If you are:
- pregnant
- planning on having a baby
- Or maybe your partner or friend is planning on having a vaginal birth
THEN IT IS IMPERATIVE YOU KNOW ABOUT THE EPI-NO
Now if you are squeamish about birth, vaginas, and you’re not in either of the camps above then maybe give this post a miss. However if you are intrigued and like to be equipped with information and want to prepare for your birth then read on.
What is it?
When I was pregnant one of my best mum friends, Kylie, told me about the EPI-NO. Essentially the EPI-NO is a training device for your hoo-ha to prepare it for birth. Think of it as a treadmill for your vagina before the big race. Most friends I spoke to didn’t know about this device and it is quite hard to come by in shops or chemists. So I was determined to write about this and tell everyone I can!
It is called an EPI-NO, for good reason, it stands for Episiotomy No. If you don’t know what an episiotomy is, it’s something you don’t usually want to hear when you’re giving birth. It is when they need to perform an incision between the vagina and anus to widen the vagina opening to assist with birthing a baby. The idea of getting an Episiotomy terrified me! Now I have had some mum friends who had an episiotomy and they said it was fine. Their recovery was quick, they didn’t have any complications and thought the whole process was very manageable. However I have had some friends who have had complications affecting them for months afterwards.
The EPI-NO website boasts that 67% of EPI-NO users did not require an episiotomy during childbirth. Look the way I see it, if there is something which is going to help prevent me from getting an episiotomy or any other perineal damage down there, I was definitely going to give it a go. Also the way I see it..
You wouldn’t run a marathon without any training, so why not train your body for birth
The EPI-NO was the answer for me. I only know two other friends who have used it and all three of us had a natural birth without an episiotomy and minimal damage – so that is good enough stats for me to be a believer and now an advocate!
How does it work?
See below image of the device:
Taken from: https://www.epino.de/en/epi-no-details.html
You can use the EPI-NO three different ways:
- To exercise the pelvic floor
- To stretch the Perineum for birth
- To practise giving birth
Here is how I used it these three ways:
1) To exercise the pelvic floor
I was doing pelvic floor exercises before I started using the EPI-NO, however I found it so hard to tell if I was doing it right. Well the EPI-NO gives you a way to measure your exercises and to check you are performing them correctly. Let me tell you after using the EPI-NO I found out I was not doing them correctly before!
I purchased the EPI-NO when I was around 25 weeks pregnant and started using it to perform my pelvic floor exercises. You do this by inserting the silicone balloon into your vagina (best to have some lubricant on hand), perform your pelvic floor exercises and watch the pressure gauge to assess your performance. The first time I used it, I barely made the needle move! After some practising and time passed I eventually was able to move the needle to 10+. I used the KPFL App, which is a pelvic floor exercise app. This counted down the exercises for me and also reminded me to do this daily. I was quite religious about doing the exercises daily and used the EPI-NO 3-4 times a week.
You can also use it post birth to continue exercising the pelvic floor which is extremely important to your recovery. Now post birth I was a little nervous to use this (and I also forgot!) so I waited till around the 4 month mark before I started using this again. I’m not that great at remembering but use it once a week.
2) To stretch the Perineum for birth
I started the stretching around 36 weeks, essentially you insert the silicone balloon into your vagina then use the hand pump to expand the ballon to a level you are comfortable with. It sounds painful, but honestly I didn’t push myself with this, just till there was a firm pressure, but no pain. I got to around 7.5cm in diameter, which may not sound like much – but I was pretty proud of that! Considering you need to get to 10cm dilated when you’re in labour before you start pushing. This gave me the confidence that I didn’t have much further to go during labour. Also don’t worry ladies everything bounces back to where it was post birth!
3) To practise giving birth
As you begin the stretching you can also practise “giving birth” and “push” the balloon out. I didn’t find this worked too well for me, it was hard for me to control it, the balloon often just popped out. But friends said it worked for them, so give it a try.
Perennial Massage
When I spoke to my Doctor about using the EPI-NO he said perennial massage is also very effective, if not more effective. So I thought why not do both?! From week 36 I used the EPI-NO every second day and perennial massage every other day.
If the EPI-NO isn’t up your alley, then you should definitely do perennial massage. Here is a good video we used:
Now when I was 36 weeks pregnant, hell even when I’m not pregnant, I found it very difficult to perform this on myself. So my darling husband helped me out. I felt weird asking, but I think he was really happy to help. My body was going through a lot carrying our baby, this was something he could do to help out.
Final thoughts – Do I recommend it?
Hell yes, like I said at the beginning, I know three of us who have used it and we all had a natural birth with minimal tearing. Even if it works as a placebo effect and essentially just mentally prepares you for birth, then I still think it is worth it.
Where can I buy it?
Here is a link to buy online, its AUD$189 which is a bit of an investment. But like I said earlier episiotomy complications can last months so I think this is worth the investment.
Have you used the EPI-NO before? Would you recommend it?