what we’ve been talking about for prepping. Also the provider could do this gently and kind of exactly how we described it in one area so it is not stretching it side to side. A study by Equon et. all, they found that 50% of people had actually a lower trauma rate if their provider used this in the second stage of labor and that pushing stage which again, half of the people? That’s pretty impressive stats.”
— KRYSTLE HOWALD, PT, DPT, PCES
ABOUT THE EPISODE
A common fear that a lot of women have when they are going into labor is tearing. Especially if it’s your first time. We want to address this fear in this episode. We cover what you can do in pregnancy to prepare, how to protect your perineum during labor, and what to do if you do end up tearing.
Krystle explains what tearing actually is and what the different degrees of tearing mean. We get into why tearing happens and why it is more common among athletes. We teach you how to prepare the perineum for the stress of delivery and what you can do to help prevent tearing from happening.
If you have a birth partner, Krystle shares what they can do during delivery to help the perineum stretch out and she talks through optimal pushing positions & techniques for protecting your perineum. And what about if you still end up tearing? We go through how to heal and what exercises you can do to help this area after birth.
We know that tearing can be a big fear. But we hope this episode puts your mind at ease and can be a resource for you during your labor and delivery. Please tag us on your Instagram stories @expectingandempowered if you enjoyed this episode.