What’s The Husband-Stitch And Why Is It Not Okay?
The ‘husband-stitch’ is an extra stitch that goes beyond what is necessary to repair a natural tear during childbirth or a cut from an episiotomy. This stitch is for the so called ‘Daddy’ to tighten the vagina for increased pleasure of sexual partner
Do women really ask for the Husband-Stitch? Not really!
As per some reports, after a woman has given birth, medical practitioners either ask the husbands or tell them that they are going to throw in an extra stitch to make it tight. So clearly there is no consent taken from the woman! This stitch often comes with painful consequences for women and is not medically approved nor an accepted medical procedure.
SIDE EFFECTS OF THE HUSBAND-STITCH
- PAINFUL SEX
- SWELLING
- UNABLE TO RESUME PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES
- PAIN WHILE STANDING UP STRAIGHT
There are no scientific studies on how many women have been affected, nor is there a clear method for evaluating how prevalent the husband-stitch truly is in obstretics. But women share their stories, whispered as warning. The proof is in women’s words. Or sometimes, it’s sewn into their bodies.
Angela Sanford, a 36-year-old mom from South Carolina, received a husband-stitch when she gave birth to her first child in 2008. She didn’t find out until five years later, after years of “excruciating” pain during sex.
There is a notion that the delivery leaves the vagina stretched out and then does not have the capacity for sexual pleasure. And also that it cannot return to the size it was prior to pregnancy. This is not true! The fact that there is even a practice called the husband-stitch is a perfect example of objectification of women’s bodies. As much as we try to remove the sexualization of women from appropriate obstetric care, ofcourse the patriarchy is going to find its way in there!
Just like female genital mutilation, this too includes stitching female genitalia without a women’s consent for non-medical reasons. This means that the husband-stitch is a human rights violation, which is the right to have one’s body not touched or interfered with without one’s consent!!