Birth Injuries: Cervical Tears
During delivery it is common for minor cervical tears to occur. This often happens during the birth of a woman's first baby as it is the first time the cervix has ever had to open up. However, in some instances the cervix may tear more seriously and profuse bleeding may result.
Cervical tears are amongst the most common causes of post-birth haemorrhaging and as a result it is imperative that they are repaired urgently.
Most cervical tears occur between the anterior and posterior lips of the cervix and can be caused by a variety of reasons:
Delivery through an undilated cervix, either because it happened spontaneously or due to the use of forceps;
Rapid labour meaning the cervix has not had time to properly dilate;
Rigid cervix due to previous operations like the LEEP procedure, cone biopsy, or removal of part of the cervix;
Very vascular cervix (ie a cervix which has a larger blood supply than normal), as can be the case if there is a low lying placenta.
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