Many women are recommended to massage the perineum from around the 34th week of pregnancy. It is supposed to stimulate blood circulation in the perineal tissue and make the skin, muscles and connective tissue more supple and elastic. Unfortunately, perineal massages are often not recommended as what they are: a great way to familiarize yourself with the perineal tissue. Instead, they are recommended as absolutely necessary to avoid perineal tears and other birth injuries. So what is the truth about the effectiveness of perineal massages? We have reviewed the scientific evidence for you and written everything down here (spoiler: no, you don't have to do a perineal massage, of course. And if you just want to try it out but don't want to buy your own oil specifically for it, we recommend our Honest Oil . It works for everything: stomach and perineum before, during and after birth!):
Perineal massages do not prevent perineal tears
Science is pretty much unanimous: there is no clear evidence that perineal massages really prevent perineal tears. Individual reviews have shown that larger tears may occur somewhat less frequently in women who massaged their perineum daily before giving birth. But this is not certain either, because third and fourth degree perineal tears are so rare that meaningful studies are difficult to carry out. Conversely, this also means that if you don't massage your perineum, you won't automatically get a perineal tear - and that is the important message here.
So if you don't feel like it, don't have the time, don't have the opportunity for other reasons, or just don't feel comfortable doing a perineal massage, we say: please don't stress about it. Perineal massages should be fun, give you a feeling of preparation, maybe even become a kind of ritual with which you prepare yourself or your partner for the birth. If you don't tick any of these boxes: just don't do it.
Because perineal massages, like hay steam baths, raspberry leaf tea and eating dates, are more mental preparation for birth than anything else.
Why perineal massages are useful
Even though the scientific situation is rather ambiguous, we are still fans of perineal exploration massages. And not in a dogmatic way like "at least four times a week, definitely 10 minutes, etc.", but in whatever way you like. Because we believe that touching and engaging with your perineal tissue can be a great way to deal with this otherwise often neglected area of the body. This way you can slowly approach it and feel what it feels like to stretch the perineum.
How to explore and massage your perineum
If you feel like working on your perineal tissue before giving birth, we say: do it! The best thing to do is to find an oil that is approved for perineal massages. This can be a neutral oil or the Honest Oil with clary sage, which also has a blood circulation-stimulating effect. You can then design the massage itself in a way that feels good for you - we have just written down a few ideas for you to inspire you:
# You can massage yourself standing up, with one leg propped up on the toilet, sitting or lying down - or ask your partner for help.
# With oiled fingers you can now insert your thumb into your vagina and then hold the perineum between your thumb and index finger and massage it.
# If you are interested in a stretching sensation, you can pull downwards with your thumb (if you imagine your vulva as a clock, towards six o'clock) or insert several fingers into the vagina. You can also try breathing into the stretching pain and see if you can bear it better that way.
# Besides your fingers, you can of course also use other things, such as dildos or vibrators.
You can do this every day or just once - whatever suits you.
The best birth preparation is: your very own
We have already mentioned it above: we don't believe in dogmatic recommendations that really stress many women before giving birth - because that is really the last thing you want to have before giving birth. In our view, it is always cool to know about many options and, if it suits you, to try them out. And then see for yourself whether you want to implement some of these recommendations for yourself.
It is really important to say that none of these methods have been proven to prevent any kind of injury or to speed up the birth. And that also means that you are not responsible for something happening or not happening. And you are certainly not "to blame" if your perineum or another part of your intimate area tears during a natural birth.
