Husband Stitch: A Childbirth Myth or an Effective Necessity?

Despite the fact that this type of plastic surgery has widely spread, doctors assert that the use of this type of operations should be minimal. However, many women are doing such sewing to make the vagina narrower which in fact leads to genital pain and many other problems during sexual intercourse. The following are the real reasons for the use of this type of stitching, when to necessarily undergo this operation, and what alternatives might be helpful.

When did doctors start to do cosmetic sewing?

Since the 1920s, there has been a medical belief that sewing in a woman's genital area will facilitate healing of the wound, especially after birth, and that this will help relieve any pain. The difficulty or pain of the vaginal birth depends mainly on the nature of the mother's body, the weight of the child and the nature of his birth. "People were taught in the 1950s and 1960s that this sewing would help restore the vagina to its normal size and condition, and then the issue of narrowing this area has emerged because everyone thought this is what will restore their sexual relationship" said Dr Robert L. Barbieri, head of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Brigham Women's Hospital in Boston. Barbieri also added that with the beginning of the eighties, doctors confirmed that there was no medical reference supporting the idea of vaginal plastic surgery, but it has long-term negative consequences including sever pain during intercourse. A lot of women who underwent this surgery assured that sex became a very painful experience after the operation.

When do you need cosmetic stitching?

You may need to perform a cosmetic stitching of the vagina after normal birth only when the area between the vagina and the anus is ruptured during childbirth. This is because some doctors perform a cutaneous wound in the vagina to help remove the baby.

Is a husband stitch necessary?

It must be agreed that such operations are only necessary in some dangerous cases which only the doctor can determine. For some women who believe that this surgery will help her and her husband get more pleasure during sexual intercourse since the vagina will make a vagina narrower, this is a mistaken thought. The reason is that the sewing is done in the thin layer of skin between the vagina and anus, which makes it an external surgery. The sexual intercourse takes place in the inner part of a woman's body, so it's like narrowing the gate of the vagina only, but its real size remains the same which makes the intercourse painful. This is why it has nothing to do with increasing sexual pleasure. 

What are the alternatives to stitching the vagina?

a. Kegel Exercise:

Vaginal contraction exercises are exercises that perform vaginal tightening and pelvic muscles strengthening. Kegel exercises are good to narrow the vagina and help strengthen the muscles supporting the pelvic and vaginal floor.

This exercise is easy to keep the vagina in the position of contraction for several seconds and then slowly relax. This process can be repeated many times and for days until you get strong muscles. These exercises are preferred during pregnancy and after childbirth.

b. Squats exercises to narrow the vagina:

It is common known that these exercises strengthen the muscles of buttocks only, but it also works to strengthen the pelvic muscles, and thus strengthen the muscles of the vagina. It is preferred to do it daily. 

Main image credits: Instagram @couple