Perineal tear during delivery: what to know

Tears range from a small skin injury to a deeper injury involving the muscles that support the pelvic floor. A clinician examines the area after birth to identify its depth and decide whether stitches are needed. A deeper tear can affect comfort, bowel control, and sexual activity during recovery, so follow-up matters even when the wound looks small from the outside.

Keep the area clean and dry as advised, change pads regularly, and take prescribed or recommended pain relief. Avoid straining with bowel movements; fluids, fibre, and any stool-softening plan from your maternity team can help. Rest, change position often, and follow instructions about activity and wound care. Pelvic-floor assessment or Postnatal Physiotherapy may help restore coordination and comfort. If repair is needed, Perineal Repair explains that treatment is tailored to the injury.

Contact your maternity team promptly for worsening pain, increasing swelling, new bleeding, pus, unpleasant odour, fever, or a wound that appears to open. Seek urgent care for heavy bleeding, faintness, severe pain, or inability to pass urine or stool. New difficulty controlling wind or bowel movements also deserves timely review, as it can signal a deeper injury or a healing problem.

Ask which degree of tear you have, whether the anal sphincter is involved, how to care for the stitches, and what symptoms should trigger a review. You can also ask when to resume exercise and sex, how bowel movements should be managed, and whether pelvic-floor rehabilitation is appropriate.