New Diapgnosis-Now 6wks Postpartum. Scared!

I am sure that your midwife only told you about your prolapse because you were a nurse and would understand what she was talking about. She rightly, and possibly ironically, told you that it is quite normal. Hey, you just had a baby's head come through your vulva, right? And that vulva loosened far enough for it to do this, right? And your insides (and outsides) are all still stretched, right? Of course it is normal.

She was a bit naughty though to associate the condition of a woman's vulva immediately postpartum with what it will be like in 2 years' time. I don't really think any postpartum woman should be even looking at her vulva straight afterwards, especially if it has been damaged during the birth, unless she is prepared for a big shock. That is simply not productive.

Your body will take about two years to recover from this birth to be as good as it is going to be. You might find that it will be worst at about 3 to 6 months postpartum, a common experience which seems to go against all logic, but that is the way it often happens. We don't know exactly why. After that you will start to see real improvement.

You may be very strong in a weightlifting sense, and may thrive on that, but I think your priorities need to be different until your body is over the pregnancy. You may get back to competitive lifting or you may ultimately decide that there are ways of exercising and celebrating your strength that are more sympathetic to the integrity of your pelvic support system, now it has been injured. Yes, it is a chronic condition. It is possible that you could get over the symptoms almost completely, eventually, but the damage will probably always be there with the potential to worsen to a similar degree; in the way that a person with a hernia can use or not use their body in ways that prevent the herniation manifesting itself, but surgical repair is the only longterm fix, and seems to be quite successful and free of longtem effects when done well. (Sadly, the same positive comments cannot be made about pelvio repairs.) There is every reason to believe that you will be able to live a perfectly normal life and do some pretty extraordinary things as long as you look after this injury and use your body appropriately. This involves attention to posture, diet, clothing design, exercise, and using your body's structure intelligently.

Being a lifter you will be interested in what your body can do to protect itself. Saving the Whole Woman will help you to understand this in terms of your pelvic support system. I am so glad you have purchased this book. Also check out Christine's DVD excerpts on Youtube. You might want to buy her exercise DVDs too. Much of your lifting technique is probably based on Wholewoman principles anyway. It will be interesting to have conversations with you about this.

BTW, check out this post of mine from last year, http://www.wholewoman.com/forum/node/3735, in which I describe Betty Brawn, an Australian strong woman, now based in the UK. It contains a link to her website. Check out some of the movies on her site.

Congratulations on the birth of your second baby. Enjoy.

Louise

Have more babies. My pop is much improved after going through a second vaginal birth. (unmanaged) Vaginal birth is a normal function of the body. Chronic constipation is abnormal. The two are not comparable in the least.

Badmirror's response is very commonsense.

Many of us have tearing or episiotomy with the first birth. Thereafter that tissue that was compromised may or may not heal.

The results of the damage will always be there. This means that the damage was there for me after my first birth and the prolapsing did begin then, but eventually worsened (like 20 years later, and after another 2 vaginal births without tears, and some chronic constipation and 20 years of zip and tuck posture, 3 months of coughing every spring and several years of full blown asthma coughing.

After having either my rectum, cervix or bladder right in my vaginal opening all the time I am now symptom free 95% of the time.

Research shows that many women have prolapsed pelvic organs for many years and simply do not realise it. It is as if some degree of prolapse is simply the maturing of the vagina, ie you are not a kid any more, and wear and tear, and settling that comes from ageing. It is probable that it is a developmental thing, rather than purely a degenerative thing. Just because doctors give something a label doesn't make it a disease, (any more than wrinkly skin or knobbly knees are diseases)!

The prolapse is the organs moving out of position and pushing into the walls of the vagina. The prolapse condition can be dramatically improved and you can get your organs back to where they are supposed to be, though the potential for them to prolapse again is always there. However, once you learn to get your organs back to where they should be you can do it as often as needed. women learn to do this to varying degrees, depending on the seriousness of the damage, the flexibility of her hips and spine, the degree of commitment she will put into changing the way she uses her body.

For sure! Go for more babies. You are so lucky to have found Wholewoman at this stage of your life. I had to wait until perimenopause, and I am sure much of the damage done was between having babies and finding Wholewoman in my early 50's.

Feel your grief. Feel the sadness, the regrets, the anger, the self-centred "why me?", the bargaining, ("If I stay away from weights it will go away" -which it probably won't.) etc. Eventually you will come out the other end a bit scarred by it, but able to move on, and live well with it. Until you have done all these techniques for about two years postpartum you will not know how well your body can recover from this pregnancy and birth.

Yes, you are right. The practical application of a 5 foot 125lb woman lifting 200lb in real life are somewhat limited. I am sure you will be able to find other ways of developing great physical strength that will give you the same buzz, without driving your pelvic organs south. The upper and lower body strength that you have developed will be *invaluable* for WW posture. In fact, that probably *is* the practical application of all the strength training you have done. In future you will probably do some sort of weight training to maintain that strength, not with the aim of lifting more and more, but with the aim of maintaining your posture and keeping your pelvic organs inside you.

