Uterus prolapse

Hi Champion. If your prolapse is like a balloon, then it is more likely to be a cystocele and/or rectocele. Extremely common occurrence at 4 months PP, especially with straining on the toilet. You may have misunderstood something the doctor said. You can do a prolapse self-exam - go to the search box on the home page and put that in, the article will come up. It is also contained in Christine's book, "Saving the Whole Woman" which is what this website and forum are all about. Please take a look around. All of this is extremely commonplace and can be managed and even reversed if you understand it a bit better. Sorry to say but the doctors don't have all the answers to this one. Especially the ER doctors. Nor does the physio. Suggest you take a look around before you go, and arm yourself with some WW wisdom, because the physio will probably say "do kegels", which are worthless and even detrimental to prolapse. - Surviving

Discussion continues here:
https://www.wholewoman.com/forum/comment/53391#comment-53391

A cystocele doesn't cause blood spotting - it is just a bulge in the vaginal wall. The bladder is behind that bulge; it has moved out of position. This sounds related to your menstrual cycle. It may not mean anything or you might want to get it checked out, if it persists. - Surviving

Champion,
If you are having pain and spotting, you may want to go get checked out by a physician. These aren't normally associated with prolapse, but could very well be with just having had a baby. There can be some period like acheiness, dragging feeling, sometimes burning in the beginning with prolapse, but you did just have a baby also. It could very well just be a combination of post partum healing with prolapse, but we wouldn't know for sure.

I have certainly had and still do have the brownish color up to a very bright red with my periods, so don't find that unusual. But, if the spotting is worrying you, you should go get checked out, to make sure everything is healing as it should.

Hi Champion
I found I had prolapse exactly like you describe. My second baby was nearly 4 mths old and I was straining on the loo as we were going out and I didn't want to have to have a BM in someone else's home. Well I would not do that anymore!!!!

It was the rectocele for me (rectum bulge in my vagina) and it went up again and I too went to the doctors. I didn't find this site until my prolapse got worse a year later.

Do please get the post pardum bundle. You really need to work with this stuff and you will be able to follow your baby dream and enjoy this baby.

I get the bubbles occasionally. It's at certain times of my cycle. They can be called vaginal farts too. As things have moved, the vaginal space is not always closed so air gets in.

This is a great site - the only site that understands prolapse - you'll know that for yourself soon. It's an empowering and feminine journey to know our bodies as they should be in WW posture. All the best and keep posting and it's so nice to read people's journey with this. You will hear more stories like ours too.

For inspiration and to calm any fears, there are lots of posts by women who have given birth with prolapse in WW posture and have been fine with prolapse. Posture is the key, all the time, mindfully.

If it helps, know that I've had some really short cycles since having my baby 17 mo ago. Before I got pregnant (at 42), mine were ~30 days and even the high 30's. Ever since having baby I'm on a 25 day cycle average. This month 21 days. And a year ago I got a period after just 11 days. So things can be wacky. I didn't breastfeed past 3-4 weeks, so my periods returned within 3 mo PP.

My periods have been different lengths too and I am 3 years PP and nearly a year since breastfeeding. Prior to having kids I was very regular. I am a lot more aware of what bleeding comes out now since I have been doing the WW work and since I use rags not a tampon (as it does not stay comfortably).

Champion, it sounds like a recocele. The garden variety type is cystocele and rectocele and they block the uterus from coming out. I have garden variety. My cystocele came later but probably would not have have come down had I got onto this work earlier. Have you read about the LoPo position for going to the loo. Very useful and important. Some of us (me included) have to watch our diet closely to get good stools. Constipation certainly helped to bring on my prolapse.

You will get there just keep reading and asking questions and learning about our feminine curvy bodies.

Hi Champion. I would highly recommend a visit to Lindy Roy in Somerset, UK. She is a warm, wonderful woman who helped me tremendously in getting off to a good start with WW work. Well worth the expense and effort. Her contact details are in the WW practitioners tab on the top menu bar.

Champion,
It's not a cervix prolapse, because your cervix is attatched to your uterus. If your cervix is presenting itself, then what you have is a uterine prolapse. You could also be presenting all three, but our organs are always on the move, so what may be presenting at one time, may not another.

Let's not forget here that you just had a baby, and much of what you describe is really not that unusual, although I know it is scary for you at this time, try not to fret so much over all this. Your body needs a chance to heal, and you just had your first period. And, by the way brownish blood is a normal color of periods. Look it up. Pain on the other hand should always get checked out if it is something you feel that uncomfortable with it.

If you are really concerned about all this, a practitioner may be able to help you.

Take a deep breath, dear Champion, you can get through this.

