My doc (and I made sure to engage an old hand who had been delivering babies for 40 years) was prepared for any contingencies such as a long and difficult labor or bad presentation. But the family are sturdy Scotch-Irish farming stock on both sides, and have always had lots of babies without any difficulty. I can't remember anyone having any trouble at all, except my maternal grandmother, who was a bacteriologist and nurse and probably scared herself half to death thinking of all the anomalies she had seen in her career . . . . but she perforce had a natural childbirth because it was 1924 . . . .
“Both my mom and I had episiotomies with no ill effects — sure beats an uncontrolled tear.”
I used to do a very visual argument about an uncontrolled tear with new nurses. I’m glad you weren’t one of the many women who could never enjoy sex again. My nursing instructors were old broads who lived through WW11. I think they worked hard to teach common sense. Epesiotomy- take a piece of cloth and try to tear it. Good luck. Cut it and then try to tear it. Nuff said.