Stages of prolapse

Well Moodle, I think your doctor is being a little pedantic if he doesn't think your have prolapse. I suspect he may know less about it than you. In twelve months time you certainly will know a lot more if you keep your eyes on these Forums. I wouldn't even bother arguing with him about whether or not you have prolapse.

Having two babies close together means that your body may not have reverted properly after the first, so your body would have been different from prior to conception the previous time. That is not to say that the longer term result would be any different from having your babies further apart.

Have you purchased any of the DVDs or Christine's book? These will help you to understand the principles behind these techniques.

You can see excerpts from the DVD's on Wholewomaninc channel on Youtube.

At three months postpartum it is unlikely that your prolapses will get any worse, as long as you treat your body well. By about nine months you should start to see some real improvement, but your body won't be fully reverted until about two years postpartum.

Call back with quesions, and just enjoy your babies.

Louise

I have 5 children and am right now 4 months postpartum. I can tell you what I know about prolapse and *grades* and that is that it is all very fluid. For most women who are aware of these things, pregnancy and birth cause the pelvic organs to become more mobile than they previously were- this is due to many factors: some of which are- relaxin, lack of ligamental support due to stretching of said ligaments, pelvic girdle instability, and birth injury. This mobility is a good and necessary condition- it allows the body to carry and birth babies. But it can also result in noticeable pelvic *settling*.
I have talked with many women about pop and 100% report some from of pelvic settling. In fact, I have decided it is normal- and there is current research that supports my position. Some of which even finds benefit in having pop.
Most women notice that pop is an up and down sort of condition- often disappearing when lying down- worsening around menstruation- better in the morning than at night- and varying throughout the day.
Of course if your pop is interfering with your ability to function (go to the bathroom, have sex, take walks, smile) then my accepting attitude about it all is downright annoying.
I like that you assume taking no action at all will allow your pop to worsen. I can't confirm or deny this- but what I can tell you is that adopting wholewoman posture and habits has helped me and others stabilize prolapse for the long haul.
So pull up a chair and dig in- we have archived hours upon hours of discussion about pop covering all aspects. We've talked about surgery, sex, depression, future pregnancies, menopause, diet, exercise, clothing- you name it, we've probably chatted about it at least once :)

I am also new to the site, and waiting for my WW order to arrive. Moodle's post sounded like my experience, except I've had only one baby and was only recently diagnosed with prolapse three years after the birth, although I suspected it more than a year ago. At first I was told my pelvic floor was just weak, then I went back to be told that my pelvic floor is now strong but that I have prolapsed. As far as I can tell it's fairly mild in terms of stages.

Anyway, learning lots on this site, so thanks! I was pretty freaked out at first at the thought of prolapse, but reading everyone's stories really helps.

Hi Kiko

Your body has fully reverted after having the baby, taking up to two years to get back to normal. It is good that your pelvic floor muscles are now working well. Nothing wrong with that.

Allowing your lower abdomen to find its own shape is an important part of managing prolapse. Learning to relax the abdominal muscles can be very hard to do because of the emphasis that society places on having a flat belly. Relaxing your belly allows your pelvic organs a safe place to hide, away from the top of your vagina, and being pushed down the vagina. Keeping your chest raised changes the shape of your spine and allows your pelvis to tilt forward and literally tip your uterus and bladder forward onto your lower abdominal wall. In this posture you will find that your abdomen will not be loose and floppy, but quite bouncy (underneath any fat padding!) and gently curved from pubic symphysis to rib cage.

Louise

Thanks louiseds. My DVDs (first aid and yoga) arrived yesterday. This whole concept of relaxing the lower abdomen is a new one for me, and in the last 24 hours I've become aware of just how opposite my posture is to the WW posture!

I'm training to be a yoga teacher at the moment; now I'm going to be testing my WW posture out and seeing what comments I get!