During our NCT antenatal class we were given loads of amazing information. As a follow-up, we received an email with a summary and a few attachments. I asked my better half to print them off so I could read them in bed but when he finished printing he said: "Honey, did you actually look at these attachments? There are some things in there that I don't recall us discussing...". He looked a little ashen so I had a quick look through the print-outs. This is the first thing I saw:
My better half and I are very close and very open with one another, but this definitely wasn't a diagram we had seen before. The information that accompanied this diagram was as follows:
"This is a great exercise to do with your partner. First of all, wash your hands and find a private place and sit or lean back in a comfortable position with your legs spread open and knees relaxed. Your partner should put a lubricant such as KY jelly, cocoa butter, olive oil, vitamin E oil or pure vegetable oil on your thumbs and around the perineum. Place your thumbs about 1 to 2 inches (three to four centimeters) inside your vagina.
Press downward and to the sides at the same time. Gently and firmly keep stretching until you feel a slight burning, tingling or stinging sensation. With your thumbs, hold the pressure steady for about two minutes or until the area becomes a little numb and you don't feel the tingling as much. As you keep pressing with your thumbs, slowly and gently massage back and forth over the lower half of your vagina, working the lubricant into the tissues.
Keep this up for three to four minutes. Remember to avoid the urinary opening. As you massage, pull gently outward (and forward) on the lower part of the vagina with your thumbs hooked inside. This helps stretch the skin much in the same way that the baby’s head will stretch it during birth."
Ok...let's just hold on a second here...
- There is absolutely no way I can manage this myself as I have enough difficulty wiping my own backside now that I am the size of an elephant
- If my better half comes anywhere near me with an intent to "firmly keep stretching" until I feel "a slight burning", I will cut his crown jewels off and serve them up for supper.
I have asked our midwife about whether or not we really should be doing this and her view is that it won't really make much difference and if you are going to tear, you are going to tear. I think we will sit this one out and take our chances...
There are so many things that pop up during pregnancy that nobody thinks to mention to you and I understand that this is part embarrassment and part selective memory. My intention on here is to share all I hear so it doesn't come as much as a shock to you as it did to us :)
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