Newbie - 9 wks postpartum, mild-mod rectocele/cystocele, returning to work

Submitted by afatbear on May 16, 2010 - 1:00pm
Body: 

Hi everyone,

I'm so glad I found this website, as the last few weeks of postpartum recovery have been rough. Here's my story:

I am 31 years old and 9 weeks postpartum. I recently had my first child, a beautiful baby girl, 6lbs and 9 oz. I had an active lifestyle before pregnancy, hiking and running several half marathons, and had plans to continue postpartum. I walked a lot during pregnancy and felt great. My labor was smooth and uneventful and complicated by only a 2nd degree laceration.

I felt great a few days postpartum and decided to go on several walks (1 mile every other day). About 1.5 postpartum, I felt heaviness in my urethra region, so I decided to take it easy, with sitting and bedrest. The heaviness was intense whenever I stood up. That has now subsided. However, about 6 weeks postpartum, I started feeling great again, so I took my baby girl on a walk (she was weighing about 9-10 lbs then). I regretted it immediately, as I started feeling rectal pressure, which has worsened ever since.

I also have a moderate amount of vaginal bleeding that never stopped after the delivery. My OB who diagnosed me with the rectocele/cystocele, told me it can take up to 12 wks postpartum for the bleeding to stop. In addition, I just discovered a breast mass and am scheduled for a biopsy in 2 weeks.

I have been having a lot of emotional ups-and-down, mourning my youth, despairing that I won't be able to take proper care of my baby girl. I'm also angry at myself for being overly active the first couple days after childbirth, which may have contributed to the prolapse. My support is great! My husband is very involved, as are my mom and mom-in-law.

What also stressed me out is that I am scheduled to return to work in 2 weeks. I am a health care provider and am on my feet 8-9 hrs a day. I am breastfeeding exclusively and plan to pump at work. I am thinking of using a tampon to alleviate the bulging symptoms.

Questions for this forum:
1) Will returning back to work and being on my feet all day exacerbate the prolapse symptoms? Should I request to extend my leave? (I think I can extend another 2 weeks to make it a total of 12 wks).

2) Did anyone have prolonged bleeding after birth too?

Sorry for this lengthy post. Any comments are appreciated!

aza

May 16, 2010 - 1:50pm

So glad you are here but sorry that you had reason to seek us out! 9 weeks is SO early, please know that where you and your celes are right now is not set in stone. You will find that the state of your POPs will be fluid and constantly changing. Hormone changes in the first year after birth will greatly influence things. You are not alone. Stick around here and you'll be in great company! I would highly recommend getting the DVD (and book if possible) and getting to work on the exercises. I am extremely active as well and can understand how difficult it is to hold back on what used to be day to day activities such as walking, etc., but the reality is that this will probably have to change for awhile, or at least this seems to be what your body is telling you. The good news is that you can still stay active and fit, you just have to alter what you do and how you do things.

To answer your questions: I think you are the only one who can tell if you are ready to go back to work or if you should extend it (though I would say extend it to give you some extra time to ace the posture and get a bit more strength and tone in your body to be able to go straight back into so long on your feet). 12 wks is still so early, it is the end of the 4th trimester really, and you might find that things shift around this time too, hopefully for the better!

Theoretically, prolonged bleeding like you describe is supposedly ok, but to be honest I don't think it is, depending on how heavy. Many women are spotting around 9 wks, if anything at all, but if there is any heavier flow then we figure out what is causing it, and overactivity or stress is usually the culprit. Retained membranes/placenta can be a cause, too. I am sure many women have bled moderately for 2+ months and they were just fine, as you will be too, but I think this can really drain iron stores and circulating hemoglobin, which can be hard to detect since the first few months of motherhood are usually sleep-deprived and exhausting anyway! Check into this if you think it may be an issue as low iron can really drain the ability of the body to heal.

Good luck and keep us updated!!

aza

May 16, 2010 - 8:47pm

There are several threads on V2 supporter and fembrace support too...one of these might help with your transition back into a full work schedule, whenever that may be.

Aussie Mum

May 16, 2010 - 9:11pm

Hi afatbear,

My experience with a rectocele is that sometimes I will think I feel ok, especially after a few days of not doing much. Once I then go for a walk I end up feeling much worse.

