Prolapse after Childbirth

Submitted by janice on September 11, 2006 - 7:56am
Body: 

I am 29 years old and had my first baby almost 11 months ago. She was born three weeks early and was a small baby weighing 5 pound 13. She was posterior and I received a second degree tear but other than that everything went according to plan,however over the last couple of months I have noticed a bulge in my vagina. It is not affected my continence or bowel movements however I do feel as though my pelvic floor muscles are weak. Has anyone else had this experience? Is it definitely a prolapse????? Could it just be weak pelvic floor or vagina muscles so long after delivery?

I am hoping I can fix it with pelvic floor exercises but am unsure whether I should consult my ob/gyn? I am also worried about future pregnancies and birth. Can you have more babies with a prolapse and if so do you need to have c-sections?

Any advice or similar experiences would be much appreciate.

granolamom

September 12, 2006 - 11:45am

It sounds like it could be a prolapse, your pelvic floor muscles could be weak too. I guess its always a good idea to have a doctor diagnose (big talker I am, still haven't been officially diagnosed with prolapse).
sounds like yours, if it is a prolapse, is mild. read through the posts here and try the posture. that is more helpful than pelvic floor exercises alone.
a mild prolapse really won't alter your life all that much, especially not when it comes to having more babies. the biggest change in my life since I found my prolapse is I'm taking better care of myself and I'm actually healthier. who'd have thought?

stick around, there's lots of information and support here

janice

September 17, 2006 - 6:48am

Thank you so much for your reply to my post. I am definitely feeling better about it since finding this website. I think I have decided to make an appointment with my doctor to make sure that it is actually a prolapse.

I have been trying the posture and have been sitting on an exercise ball as often as possible, which will hopefully further assist with the posture.

My biggest concern really is the fact that I am only 29, and have definitely not finished having babies, therefore I will have to live with this for a long time, and I am worried about what state I will be in when I am in my 50's and 60's??

Will I be able to maintain it in its present form even after having more babies for the rest of my life? Is is normal for people my age to suffer from this condition? Would my birth experience be the only contributer???? I have had previous problems with my lower back and was told that I had weak pelvic floor muscles then - could this have contributed to it just as much as childbirth????

granolamom

September 17, 2006 - 12:17pm

I'll try to answer some of your questions as best I can
fist, you are not the only 'young' woman here. I also thought prolapse was something that only affected the elderly. ha. I found mine at 33. so I suspect its alot more common than we think, normal? no. common? probably.

you write you are not finished having babies so you will have to live with this for a long time. do you mean as opposed to hysterectomy? if that's what you mean, forget it. that won't solve anything either. any way you look at it, this is something you will live with (one way or another) for the rest of your life. perhaps you can reverse it, but then you will still have to make lifelong health changes to keep it reversed. I think that if we continue to prioritize our health, paying close attention to exercise and diet we can be active and vital at 50 and 60 and beyond.

I hope that after I have this baby (I am pg) I will be able to stabilize my prolapse. I don't believe that a birth experience is the sole cause for prolapse. I think some women are more predisposed to develop a prolapse than others and that years of poor posture and diet further set us up. maybe a rough birth was the last straw, but it was probably not the only factor.

I definitely think low back problems could be related to prolapse. it is all connected.

it takes time, living with prolapse. time to mourn, to accept. time to come to terms with the changes you can make. there is so much information here, sometimes I have to read and reread and finally a light goes on and I begin to integrate. I found that once I stopped looking for a quick fix I began to see intrinsic value to postural and dietary changes and my overall wellbeing became my focus rather than getting rid of my prolapse. and I did see positive changes with regard to the prolapse. so it will be ok I think. it just takes time and commitment to taking care of yourself.

janice

September 17, 2006 - 6:45pm

Hi again,

Thank you again for your reply. IT is comforting to hear that there are other ýoung'women with the same problem. I have made my appointment with the docotr so will hopefully find out how bad the prolapse actually is.

I will definitely be looking to stabilise it but am worried that that won't hold out for the rest of my life. Hopefully the doctor can refer me to a physiotherapist who can help me. Another problem of mine is that I am in a rural area therefore these sort of specialists are not readily available which is a little bit annoying.

What is it like being pregnant with a prolapse? How many other babies do you have? Another concern is lifting my baby, she is not quite one now but obviously will grow more and more every year and I hate the thought of not being able to pick her up. Are there any special ways to lift to avoid damaging the prolapse further?

I am finding the posture really quite good, It helps the prolpase as well and making you look better in general!!!!

I will have to start focusing on improving the prolapse and not so much on the causes etc.

Thank you again for your reply!!!!!

granolamom

September 18, 2006 - 9:34am

a number of women here have had success working with physiotherapists, hopefully you will too. as far as stabilizing prolapse for the rest of your life, I think its like losing weight. to keep it off you don't need a fad diet but a major lifestyle change. and then the weight stays off. once we change our posture (sitting and standing), our diets and our mindset to allow our bodies to heal and return to their natural state, I don't see why it wouldn't stay that way as long as we continue along the same path.

being pg with prolapse? honestly right now I'm so caught up with m/s that I don't pay much attention to what is going on down there. ask me again in a couple of months, lol.

I have three children, my youngest will be three in Nov. Unfortunately there are days when I tell him I will hold his hand or he can sit on my lap but I cannot carry him on my hip. other days are fine, I just try to keep my posture in check while lifting/holding him. prolapse has slowed me down some, but its not necessarily a bad thing. I used to just scoop up the kids so I could run about and 'get everything done'. now I take the time to walk alongside them (slowly slowly) and I sit more with them rather than carry them along while I do my thing. the house is a bit messier and the dishes wait in the sink a bit longer but the kids are loving the extra time and attention. if it had to be a prolapse to slow me down and really enjoy my children's babyhood, so be it. worse things have happened that's for sure.

louiseds

September 20, 2006 - 6:17am

I think you are right Granolamom. We do things too quickly and fail to smell the roses, instead being obsessed with the smells in the oven/sink/laundry etc. Scooping things and people up, and just getting things done is seen as a sign of success as a mother. Taking time to hold a little child's hand while he walks on his own two feet is not.

When I walk in a hurry I tuck my butt under, my hammies tighten up, I lean forward and take smaller steps. It is probably just as fast and more relaxing to get into posture, take longer, more relaxed strides and watch the world, rather than the paving.

I strain at toilet when I am in a hurry to get up and do something else. I grab a bucket of chips, sitting there hot (the chips, I mean) waiting for me to hurry past, grab them and run. The alternative is to order and sit down and take the time to eat a high fibre, high fruit/nut/vege dish that will look after my guts so I don't have to strain.

We have our babies in a hurry, and tear our bodies, and stretch our babies, then get sown up like a sack of wheat, instead of carefully and slowly, so the next labourer can move on to our hot delivery table.

It takes a lot of determination to go slower for the good of all of us. My elderly Mom is teaching me every day that I can go slower so she can keep up. It is actually rather nice walking at little old lady pace.

We can see another slower side of life thanks to our prolapses.

Cheers

Louise