Even though celebrity moms like Chrissy Teigen have made talking about the not-so-glamorous side of pregnancy more commonplace, the topic of tearing during childbirth isn’t discussed as much as it should be. But it happens. In fact, most pregnant people – between 53 and 89 percent – experience at least some degree of tearing if they deliver vaginally, according to research published in the National Library of Medicine. This is why it’s shocking that perineal massage isn’t more widely known.
Perineal massage refers to the practice of massaging the vaginal opening with oil or lubricant before childbirth in order to reduce the risk of tearing during delivery. And while people on TikTok are claiming it worked for them, anecdotal evidence isn’t the most reliable. So we asked experts, including Roxanne Pero, MD, FACOG, board-certified ob-gyn and member of perinatal nutrition brand Needed‘s practitioner collective, to weigh in on perineal massage.
– Additional reporting by Mirel Zaman