Champion you can feel the cervix the round hub if you like where it opens. My uterus does not come out because of my cystocele and rectocele. If you are up for it, pop you finger inside and see what you can feel. Your cervix is in the middle with any prolapse of the bladder (cystocele) in the front and any bulge at the back is a rectocele. You can push the rectocele up and back a bit if you like and then you know it is that. My cystocele is harder and not so easy to push up and forward but I can follow it forward with my finger. My cervix sits above my knuckle but I can feel the hub. I would not have felt it prior to prolapse. Also my perineum sits lower than it used to, the norm with rectocele I think. My perineum has had a tear and cut during my two labours so it is definitely not what it once was.

When you do this check, posture wise, I find it best to hinge from the hips, relax my belly, have a nice lumber curve (not an arch in your back). This is WW posture. I feel like my bottom is sticking out. You can pop a bit of honey on your finger if you like when you do this as it's good for the bugs in there to feed on. Natural honey is best but no worries just what ever honey you have if that's easy.

You do want to get to know your body as so many of us were wrongly diagnosed. They did the exams on you lying down right? Well it's quite different when you walk around.

Keep us posted how you get on and what you find if you like. I do remember how scared I was and thank this site and Christine everyday for what it has given me.

Hi Champion - my suggestion at this point is for you to try and relax and take the information from these posts to heart. Everything you have described sounds perfectly normal for post-partum. We can't give you medical advice, but all these frantic doctor visits and exams are only fueling your panic, and at this point you know enough to proceed on your own. If anyone is talking mesh surgery to you, head for the door; that is the worst possible advice especially for a young woman still growing her family.

Prolapse always seems like a crisis of the worst kind, when it is first discovered. But if you take a deep breath and start to read and study up on it, and start working on posture and using all the tools Christine gives us, you too will discover this is not so terrible, and in fact can be a blessing. Don't waste this perfect opportunity you have, to remold your body back to its correct alignment, to breathe as you were meant to. Not only will you reverse your symptoms now, but you'll be taking a huge step to ensure the future health of your hips and spine. Enjoy the journey - don't rush it and don't panic. - Surviving

That's awesome, all the best, sounds like you are on the way to a lovely WW you.

Hi Champion,

I know it's frustrating not to mention a bit scary if you get constipated.

I'm not sure what position you use for elimination. I started using the LoPo one:

www.wholewoman.com/forum/node/2981

I used LoPo with great success and then adapted it to suit me. I now tend to sit forward on the toilet seat. I keep my lumber curve, tuck my chin and lift my head through my crown. My belly is relaxed and my chest lifted. I imagine my tailbone being pulled up by some string and I twist to the left keeping my chin very tucked in and turning my head/eyes to the ceiling. Christine discussed this in my Skype consult with her. I can feel it keeping the vaginal passage long and straight. You can twist from one side to the other. Just see what works. You may need to splint too if you have constipation or wide stools. There is lots of splinting info on here.

The prolapse can cause a bit of pain after a BM for me if the stools are not soft, ideal shape. I have to be very careful with my diet and have been learning what works and does not for me. I get no bleeding. You don't want to be sitting back in the toilet and have any stool puling down on your prolapse. I used to do that and that is what the squatty potty would be like in my understanding of it (we don't support it on here). It took me time to understand my body and work this stuff out. It's taken me a few years to work out what foods effect my stools. It seems to be related to hormones and my cycle as well. Things started to change with my first pregnancy. We are all different though and maybe you won't have too many problems with stools.

This WW stuff really works, so keep at it. My prolapse experience reminds me of the kids book 'We are going on a bear hunt' and they can't go around the obstacles they just have to go through them. I did a lot of going around until I got prolapse.

I don't like having prolapse but I am so grateful I have been on the WW journey as I have been able to embrace the feminine side of myself and that is a much more authentic way for me to live.

Don't overdo the fiber, Champion! Eating lots of extra fiber doesn't make your stool softer or easier to pass, it just makes it bulkier. What was the great pain you felt when passing stool? Could you have a fissure that is causing pain and bleeding? - Surviving

Diet is really a personal journey that many of us have studied on, experimented, and found what works best for each of us, but I don't think there is any arguing about getting sugar and highly processed foods out, and fresh local foods in. Sugar and processed foods are highly inflammatory and can affect our bowels very negatively.

Some of our ladies like to use magnesium to help smooth out their bowel movements, but be careful on how much you take, because it can have a laxative affect. It may be something you want to consider while you are working on better dietary habits.

I preferred cutting out the junk, and adding in fresh fruits and veg, and especially fermented foods.
The posture work also helps with our bowels; for me it lifted my organs from their squished position into a much better alignment, which really helped me after years of constipation.

It's all a process and journey that takes time, time worth spent for better health and well being, as well as peace of mind.

