What is ‘normal’ after birth? Situating the material everyday consequences of second-degree vaginal tears in relation to post-birth norms

Journal article, 2025

Normative assumptions and dominant constructions around women's reproductive health have long been a central topic in medical sociology and gender studies. Following this tradition, this article examines Swedish women's experience of second-degree vaginal tears – i.e. a tear in the vagina and/or perineal muscle requiring suturing. Although such tears are a common consequence of vaginal birth, follow-up and treatment have been lacking in the Swedish healthcare system. Furthermore, feminist scholarship on post-birth embodiment has underscored the need for further research into bodies that function differently as a consequence of giving birth. By analysing 30 in-depth interviews with women about their experiences of living with a second-degree tear, this article aims to demonstrate how the embodied materialities of second-degree vaginal tears entangle with post-birth norms as affected individuals negotiate what to expect from post-birth embodiment. Drawing on previous research on post-birth embodiment and norms, our analysis shows how our interviewees' accounts express a ‘misfit’ between their post-birth embodied experiences and the dominant norms about, and practices of, the ‘active’ post-birth body. We show that over time this ‘misfit’ contributes to normative chafing – embedded discontent and friction which implicitly calls into question what ‘should’ be considered ‘normal’ after giving birth. As such, the article offers a nuanced understanding of the challenges that individuals with second-degree tears are facing and contributes towards unpacking norms and conditions in relation to which experiences of the ‘torn’ vagina risk being normalized and/or marginalized, in healthcare and beyond.