I feel uncomfortable just reading the word. I remember all too well how tough my recovery was because of this. My post partum recovery was harder on me than the pregnancy or the birth.

However, a doctor didn't do it in my case -- nature did. I tore almost completely.

Do you think episiotomies are necessary? The woman in this article makes it sound like her doctor did it for convenience. Makes you wonder.

http://www.parenting.com/article/Pregnancy/Postpartum/avoiding-episiotomies

I personally don't think they are necessary for the most part . I do think circumstances arise where they can be needed, but not usually.

I was told by both of my OBs that episiotomies were really popular for a while, but most "modern" doctors are going back to the school of thought that our bodies know what to do. If they need to tear, they will. If not, not. And they let nature take its course.

I also once heard an analogy that made a lot of sense. Think about holding a regular piece of paper. If it's in one piece and you start to tear it with your hands, that's sort of like tearing naturally.

Now take that piece of paper and go ahead and start a tear with a piece of scissors. Now start tearing it the rest of the way with your hands - it tears a whole lot faster once it's been started for you.

There are a LOT of different opinions on this topic though.

My cousin had a complicated birth. She had had previous colon/rectal surgery. Due to the scarring, and even thought she did have (a not-so-good IMO) episiotomy, she still needed over 100 stitches. Talk about tearing!

FunnyMummy- OUCH!! I don't even want imagine what that must have been like!

I didn't have an episiotomy. I only had a very small tear and just needed a couple of stitches, so it wasn't that bad.

I think most of the time they are unnecessary and should not be performed routinely. I think there are some Docs that still perform them routinely. Moozle- I like the paper analogy.