I agree with Aging gracefully, diet is very important. I was in hospital for 4 days and got terribly constipated there, even after having liquid and pills for it I sat on the loo for half an hour trying not to strain, until I did a not normal movement. They would not let me leave before I did one, on the last day I did. Being vegetarians my husband cooked amazing meals and green smoothies for us when I got home and pretty much instantly my bowels were back to normal.

I am guessing here that using the rubbing alchohol may have reduced some of the swelling of vaginal tissue that can occur after having a baby. Personally, I wouldn't let rubbing alchohol anywhere near my vagina. That stuff burns!

With that said, you need to understand that prolapse management is postural in nature. It's the posture and the breathing that help pin your pelvic organs into the lower belly where they belong.

Have you gotten any of your materials yet? Christine explains these things so well, and her work will help shed some light into this for you.

I'm sure Lanny will contact you if you have left him an email. The forum is not necessarily the way to get in touch.

The online streaming products are for sale separately from the physical products. If you want access to any of them, you can order through the store. - Surviving

There are no shortcuts to a full understanding of the WW work. You have the materials, now I want you to read, watch, listen and learn. It takes time and patience. Follow the forum. Work on this every day. And keep that belly relaxed! That is lesson number one! - Surviving

I began the WW exercises just over one year ago. Improvement was immediate, but significant changes occurred after 8 months. The prolapse is present, but diminished. The pain that occurred in all positions is gone. The lateral side-lying position was the last to subside. The prolapse was increasingly painful and required analgesics prior to starting the program. I now do a full exercise routine every other day. WW position must be maintained. At times I slack off and sit in reclining positions and the prolapse becomes evident. Then its immediately back to daily exercises along with improved posture. The WW program is nothing less than a miracle. It is non-surgical technique with many side benefits such as enhancing a general feeling of well being and overall body strength. It is a blessing that Christine turned her sorrow into works of good by coming to the aide of hundreds and perhaps thousands of distressed women.

Thanks for checking in - it is great to hear of your success! I do want to remind Champion of something that Christine reminds us over and over again in her e-mails - The Whole Woman work is not primarily just an exercise program. The exercises strengthen the body in all the important ways needed to achieve the best posture, but this is really all about the posture. We are re-training our bodies to carry ourselves as we were meant to, before we were taught to tighten and suck in our bellies. So the important thing is not how much time you spend on the exercises, but how you move throughout your day! It requires a great deal of discipline and mindfulness not to get distracted in the early days. Eventually it becomes 2nd nature, and this can take months. But we will be doing this work for the rest of our lives - it is a journey with many twists and turns in the road. Keep up the good work, ladies! - Surviving

Hi Champion - you cannot use Christine's work off and on. You need to live in the posture every day. She has a great new on-line video called "Remember to Remember" which has great advice for creating the kind of mindfulness that is needed to get over the barriers and make this posture automatic in your life.

Belly fat isn't a problem; just relax the belly and keep the chest strongly lifted; this is what creates the lumbar curve.

Perhaps what you are feeling is your cervix; it is strong and muscular, in contrast to a squishy 'cele. All these organs are very mobile all the time (that's why we can improve their positions with posture and exercise) and yes, your period coming can make things seem worse. - Surviving

Christine says "upper back flat and broad". This means that you are not pulling your shoulders back, military-style. But keep them down,.

I had my posture assessed a couple years ago at the conference, and found that I was trying too hard NOT to pull my shoulders back. As a result, my shoulders were still rounded forward (a remnant of decades of bad posture) The solution was to think of opening my chest more. I still have to work on this! - Surviving

Hi Champion - yes, your post is visible. There isn't always someone on-line ready to post an immediate response.

You do not have to be down on your hands to firebreathe. The normal position as demonstrated in the book and FAFP DVD is bent over with hands on knees.

Yes, you will find that your organs are shifting all day long in response to everything you do. That's the very reason that we have so much power to help things along in the right direction.

In most cases, prolapse simply gets out of the way for birth. We have had many moms with prolapse go on to have subsequent vaginal births. It's true that birthing on your back makes for much more strain on both baby and mother.....but I had both babies on my back. It's just the way many hospitals do things. So I know this can be a dilemma. Ideally you want to be able to move around as much as possible during labor, then have a gentle birth on hands and knees. We don't give medical advice here, but I will say that you needn't fear a vaginal birth just because of prolapse. - Surviving

Please understand this is not a medical site. No one here has any way of knowing exactly how your birthing experience will go. If you are talking about episiotomy, that is something to talk to your doctor about, and try to avoid if you can. The best suggestion I can give you is to learn as much about posture and prolapse as you can, from Christine's body of work which is quite extensive. We do have control over so many things, and if we understand our anatomy, we can heal. Many women who have learned how to carry themselves can come back better than before the birth. For others, that will not be the case. There is so much to learn and understand - and no quick answers for you here. You get back in direct proportion to the effort put into it. - Surviving