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Home › Articles › Labor Preparation › The Perineum and Pregnancy

The Perineum and Pregnancy

Tips to Help Avoid Injuring the Perineum During Childbirth

By Teri Brown

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Of great interest to natural birth advocates is how to make birth less painful for the mother. One way to do this is to prevent tearing during the birthing procedure. While there has been much speculation on how best to do this, experts still disagree as to which procedure is most effective.

Kerensa Brougham from Portland, Ore., is a former certified childbirth instructor as well as the mother of two. She says that many experts believe that perineal massage may help ease pain and keep the perineum from tearing.

"According to most research studies, there is no hard proof that perineal massage prevents tearing during the pushing stage of labor," Brougham says. "However, it is also widely accepted that practicing perineal massage does not harm the perineum, and most natural birth advocates and doctors who are against episiotomies agree it is safe and may be beneficial."

Brougham and her husband began perineal massage during the last four weeks of her pregnancy and she feels it was very beneficial as she didn't tear at all during birth.

"The perineum has to stretch a lot during childbirth," Brougham says. "It goes from about 2 to 3 inches of skin and tissue, in an average woman, to a thickness of a few millimeters. I can't prove I would have torn without stretching the area first, but I can say that the perineal massage itself felt almost exactly the same as crowning, when the fullest part of the baby's head is coming out the vaginal opening. When I got to that point in pushing, I felt better prepared to handle it, because the sensation wasn't brand new. So even though I didn't know initially that this would be a benefit, for me, it was extremely helpful. It helped me relax and push better overall."


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