New here

Submitted by mennomom on January 22, 2014 - 3:08pm
Body: 

I'm a 27 yo wife and mama to 6 (5 living and one full-term stillborn). I discovered a mild uterine prolapse shortly after our first son was born - 8 years ago. I was kind of dumb and unconcerned until 3 years ago when I found the rectocele. Yikes!

Now, after the birth of our 6th baby 2 weeks ago, I can add cystocele into the mix and call my uterine prolapse moderate. My cervix is protruding from my vagina.

I found this site a few days before the birth as I was looking for info about labor with pelvic organ prolapse and a posterior baby - never dreamed I was carrying such a big girl and the condition would just be further aggravated!

I have been reading the info on the site and watching the videos as I can and am fascinated. The book is a bit beyond my budget at the moment (as a student herbalist I've just spent quite a bit of my book budget recently) and the dvds are not practical as we are moving to a non-technology, horse-and-buggy Mennonite settlement in the near future.

So, I'm just jumping in to say hello and I'm sure I'll be back with plenty of questions as I try to learn.

Forum:

Aussie Soul Sister

January 22, 2014 - 7:54pm

Hi mennomon & welcome,
Congratulations on your new baby girl - I had 3 quite big girls also!!
The book has a comprehensive section on exercise, with pictures & instructions, firebreathing, & of course the WWPosture, & much more. In the meantime, you can learn a lot from this site & other ladies' experiences.
While your body heals from birthing you can concentrate on Whole Woman Posture which is the foundation to live in & work from, having lifelong protection built in for your hips, spine & pelvic organs, & developing a very strong foot arch. I am also learning the various exercises so that I can do them from memory, & while doing my everyday living.
I also find belly breathing a more natural way of breathing & that in itself is useful for calmness, less stress on the upper body & perfect for lengthening & strengthening the muscles of the abdomen, which protect our pelvic organs in the relaxed lower belly.
I have a rectocele & consider it a natural pessary, helping to prevent further prolapse of other abdominal organs.
In our journey together,
Best Wishes,
Aussie Soul Sister

Surviving60

January 23, 2014 - 4:59am

Will you continue to have internet access after your move? There is so much information on this site and forum. The book is a must. Mine sits by my bed at all times, and I've been here going on 4 years now. So please do your best to get a copy when you can.

So young to have so many babies.....I'm exhausted just reading about it. That can be hard on a body when you consider that you are really still healing for up to 2 years after a birth. So now, with another recovery ahead of you, would be the perfect time to start working on this posture correction, get that lumbar curvature reestablished and give the organs a place to rest in the relaxed belly.

You have your hands so full at the moment.....but I think that once you take the time to understand and learn correct posture, it's largely a matter of just reminding yourself about it as you go throughout your day. Eventually it becomes second nature.

Take care of your lovely family and take care of yourself too! Learning to manage prolapse has been wonderfully life-changing for so many of us here. It changes your outlook in so many ways, large and small. So please do keep reading, post your questions, this community is the greatest place to be. - Surviving

mennomom

January 23, 2014 - 8:57am

Thanks for the welcome and the advice!

I definitely want to get the book. I am fascinated by Christine's research (what I've studied so far) and definitely believe this will help me manage it - for two days I've worked on posture and guess what? I think it's already helped! I was not nearly so uncomfortable by the end of the day yesterday. I am hoping that by starting this as soon as I discovered my condition had worsened I can "improve" it somewhat quickly?

Surviving, I will not have internet access. I'm going to do my best to soak up everything I can while I still have it. At this point we don't know exactly how long that will be. I can understand what you mean about learning to manage your health being life-changing...This is just the icing on the cake for me. I have loads of digestive issues since childhood ( I used to think that it was normal to be sick after eating), Raynaud's phenomenon, fibromyalgia (as a result of my digestive problems, we believe) and, believe it or not, PCOS.

Ha! It's definitely been life-changing and has fueled my interest in learning to help care for my family and community too.

It was interesting what you said, Aussie Soul Sister, about developing a strong foot arch - that is something I hadn't considered being a benefit from this but I will definitely LOVE if I can ease the strain on the tendons in my poor feet!

One of my bigger concerns is what kind of exercise is beneficial and not harmful. I'm not talking routine workout so much as lifestyle...I'm an active gal. We are farmers - produce, specifically. Lost of squatting, carrying heavy loads, plus our lifestyle will be changing to non-electricity, non-motor. In a normal situation this kind of exercise should be a benefit, not a hazard. But what about while I'm learning to manage the prolapse?

Surviving60

January 23, 2014 - 6:03pm

Lots of walking in very mindful WW posture is just about the best thing you can do, especially when you are trying to learn to do this all the time as you go about your day. Squatting and lifting do require special care. You want to try and keep from flattening out the lumbar curvature. Bend from the hips (lumbar curve in place) not the waist (lumbar curve is rounded and flattened out). Squatting is OK if you can keep the lumbar curve, but that takes some practice and strength which must be developed, otherwise you will feel your prolapse pushing further down. When carrying something, try to hold it close to your body and stay in posture; that way, the extra weight-loading from above actually helps keep the vagina a closed, airless space. Avoid holding things away from your body, or holding your body at an obtuse angle, such as leaning slightly forward. - Surviving