Mature eyes (and responses) only please...?

I am pregnant with my first child...only 4 weeks along. I have been doing a lot of research on the whole process of giving birth (I know, already) and how I might want to go through with it.

I was looking at videos on youtube and came across this one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkUx5gcP5... After you watch the first half you will know better what my question is about. Does the doctor (or nurse, whoever that was) really come in and cut you down there with scissors?

You will have to watch to understand. ONLY WATCH IF YOU HAVE A STRONG STOMACH.

Has anyone ever had that done to them personally?

Please only mature, honest answers.
:)
10 pts. to the best answer!

Yes, what you saw is called an episiotomy. It's a cut through muscle (called your perineum) that the doctor or nurse can give you to help with the baby's head easing through the vaginal canal and out of the vaginal opening.

I recently had my first child (he's 9 weeks old) and fortunately, I didn't have to have an episiotomy. I did a lot of research as well, and I learned that there are things you can do to prepare your perineum to lessen the chance of having an episiotomy. It's called perineal massage, do a search on it for ways to massage the area and basically tenderize it to help it stretch easier during labor.

I went for the natural way of childbirth and had a nurse midwife. I found through research that the rates of episiotomies and c-sections are staggeringly high for regular OBgyns, and that in most cases, they are unnecessary. Also, episiotomies tend to be worse than letting the area tear naturally, because the cut is through muscle, when a tear tends to be only surface deep. I tore during my labor, was stitched, and the tear healed in less than 2 weeks. My mother, who had an episiotomy, told me it took 6 weeks to heal, and caused her a lot of pain.

The decision is completely up to you, but make sure you are well informed, continue to do the research, and come up with a birth plan for your doctor so he or she can know what all of your expectations are for before, during and after the labor. Make it as detailed as possible. I'll list a few websites and a book I read that helped me greatly in learning more about pregnancy and the things that people don't tell you.

Don't let the book scare you, lol. It's a great source of information, the darker side of pregnancy and childbirth that people feel is a taboo subject.

Congratulations and good luck!

If you are referring to an episiotomy, then yes, they do perform those sometimes. By making a small incision to allow for more room for the baby to pass, they can control the tearing better and hopefully avoid a more serious tissue tear in the perineum (the band of skin/tissue between your vagina and anus). They sew you back up when it's all over.

Yes they do dear. Its called an episiotomy. You dont feel it at all- they do it right in the middle of you pushing hard and you dont feel it.

No they dont do that to ALL women only when needed. it was needed for my twins who i have birth to naturally

That would be called an episiotomy, yes they do cut you with scissors and stitch you back up afterwards, generally these days however, with a good L&D nurse that can stretch your vaginal muscles out prior to crowning this will reduce your chances of have to be cut or having a tear

ive had 2 and didnt have to be cut with any of them,just push when you need to with all your might

its an epiostomy and yes it does happen. i was emergency section so inever got it but it really is true that you forget the pain afterwards

the link didn't work ... however you are probably talking about an episiotomy. Ive seen it done . look it up on www.webmd.com for more info on it.

In some cases they DO "cut" you down there. They do it because if the baby is too big it is better to have them cut you then if you tear. If you tear there is a longer healing time and more risk of infection and so on.

THat is called an episiotomy and most doctors no longer perform them. They can massage and manually stretch you so that they are not neccessary. The practice began becasue many women will tear leaving a jagged edge to stich up in the end, but a straight cut is easier to stich. The problem is that a straight wound even wen healed is not as strong as a jagged wound, and most women really don't need them. I ended up with only one stch. They are not routine practice anymore, and you can tell you doctor that you do not wish to have an episiotomy.

Yes these women are right, you wont know it. But if you have the daddy in there paying attention he will sure as hell know it. I filled in my wife of the sound it made as they preformed the cut. Oh my word it still makes me cringe. But it really helps.

they only cut you if they half to ..for me i tore got 2 stiches!!
but i nevr watched the vid.cause im eating...so i hope that what your talking about lol!!

Yes I have had an episiotomy.

My first daughter had a really big head and they needed to cut me to help get her out with forceps.

Luckily I never had to have it done with any of my other births. It did take a bit longer for me to heal up but salt baths help with that.

It is not a routine procedure but one only performed when necessary.

with my first child they had to cut me. he was soo big. he numbed me first so i didnt feel it. and with in seconds my son was here. to be honest if i had seen that before giving birth i would have been realy scared......... i am kinda glad i didnt.

I found a great article on Wikipedia about this. The procedure you see in the video is called an episiotomy, just like others have explained. Here is the verbatim definition given: "An episiotomy is a surgical incision through the perineum made to enlarge the vagina and assist childbirth. The incision can be midline or at an angle from the posterior end of the vulva, is performed under local anaesthetic (pudendal anesthesia) and is sutured closed after delivery. It is one of the most common medical procedures performed on women, and although its routine use in childbirth has steadily declined in recent decades, it is still widely practiced in Latin America."

There is also a really good picture to illustrate the procedure.

They say it is not often used, but I have heard from several friends that experienced it that you don't even feel it when it happens. They say you can hear it more than anything. I know it looks horrible in the video, but it is certainly better for them to make a small cut than to tear through.

I am so glad you are researching birth now, so early in your pregnancy... that is a very good and responsible thing to do!! Good for you!
Since you are researching and looking at youtube... may I suggest you search for 'homebirth' 'waterbirth' or 'unassisted birth'. The videos are beautiful, and you can see what childbirth REALLY looks like... without a bunch of interventions.
A lot of women get episiotomies (cutting of the perineum to widen the opening for baby), some doctors even do it routinely without consenting the mother... you need to ask your caregiver what their policies on this and other interventions are and make yourself a birthplan!!
You have the right to refuse ANY medical intervention you do not want. Read ahead of time on all the interventions and the pros and cons. There are risks with every intervention and sometimes the doctors play it down (and sometimes don't even tell you) because they are done so routinely. On the subject of episiotomies.... giving birth on all fours is the best way to avoid a tear, and most women who birth at home or with a midwife chose to birth this way. It uses gravity to help the baby get in the right position, eases pain on the back, and reduces your chance of a tear to almost nothing!!!

Here are some websites you should look at, and a link to some wonderful youtube videos.

http://www.birthingnaturally.net/

http://www.earthmamaangelbaby.com/

http://www.naturalchildbirth.org/mambo/

http://www.naturalbirthandbabycare.com/n...

http://www.waterbirth.org/mc/page.do

here are the youtube videos... they are graphic, so beware, but they depict childbirth the way nature intended, and notice how calm and lovely it is... no running around histerically, and no rushing the baby off for interventions..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fwWdVda8...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMaAfakqH...

Congratulations by the way!!
I am a DOULA and a childbirth educator, so if you have any questions, you can email me...
passionshark@hotmail.com

Like everyone else says its an episiotomy, if you haven't checked it out already I suggest "What to Expect When Your Expecting". I didn't have one with my first baby, and I ripped in 3 places...they only do them to prevent tearing, so apparently it is better to have one. (second baby was delivered via cesarean)