New Member- help, which resources to look at first?

Submitted by Tracey on April 5, 2017 - 3:22pm
Body: 

Hi,
I just found this website a week or so ago. I had my second child 3 weeks ago, and a few days or so after coming home from the hospital I saw and felt a bulge down there after straining to have a bowel movement. I am 36 years old. I had my 1st child 3 years ago; it was an unmedicated birth, labor for 22 hours but only the last 5 were really intense, I pushed for 1.5 hours, I don't think it was anything out of the ordinary. I didn't notice anything during the recovering period other than it felt like the muscles used to have a bowel movement were very weak for sometime but then eventually everything "went back to normal". With this child the labor was very quick, only a few hours, and I only pushed a few times in what I think was a squatting position in the birthing tub. The pushing was very intense. With both babies I had minimal tearing. After looking around online and then finding this site, I feel like I may have a prolapsed bladder, but now I am thinking it may be my uterus, as I can sometimes see something that might be my cervix (?), the bulge is more at the front that the back. I am going in at 6 weeks. My midwife did not seem worried when I explained what I was seeing; she said I could have a "mild prolapse" and told me to do kegels.

I feel like I have had bad posture my whole life, and after reading around on this site, I started thinking that maybe things have gradually been getting lower and lower for sometime, and I only really noticed it after this second baby. I had some digestive issues when I was younger due to a bad diet, so a few years ago I started squatting over the toilet which I felt helped a great deal, but then I was reading on this form and I saw Christine say that was not good for prolapse so I stopped, I think it may have made a difference but it is hard to get used to. I also have been seeing a chiropractor 1x a week off and on for the past few years now, just to keep myself healthy during the pregnancies. Is this recommended or should I stop? Also, I was reading online about how Mayan abdominal massage can help after giving birth, and there is actually someone who practices this in my area. But would this be recommended / make any difference?

My main question is- where should I start with the resources here? Books, DVDs, courses? I really want to get the proper posture down correctly, I know it will take me a while since I have been slumping for sometime. There are just so many resources here I'm not sure where to start.

Thank you!

Forum:

mummyduck13

April 5, 2017 - 4:34pm

Hi, I have been using Mayan abdominal massage in conjunction with the whole woman work and I'm finding it extremely helpful. My problems didn't start till later in life but my practitioner is very experienced with pregnancy and post pregnancy and many of her clients have left glowing testimonies as to how much it has helped them. I started the whole woman work with the book and first aid for prolapse DVD, which seems to cover all the basic elements.

Surviving60

April 7, 2017 - 4:29am

Hi Tracey and welcome to WW. I have no direct experience with chiropractors, but my understanding is that the good ones will have an understanding of correct posture that is consistent with WW, that the lower lumbar curvature should be encouraged, and should not be flattened out by pulling in the abs and tucking the butt. This is the key element of pelvic organ support. So whether your chiro is helping or hurting at this juncture, depends pretty much on that.

Abdominal massage isn't going to hurt you, and probably feels pretty nice. It might help you overall with your PP healing but isn't going to do anything one way or the other for your prolapse. The big thing is really to get going on this postural work because you have so much healing ahead of you, and so much that you can accomplish by starting this now. Boy, would I jump on that train if I'd known 30 years ago, what I know now!

I too would recommend starting with the book and FAFP video (both available in hard copies or digitally) and build your collection from there. The Fundamentals for posture and toileting are a good quick-start. Bundles are a great deal, if you don't let all that information overwhelm you at the start. This is really a lifetime work. What you train your body and mind to do now, will stay with you forever and help protect your hips and spine for the long haul. So glad you have found us! - Surviving

mummyduck13

April 7, 2017 - 7:15am

Like I said , for me Mayan abdominal massage has been amazing. Whole woman work takes time to learn and this has enabled me to get on with life whilst changing my posture. We all find different things that work for us but it is definitely worth trying alongside the posture.

Tracey

April 9, 2017 - 8:29am

Thank you for your responses! I plan on ordering the book and DVD asap. I have been trying to adhere to the posture based on what I have read on here as well as the "LoPo" posture on the toilet. I feel like my body is still healing though since it hasn't been a month yet since my son was born. But I also feel more accepting of the situation than I did a few weeks ago. Right now my diet is not so great since I am so hungry eating more than I normally would do to tandem nursing. I'm glad I've found this site and have a plan in place to get this under control.