As you seem to like competing with yourself and others, you might take up competitive swimming, or something like that, that will really push you physically but will be safe and good for your pelvic organ support.

Louise

Hi Zanzibar

I'm glad you didn't take it as "Put on your big girl panties and get over it".

I was just observing from my own experience that as we move through life our bodies change and our attitudes change. ;-) Our priorities change and we get our rewards from different things.

Louise

a bit more actually and have had 2 more pregnancies and births. I am no worse than I was 5 years ago (something most drs will tell you is that over time it will only get worse).
I am most certainly better than I was when I first found my rectocele and better than a few months after that when a cystocele showed up. But that was early postpartum and I'm not sure it's fair to compare.
So then I'll report that today, 9 months postpartum with baby 5, I'm feeling every bit as good as I did 1 year postpartum when my cystocele was reversed, my cervix high, and my rectocele just a slight bulge (maybe half a small marble) found about an inch inside my vagina on the back wall- if I go looking.
This month I did a back hand spring! I'm starting to get into working out a little (mostly pull ups and a little cardio) and I feel good.
and the best part is, I know I can manage this. I know I can modify things if I need to and that I can do most things that I want to.
If I notice things a bit low I use Nauli to pull them back up. Nauli and the posture combined really make having a prolapse no big deal for me.
So there ya go. A short version of my success story. I know I'm just one woman, but maybe you will do what I did, read the book and have a realization that the theory must be correct no matter if it's worked for anyone at all, and then give it your best effort.

I am also taking Bu Zing Yi Tang and I think it helps...
My acupuncturist helps me with the coccyx pain, and also with IBSs type of symptoms. Since going to acupuncture my symptoms are much milder, I also stopped having so frequent migraines.
Unfortunately, I am in the end of my contract so I will have my last session today...Then I will not be able to afford further sessions until my job situation clarifies...
But it was acupuncture which first helped me with the pain...(I had pain daily; I felt very depressed with it...)
Ivonush

Posture, posture, posture, posture, posture, clothing, relax your belly ...

Search the Forums for acupuncture.

Louise

http://www.nauli.org/

I haven't been here in quite a while, but wanted to share success. I discovered prolapse 6 years ago after the birth of our third child - I also had a really funky tear after the birth of our first that required surgical repair, which I believe partially caused the issues. I was really, really scared back then, feeling like everything was going to fall out. Christine's program is amazing on many levels. It gave me hope that surgery wasn't the answer, and tools to begin to heal. I tried everything, including accupuncture and chinese herbs that I would pick up from China town every two weeks and boil in my kitchen - very pungent. Ultimately, I developed a workout based on Christine's principles using a rebounder (mini-trampoline)! A year after that, I read the book "Born to Run" and got inspired to run, sort of barefoot, in Vibram Five Fingers. Well, I have been running 5-6 days a week now for two years. I honestly NEVER thought I would run. I still have slight pressure just before my moon cycle. Other than that, I pretty much never think about it. You sound better than I was postpartum after my 3rd, and others have shown that baby after prolapse is possible and wonderful. It did take time, and the uncertainty was the most stressful. I do not think I am an exception to what's possible. I think it is possible!!!

Thanks for calling back. It is so gratifying to know that there are other women than myself who have found that the improvements from Wholewoman really do last.

Louise

Hi and thank you so much, Rosewood, for the update. My husband read Born to Run and I must read it as well - when I have time - because it probably contains anatomical clues as to why running is so good for prolapse. Thanks for being one of our fleet-footed mamas! :)

Rosewood,

I am the Whole Woman office lady, and I from time to time collect pieces as testimonials. Can I use your post in my file of Whole Woman goodness?

-Amy

Amy, absolutely!

I am curious about how everyone discovered their prolapses postpartum. I am just 6 weeks PP, but have been having symptoms for about 3. Did you have symptoms first or did your GYN discover the prolapse? I have symptoms that fit prolapse but my midwife says she can't find any obvious bulges other than a weak pelvic floor. I am actually pretty convinced that my bladder has fallen, but she said no. Could you have symptoms (pressure in the vagina is my main symptom) before the actual prolapse occurs?

Hi Gumdrop

Fear not. What you have experienced is quite common. However, at only 6 weeks postpartum you don't need to worry. It will take a full 2 years for your body to revert to as good as it gets, after pregnancy. You might find it getting worse over the next 2 months, no matter what you do. Then it should stabilise and start to get better again. Just don't look. Seriously. Only have a look once a week, if you must, but it won't make it get better any quicker.

Just concentrate on using your body in ways that are supportive of your pelvic organs. Keep your lumbar curve in place at all times, and keep your chest up and shoulders relaxed, particularly when loading your body. It is OK to veg out occasionally, too. ;-)

Search the Forums for postpartum prolapse and other keywords and call back with questions.

Louise

Hi zanzibar,
wow - what an amazing bunch od women ww women are!
Just wanted to add - you may find Christine's ww exercizes/yoga enough of a boot camp regime! They're 'no walk in the park' as one of my friends said!
xwholewomanuk