I ended my first childbirth with a 2nd degree tear, which the doctor described as “normal”. This meant that I had skin and muscle damage, but not such that it extended all the way to the back. From my internet research, I knew this meant stitches— which was what I got. A few hours after giving birth in the Labor and Delivery Ward at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, I was moved to the Family Centered Care Unit. (Those are two long mouthfuls!) In the second location, the nurse told me that a postpartum woman should urinate every 2-3 hours and…