Many women experience tears during childbirth as the baby stretches the vagina and perineum.
Small, skin-deep tears are known as first-degree tears and usually heal naturally. Tears that are deeper and affect the muscles of the perineum are known as second-degree tears – these usually require stitches.
A third-degree tear is a tear that extends into the muscle that controls the anus, the anal sphincter. If the tear extends further into the lining of the anus or rectum it is known as a fourth-degree tear. These are called obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASI).
An episiotomy is a cut made by a healthcare professional through the vaginal wall and perineum. This may be done if your baby needs to be born more quickly, or to make more space for your baby to be born. It is possible for an episiotomy to extend and become a deeper tear.
If you have experienced a third or fourth-degree tear, you will be contacted in the days following delivery by a member of the pelvic health physiotherapy team with some routine physiotherapy advice, or you may have received this directly on the wards.
You will receive further contact at 6 weeks post-natal from the Pelvic Health Physiotherapy team. This may be a face-to-face appointment or a telephone appointment.
You will be offered further Physiotherapy treatment if this is required.
If you have experienced a third or fourth-degree tear, you will also be invited to attend an OASI consultant appointment at around 3 months after birth. This referral will happen automatically after you are discharged from the hospital following birth.
