In this blog, a Comfortable In My Skin sister shares her anonymous story about advocating for your health post-childbirth. 

During natural childbirth, the baby coming out of my vagina was SO intense that I didn’t feel my labia minora tear in half. 

The midwife said I had a minor graze, which would heal itself. After childbirth, I had to sit on ice for a few days as it was so swollen and sore. I never made the effort to get a mirror and have a look myself.

A week passed before I finally had a look and could see my labia minora had torn right down the middle and the bottom half hung down beyond my outer lips. It hurt for months and I hated it for years. 

Over the years, it has gotten smaller in size, but it still hurts if it is pulled during sex. My advice for any pregnant woman is to look at your vulva in a mirror while you are still in the hospital and make sure you are okay with everything. If I had, it would have been an easy stitch at the time that could have saved me a lot of physical and mental pain.