Menstrual Cup questions and getting pregnant again

Body: 

Hello,

I've been on this site now for the last several days and it's been the most helpful I've found on the topic of prolapse. I have several specific questions.

First a little background - I have one child and I am 19mpp. I had a non medicated home birth, pushed for 3 hours and baby crowned for 40 minutes. During crowning, I don't know why, but I couldn't feel my contractions anymore. And because my baby crowned for so long my midwife leaned over to me and said I really needed to push hard and get her out. She didn't sound worried, but I'm an RN and I took it to mean she's been in the birth canal too long. So I took a deep breath and pushed with everything I had in me and out she came. Again, I have no idea if or when I was contracting so it was impossible to push with contractions. I had a 3rd degree tear and my OB (I went to a specialized OB post birth to fix the tear) said I also had a "starburst tear". She said the inside of my vaginal walls were "shredded." I had terrible pain after being stitched up and ultimately my doctor sent me to a special clinic for women to be evaluated. I was examined and never told anything. Never told I had a prolapse or anything. They just said my pelvic floor was weak and I should go to a pelvic floor physical therapist. Which I did. And that helped. I'm starting to understand that this probably wasn't best. Anyway, long story, but I started to feel better after 4-5 months and seemed semi normal (although not the same) until this past month. I've been trying to use menstrual cups in place of pads and tampons and recently used a cup and after taking it out it seemed like my cervix was really really low. Right at the opening. I freaked out and asked some friends who said I needed to get evaluated for a prolapse. I messaged my doctor and of course she said some prolapse is normal. Now, I have not been officially diagnosed, I just have suspicion that I have some prolapse.

Ok, I'm talking a lot. So I'll list out my questions -

1. Can a menstrual cup cause a prolapse? Or be a catalyst to it?

2. Is it bad to use a cup for proper pelvic organ alignment?

3. My husband and I wanted to try and get pregnant this month...I want to watch some videos to prepare for this pregnancy/birth. What's the best video to start with? What should I be watching/reading to help me support this current prolapse and to help keep it from getting worse with subsequent pregnancies/births?

Thanks!

Hi OJ.BL and welcome,
Christine has developed a lot material for the postpartum experience, so you should be able to find what best suits your needs within this wonderful body of work. The postpartum bundle is actually an excellent source, but there are also other options on how you want to do this, mixing and matching as you go.
I really don't think the menstrual cup, if used as it is recommended, is going to be a problem. I wouldn't try to use it as a pessary though, just because it is not really healthy to keep something shoved up into the vagina all the time, it could just fall out also, and if it does stay, it is keeping the vagina open, when it should be a closed airless space.
So, please keep looking around this site; lots of great information here, and then go on over to the whole woman store to check out Christine's work. If you need any help navigating the store, just let us know.

Thank you AG! I don't see a video for postpartum bundle? I see one that says 'Whole Woman wisdom for Childbearing years." Not sure if I'd be better off with the book. The videos are such a wide range of prices I'm just not sure which one to get. I was just going to do First Aid for Prolapse, but I'm also really interested in the childbearing years one as well.

Hi OJ.BL,
Those are actually excellent options. Like I said, you can do this anyway you want to. The Saving the whole woman book and First Aid for Prolapse are the beginning of this work, and are included in the ww postpartum bundle here:

https://www.wholewomanstore.com/WW-Postpartum-Bundle_p_48.html

If you have any more questions about other options, just let us know.

Hi. So thankful for this site. I already have Christine's book Saving the Whole Woman and her DVD. I do not have the exercise baton. Is it for sale by itself or must I purchase a bundle?

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