Natural Family Planning and Prolapse

Hi Michele!

Thanks so much for posting this. I know very little about this but I hope we hear from others. Julie was interested in this topic and I hope she responds to you.

I don't know about mucous changes with prolapse, but it's difficult to imagine why mucous would increase or decrease. Many women do feel more discharge, but I believe this is largely urine.

SO!!...this gives me a chance to sing a bit in praise of urine! Urine is very fine stuff and something that we need to readjust our thinking about. Fresh, healthy urine does not smell bad and is a sterile, stainless liquid. A few drops here and there are not to be feared!! Female urine is an excellent lubricator during sexual intercourse, a natural pheromone for men and should not be shunned!! Change your linens when need be, put clean cotton clothing on every day and LOVE YOUR URINE!! In olden times women dabbed themselves with a bit of the hem of their dress and went about their day!!

I have a personal issue here. The pelvic surgeon who talked me into bladder surgery did so by making me feel about an inch high and like a leper when I told him of my minor stress incontinence. His reaction made me think something must be wrong to be losing a tiny bit of pee once in a while. I now see his response for what it was...a very ugly sales tactic.

May We Banish Shame Forever!

Christine

Michele,
I do not think it will affect you at all. The cervix is changed for every woman by childbirth, prolapsed or not. The opening on the cervix changes from a circular shape to a slit shape. I have always done internal checks for cervical fluid or mucus when charting my fertility. My fluid or mucus is the same when I check it internally, it comes out a little differently now externally-- usually all at once when I use the bathroom. My theory is that the bladder and bowel that are resting more in my vagina now block the fluid from coming out despite the fact that the cervix is closer to the entrance now, too. I believe that by emptying my bladder or my bowel they get smaller and take up less room in that area and therefore, the fluid in the vagina is able to escape more easily. I find that with my period now too, that I seem to have more periods of very little flow with intermittent gushes.

AS far as cervical positioning, it will be just as it was in the beginning when you learned how at each part of the cycle what the cervix would feel like (hard like the tip of your nose or soft and spongy like it was ready to conceive) and where it would be positioned at, higher or lower. It would have been a relearning process anyway had you not prolapsed because it has been so long since you have had a fertile cycle. I really didn't find it much different. And dumb me, I knew I was fertile (I don't do temps because I can never get up at the same time each day) my cervix was spongy and "open" and I had tons of fluid, but I chose to have a wonderful evening with my husband on Valentines day and now we are having #3 in November! LOL! I purposefully conceived #2 by charting my cervix and I actually did temps then. I think there was a part of me, though afraid to get pregnant again for fear it would worsen the prolapse, that really wanted to get pregnant. So I think that's why I threw caution to the wind. ;)

I have a great on book the subject of natural family planning which this author calls the fetility awareness method *Taking Charge of YOur Fertility" Toni Weschler, MPH. There are great photos of the cervix at different stages as well as the mucus. It's a very empowering book with the depth of the information it contains.. I am a high school teacher and I wish there was a separate health class for young girls using this book. It really educates woman about how their bodies are designed and is so empowering if you have an issue you need to see a dr. about. It seems a lot of women who have paps during their time of fertility get diagnosed with yeast infections because of the amount of discharge. If women know how their cycles run they can inform the dr. that this is normal for them this time of month. It's also a great book for those who have had trouble conceiving. Most dr. recommend that you wait a year before seeking medical help if you can't conceive, but Toni says if you have been charting your cycles for 6 months and having intercourse during the fetile times you should seek help then and take you charts. The temps can actually show if you are conceiving, but miscarrying. Oh, I could go on forever with all the info in this book, but i'll stop my infomercial now! lOL!

Christine,
You know, I was thinking about urine earlier today. Now that my bladder is really being crowded by my growing baby there is less room to hold urine. I was in the car doing my best to sit in the posture, when I sneezed. I didn't leak. I hardly ever leak when not pregnant, but I do leak when pregnant if coughing or sneezing. Occassionally if I really get a belly laugh and boy would I love to have one of those soon. It's been too long. And really when I leak, it is such a small amount that it is not a problem. It is no different from the fertile fluid that I release during those 3-5 day in the middle of my cycle. I'm not afraid of pee. I do think it is important to go when I feel like I have to go.

When I was younger, I refused to use the bathroom at school. So I wouldn't drink much and I'd hold it all day. My first job was as a waitress and it was difficult to take breaks, so I'd hold it almost my entire shift. I think that is unhealthy. Now I am a teacher and it's much the same with getting to the bathroom. I have hour and a half long classes with a five minute break in between, with the teacher's bathroom up the stairs and in another wing. I'm hoping the new school we're building is designed with more than 1 teacher bathroom and one in each wing and on each floor! But I will make sure that I take care of myself even if it means being late to my own class. I will be fortunate as I will have seniors this year, so they are a little easier to leave than the freshmen I taught for 6 years or the first graders I taught last year.

Dear Jane,

Your words are always so informative, funny and a tug at the heart! We're all hanging on every word...moving through this pregnancy with you.

Just curious...did your mother keep a spotless bathroom? My two kids (two years apart) used to come bolting through the door everyday after school heading for the bathroom. They both refused to use the school facilities and I finally figured out it was because the school potties were probably a bit on the grungy side. They're all grown up now, but the memory of that just cracks me up!

Jane...I send you such a big hug!!

Christine