Does Olive Oil Work?

I had my baby at HEB - Harris. Although my daughter was five weeks early and 5pds 13oz I did not tear. I say use Olive Oil - the nurses used it on me and it worked.

Hey girl im 19 years old. i had my baby when i was 17 but i had a c-section cuz he was too big. but i heard from my friend that olive oil does work it helped anyway. hey if u wanna talk sometimes just send me and email to ____@____.com. i am looking to make new friends. my baby now is 30 months. he gets into everything lol.

C.,

Olive oil or baby shampoo both work well for "perineal massage". The hospital will supply it and your Labor nurse will use it during pushing. You need the medical grade quality of olive oil to prevent infections and I haven't read any studies that have convinced me that applying it before the pushing stage of labor has any beneficial effects. I hope this helps
K. (ex L&D nurse) @ The Nestingplace

Have your hubby start perineal massage now (about 10-15 min/ day)to help stretch the area a little & prepare it, then ask your dr. to do it before/ during delivery.

I had a grade 3 tear w/ #1, so we had a lot of scar tissue to soften up before #2. About a month before my due date my sweet, wonderful hubby (who stated he never wanted to "see" me like "this" again) did perineal massage, as did my fantastic dr., Dr. Flowers, & I had no tearing at all, even after a 46 hour natural labour with much hard work!

Good luck!
D.

Hi C.! I really DO think it works! When I first heard about it I was about 7 months pregnant and I remember thinking that sounds crazy! But when I got to the hospital to deliver, the nurse told me about it and said that they do it. She was a great nurse and through out my labor she would apply the oil. I ended up not tearing or anything. I was so nervous about that! Then they did it again with my second child and once again, no tearing and no stitches! I say go for it.
Congrats on little Calin and good luck!
C.

Don't be afraid. It is normal and the doctors will make you comfortable. I had both my natural as they say but they still had to cut a little and I never felt it. I do not understand today why the moms and dads get to pick what form of deading they want. I thought that is what we pay the doctors to know. G. W

i really don't know if that work,Its worth a shot...my son was 7 lbs just the right size and his cord was wrapped around his neck the dr had to get him out with some forcept,they look like kitchen thongs, so after more then 24hrs of labor he was born and i had to get 7 stitches down there .they do hurt. but with time the pain goes away and cant see that they were there. i was around your age why my son was born now 11yrs of marriage 3 kids later i would change a thing .Your lucky to have your mother there with you . Kids are a gift from God ,Love them with all you have ,because they grow up so fast . Good luck

Never hurts to try, but trust me, you won't be worrying about stitches, etc at that moment! Your whole being is working on getting that little one safely into this world, then listening for the 1st cry, then seeing baby for the first time...I had to have an episiotomy, and while the stitches have to be tended to for a couple of weeks (squirt bottle of warm water & antiseptic that the hospital sends home), I never noticed them hurting. Just itchy after a week, but again, you'll have other things on your mind! Good luck, sweetie...try not to be afraid. Just think positive thoughts, and don't try to figure out all the "what if's" before you deliver...

According to my husband (because I wasn't paying attention) for my first child the nurse was getting me ready for delivery by coating the area with olive oil--I had a large baby at 8 lbs 4 oz. I still had to have an episiomotomy (spelling?); however, I didn't even know since I had an epidural. And the stitches/swelling didn't bother me that much.

With my second child, I don't think they used olive oil (probably b/c my body was ready since I had my son 17 months earlier!) and apparently I tore--she wasw 8 lbs. 14 oz. Again, I didn't notice due to the epidural. And again, the stitches/swelling didn't bother me that much.

Good luck!
L.

The nurses at Harris HEB used it on me when I had my son. For other reasons, I ended up with a C-section, but they swore it would help. I figure, if nothing else, there's a little oil down there to help slide that head out!