mom of 6 - recurrent pop

Submitted by Juls on February 2, 2011 - 8:35pm
Body: 

I just wanted to ask a few questions. I have 6 children (6th baby is 2 weeks old). I first suspected prolapse after my 3rd child was born but it went away very soon after the birth. After my 4th birth, I had a grade 2 cystocele. I asked the OB if my prolapse would get worse if I continued to have children. She said, that's an easy yes. I found wholewoman and implemented some things into my lifestyle. By 9 months postpartum, the prolapse was so much improved. 2 years later, I had my 5th child and the prolapse recurred (usually in the second week postpartum). I did see a physiotherapist who is more of an osteopath. By 6 months postpartum it was much improved although I suspect I had a mild rectocele also which improved. I have just given birth to my 6th child and my POP is back. I am still hopeful that with WW tips I learned etc., that it will improve again. It has not seemed to have gotten much worse. We would like to have more children but I wonder if I will face severe POP if I have more children? Does anyone have any experience with having several children after POP? I get a lot of negative feedback regarding our desire to have many children so I hope you won't find the need to question that here :) Many thanks.

Christine

February 3, 2011 - 12:05pm

Hello Juls,

These are very important questions, but I’m not sure anyone can give you definitive answers. I think you will have to search here, and also in your own heart-body-mind to find your own answers. The “how bad can it get” subject needs to be brought up again and again so in time we have a very good idea about that and can share it with all women.

For me personally, my previously profound uterine prolapse is becoming more manageable as I age, not less. I try to think about how birth would affect it - and can’t really because post-menopausal anatomy changes so drastically. I can’t even imagine birthing a baby through my now diminutive vagina. One of the most important messages we can send to young women who think they are “too big” is how necessary a lot of vaginal tissue is in recovering from prolapse, how it can be made tighter by stretching it into its full dimensions, and how it will eventually shrink - so enjoy it now!

During natural birth, a baby’s head pushes both the bladder and rectum out of the way. It does not drag these down with it, unless a woman is on her back in stirrups. The vagina is made to stretch. It’s hard for me to understand how prolapse could become worse through birth. It is the postpartum period - when everything is being pulled back into alignment - that matters.

All tissue becomes more lax as we age. Diet, sunshine, exercise, posture and rest are what we have to move through aging well. Alemama and Granolamom have birthed after prolapse and probably will be able to give you more insight.

Hugs from Christine

alemama

February 3, 2011 - 6:40pm

I started a reply this morning, or last night I can't even remember anymore, but I've got a house full of sick kids and husband and didn't ever get a full minute to finish. I want to give you some reassurance though. If I don't get all the way through this I will hit send anyway and you can just get as much as I get a chance to write.
I have 4 children, 8 and under. I am 30 weeks (ish) pregnant with our 5th and we are open to more in the future- or not- we are growing our family one child at a time and just sort of reevaluate how we feel after each new addition. I'm guessing we'll know when it's right for us to call it quits :) and you will know too! We trust you!!!!
For many women, prolapse is a good reason to stop reproducing. In my opinion it is never the only reason. For me, prolapse plays a part in my decision about WHEN to get pregnant again. I like to wait until I have recovered well enough to think 'what prolapse' before considering another pregnancy and birth. In between pregnancies I have always recovered to a level I was comfortable with.
I have known about my prolapse for the last 4 years. I have had it for the last 6.
I found out what 'that bulge' was after our 3rd child was born. Our 4th pregnancy is chronicled here on wholewoman. I have also made a number of updates during this pregnancy too. If you are curious you can click my user name and track posts by me.
Between pregnancies I have recovered beautifully and I know that after this next birth it will be the same. During my pregnancies I get a bit bulgier.
Your doctor irritates me. How the heck can she know? No one but you can know.
I think the first pregnancy and birth sort of 'break in' the vagina, cervix, vulva, uterus, ligaments, and perineum. Every baby that comes after (with the exception of a damaging birth from surgery, ripping or episiotomy) simply follows that same path. During second, third, fourth etc pregnancies the body is not as 'tight' as the first so the baby may 'feel' heavier or lower and my in fact carry heavier or lower, but that does not change the body permanently. The permanent change has already been done.
Women with no children experience prolapse. Women with one child experience prolapse and women with many children experience prolapse. It doesn't discriminate. It would be wise to simply accept some amount of vaginal laxity and organ mobility as totally normal.
Your body was made to birth many young. Much hysteria surrounding grand multiparae is simply nonsense and comes from a place of 'anti-large family' teachings and propaganda.
Listen, you need to take care of yourself before during and after your pregnancies. That is the greatest factor in determining your health in the future, pelvic or otherwise. You can not expect your body to continue in good health through multiple pregnancies if you do not support it well. Good nutrition is absolutely key!
Severe pelvic organ prolapse does not select women with multiple children. Do women with multiple children get severe pelvic organ prolapse? absolutely. Do women with only one child get severe pelvic organ prolapse? sure do.
Right now, if an OBGYN looked at my vagina I'm sure I would be diagnosed with a cystocele and a rectocele. A year from now an OBGYN would not be able to find either one.
Dig deep into these Wholewoman techniques. You can stabilize and even reverse your prolapse between pregnancies. You simply must be willing to take good care of your body, to make yourself and your pelvic health a priority. That's a tough thing to do when taking care of a big family. But if you can, these techniques will serve you well all your childbearing years and beyond.

Juls

February 4, 2011 - 12:32pm

Thank you Christine for your response. This site and your book "Saving the Whole Woman" have gone a long way in helping me understand POP and how to manage it. I suppose, from my personal experience, I can testify that my prolapse has not worsened very much (now 3 births after I first noticed it and 2 births after I first understood it and began to adjust my lifestyle). I have given birth the last 2 times on my knees leaning forward. I have never had an instrumental birth. I am 34 and have birthed 6 children naturally. I would like to continue having children but I have been nervous about how future childbearing might affect my prolapses. Still, I have so much more to learn about prolapse! It is important to have these discussions so we can really understand postpartum prolapse and how to take care of ourselves if we continue childbearing with prolapse. I have been told that pregnancies worsen prolapse, not necessarily the birth. This last pregnancy, I worked hard on maintaining good posture, eating well, exercising (brisk walking). Another thing I do is drink lots of red raspberry tea to contribute to the tone of my uterus (although I don't have a uterine prolpase but it's important to keep my uterus toned). I'm always told in the first days postpartum that my uterus has better tone than some first-time moms. I credit the red raspberry leaf for that. Hopefully I can gain even more understanding so that I can, as you mentioned, work on all aspects of life that contribute to health and help with managing prolapse. So glad there is a place like this to learn and find support.

Julie

Juls

February 4, 2011 - 12:31pm

Thanks for your encouragement alemama. Your comment was very insightful and I appreciate you taking the time to comment. I am going to continue learning about these techniques and doing what I can to take care of myself and manage my prolapse well. I expect it will improve as it has with the last 3 babies. The future is unknown but I am hopeful. We are not ready to call it quits and have wondered about spacing and if that could help avoid worsening of prolapse. But, mostly, I am trying hard to adjust my lifestyle to protect my POP and help heal it. It's interesting to think that if I am pro-active, it may not worsen very much as birth is not the only factor to consider. It's a time to heal (I'm just 3 weeks postpartum today) and rest and find peace. Thanks again!!

Julie