Babies after prolapse

Body: 

My husband and I have a 13 month old, we adore him so much! Unfortunately, I now have a cystocele...grading varies but at its worse I have bulging itch heaviness (grade 3?). So frustrating to have to deal with this at the age of 30 already, some days are harder than others to mentally deal with it. I try to practice WW posture as my “norm.” I am getting back in to exercise and have started learning what I can and cannot do. I would ultimately like to be able to run again (short distance, 1-2 miles) but our FIRST goal is to have another child. I have yet to start my period, I’m still breastfeeding. I guess I have a few questions...
1. Can my prolapse get worse (I’m already pushing grade 3-4 some days)?
2. I had a completely natural birth with my first, this is still possible, correct? If so, best positions?
3. Can prolapse get better following a second birth, given I will be practicing WW posture immediately?

1. Grades don't mean much, as the organs are always moving around. You experience this more and more as you get into the WW work. The mobility of the organs is one of the reasons this works! Early on, the fluctuations may seem random, but you will start to connect the dots between your sensations and the way you move around during the day. It should not get worse, only better.

2. I'm not a birthing expert but of course you can. Prolapse tends to move out of the way during delivery. Obviously you don't want to labor flat on your back, as this creates the most obstacles for baby to navigate the birth canal....so you want to aim for what feels natural and comfortable with minimal obstetric interventions. Easy to say, but when the time comes, we can't predict everything that will happen. Express your concerns, have birthing attendants you trust and who listen to you, and then hope for the best.

3. If you're on a good WW path now, and continue with dedication to the work, you should be no worse off, and yes, possibly even better because of it. The first days/weeks post partum are important, and so many of us did all the wrong things during that time. - Surviving

I have not been on here in a long time but I just gave birth to my 3rd child 6 months ago. I was diagnosed with prolapse after baby 2. My life has been upside down since I was on here but I can report that my prolapse did not really worsen. I had a very good natural labor with all 3. But my last pushing phase was very instinctual.
None of the nurses believed me when I told them the baby was coming so I pushed her out by myself right onto the bed. And I was the first to reach down and touch her.
I am now diving whole heartedly back into the WW work and trying to correct my posture. I will say that I really struggled to follow the principles, especially breathing, during pregnancy so get into before you have another baby and carry it through your pregnancy.
I am happy share my experience but that is the gist. My problems were no worse for another birth.

Congratulations! By breathing, do yo mean fire breathing? Which resource was the most helpful for you?

My understanding is that Christine does not recommend firebreathing while pregnant. But I was referring to the deep, organ supporting breathing that WW wants you to use constantly. You are supposed to breathing deeply into your midriff so that the intra abdominal pressure pushes your lower organs toward your lower belly instead of back toward their exits.
I struggled with this because I started WW work while I was big pregnant and my uterus had already pushed everything up. I had to breath shallowly to breath at all.

Sorry, so the resources I use are thia forum and the First Aid for Prolapse. Have not yet gotten into the other dvd's because I have had to really take my time building up strength with the ballet workout. But it help me to really activate the muscles and stay in the posture for the rest of the day.

Hello Proverbs31Mama, your comment gave me hope!
What type of prolapse do you have? and what grade is it?
you mentioned also, that your prolapse was diagnosed right after your second child and I was wondering.. how many hours of labor did you have?
What is THIA forum? I tried to look that up on the internet but the only link that showed up was a carrier insurance from Canada.
I'm looking forward to your response!

Hello,

From my understanding prolapse doesn't usually get worse in postpartum women but it can get worse at minopause or if you have bad lifestyle habits like poor diet, constant constipation, etc. That is why WW is so important because you really will keep it from getting worse throughout your lifetime and can even make it better. If you really practice WW then you probably can run again some day! Christine gives an example of WW running in the First Aid for Prolapse video (the copy I have anyway). Its not advised until you really master controlling your prolapse though!

As far as birthing goes, I felt the same way after developing prolapse with my 2nd child. I just wasn't finished with babies! I have done a lot of soul searching in this area and feel that I can pinpoint the times in my labor and postpartum that I *know* created the prolapse. I will be avoiding those at all cost and have thought hard about what I will do differently. Look in to no push birthing and passive decent. Basically your body *can* birth the baby on its own without you having to really push it out. My goal is for baby to be at least crowning before I push. A friend of mine recently gave birth at a hospital whose policy was to wait until mama was 10cm dilated, and then wait another hour before advising to push. This drastically decreases tearing and makes postpartum healing go so much smoother. Just some ideas. I am going to try all this using hypnobirthing and will absolutely NOT get on my back.