The term "Stahl
Stitch" or sometimes called “husband
stitch” refers to a controversial and medically unnecessary practice where, after a
woman has a vaginal tear or episiotomy during childbirth, an extra stitch is added during the repair — supposedly to make the vaginal opening tighter than before birth, often for the presumed sexual benefit of the male partner.
"No one
told her what the Stahl
Stitch meant, only that it was ‘for her
husband,’ a phrase that stayed with her far longer than the pain."