For the first 4 months I could not go for a walk at all really, and standing really exacerbated things. As Aza said, only you will know if you are ready for work - but be careful as you may think things feel ok, only to find out it has been aggravated once again. I used to be in a job where I stood all day, and now I am at 5 months pp I would struggle to do it. 2 hours maybe..... I found the first 4 months aggravation of symptoms happened easily, and now if aggravation happens it is more transient. If you aggravated your prolapse symptoms by standing I would think it would just take longer to go back to where you were at prior to aggravation, rather than cause more permanent damage????

I tried V2 supporter but found it made me feel worse - but I think that is due to the scar tissue I have - put pressure on it, so I can imagine it would help some people.

Good luck!

granolamom

May 16, 2010 - 9:20pm

welcome to the site and congratulations on your new baby!
only have a couple of min here (my baby is due to wake for a feeding soon) so might be short..
I have 5 kids. I bleed for a long time each time. at least 8 weeks. and I'm not talking just spotting either. I know its because I'm doing too much too soon. when I can take a rest, the bleeding stops. it starts again when I get too active too quick. it was worst after my fourth, it wasn't until 12 weeks that all spotting had stopped. this last time around I made a huge effort to take it as slow as I could and iirc, it stopped around 8 weeks. so now you know to slow down. please dont' beat yourself up about not knowing that sooner, how could you? we live in a society where pp moms who jump right back into prepg life are held up as ideals and that's just not the way it should be, but don't get me started on that right now. my point is, you do better when you know better. (write that down, you'll come back to it many times during your parenting career!) that is life and the process of learning.

I hope your breast mass turns out to be nothing more than a plugged duct or something like that. I found a worrisome mass at 10 weeks pp with my third. scared the pants off me, so I know how that can be {{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}

as far as extending your leave, I personally would if I could, but as aza said its really a very personal decision that only you can make.

and as aza mentioned, 9 weeks pp is very very early. for me, the symptoms are worst at about 12 weeks and then it gets better. right now my baby is 6 months old and I am where I was before I got pg (I found my prolapse when my third child was 18 mo old - about 5 years ago - and its nowhere near as bad as it was then)

have you begun to learn the posture? if not, start now.
make sure your diet is good, avoid constipation like the plague. never strain on teh toilet (too much pressure on the 'celes).
and most importantly, take a deep breath and know that you are not alone. and that this program really works.

hang in there, it gets easier

alemama

May 16, 2010 - 11:20pm

How wonderful. Congratulations!!!!
alright I am going to just jump in quick and say
1. yes- activity will cause you to have more symptoms- especially this early postpartum and especially since you are new to the posture. If you can extend your leave, do it! you will not regret it.
2. no, in all 4 births I have had much less bleeding than expected. High quality rest and nutrition can help.

recap:
rest, eat well. lather rinse repeat

and welcome here. It will get so so so much better (in time, with work)

louiseds

May 17, 2010 - 3:39am

Well, you are looking working life in the face through different eyes now, and what you see is what is real now, not what was the theory when you organised your maternity leave. Having a baby can be such an adjustment, especially if you have POP as well. Sometimes these unexpected things happen, and plans need changing. It sounds a bit like you are asking us to give you permission to extend your leave, like you really do want to extend it, but don't know whether or not it will be worth it. My answer to that would always be that if you need more leave, and you can take more leave, then take it. That is what it is for. Nine weeks is not a long way out from giving birth at all, and your POPs may get worse before getting better, cos that is what the timing seems to do, as Granolamom explained.

You are going to be living in this body of yours for a long while yet. As we get older we realise that we cannot abuse our bodies like we did when we were younger. Perhaps taking a couple more weeks leave will give you more certainty? Can you do one day a week for a start and build up to full time. Tell them that you are not sure that your body is ready. That will give you some adjustment time, and the ability to build up slowly, and know how your body responds. Going back to work after a workplace injury usually means a gradual return to fulltime. What is the difference between that and having POP?

Do you have to do a lot of lifting in your job? Can you do light duties for a start?

Lots of questions. Lots of options for you to think about, so you can come to the right decision for you.

Louise