Pregnany Progression - I need to massage my what?!

DISCLAIMER: This post is pretty graphic and talks about fingers in vaginas and whatnot. Reader discretion is advised.


Apparently I'm a little late on this one, but starting at 34 weeks of pregnancy it is good to have you (or your partner) massage your perineum with something rich in Vitamin E. This is only important if you don't want to rip from front to back in case you have a large baby.  Essentially, this is stretching the space between the vagina and the anus now so it will be primed to do so once the baby decides to make its debut.

Chef has been gracious enough to do this for me every day for about 5 minutes. He calls it foreplay without the play. Our vehicle of choice is good old fashioned olive oil. So, I know you're wondering... how might one go about a perineal massage. Well, this is how Chef and I do it. *He has very large fingers so we start with one and work our way up to two.* He puts a good amount of olive oil on his index finger and inserts it into my vagina up to about his second knuckle. He then makes a "U" shape back and forth applying pressure around the sides and the bottom. Let me tell you... this does not feel great. The best way to describe it would be a slight stinging sensation. Feel the burn! It gave me the perfect opportunity to practice those breathing exercises and pain coping techniques I learned in my birthing class. I've done the research on it and women having their first child that practice perineal massage are less likely to tear than those who don't.  It doesn't matter whether you massage or not if you're having baby #2 or more. You can take my word for it, research it yourself or think I have really lost my mind, but when I don't have to get stitched up... don't be jealous. Either way I think it's worth a try. Based on how this "massage" feels, I can't possibly fathom how much pushing a baby's head out would hurt. Hopefully it would hurt little less now that I'm prepping for it.

Here's a little diagram on how it should be done if you're doing it yourself. I cant imagine doing it myself because my baby bump is in the way and it's like self inflicted pain. I would be so tense.