Scared my cystocele will get worse : (

Body: 

Was feeling positive earlier, now not so much :( Am terrified I'm going to make my cystocele worse. Where does a 3rd degree cystocele sit? Mines just at the entrance (sorry tmi) and slightly bulgy. What degree does this sound like? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Like virtually all of the other postpartum mothers we serve, your cystocele came on a few to several weeks after delivery. As I write in the pregnancy and prolapse chapter of Saving the Whole Woman, this is not an accident. The uterus, which is attached to the bladder, is meant to be fully anteverted, or positioned horizontally at the front of the body. When it gets ooched backwards by lounging into beds and soft furniture, it allows the vaginal walls to become droopy and less supportive of the bladder. It is no surprise prolapse is epidemic in the postpartum population. In olden times women got onto their feet and back to work more quickly - and soft upholstered furniture did not exist.

It is important that all women understand that the female pelvic organ support system is a postural system. Nauil (stomach vacuum) may pull your bladder and uterus forward, but WW posture will help keep them there. We have a tremendous amount of evidence at this point that this is the case. Gynecology states over and over that the round ligaments of the uterus have "no supportive value", yet they do say the round ligaments are responsible for anteverting the uterus. This is one of the more humorous contradictions of the practice, because an anteverted uterus cannot at the same time be a prolapsed uterus.

You can learn the posture from the clip up on YouTube (whole woman posture). I would also suggest the dvd Whole Woman Yoga - the second wheel, which contains a mat program of original Whole Woman exercise.

Once you are comfortable with the postural work, your body will inform your mind that you are in control of your symptoms and your anxiety will subside.

Best wishes,

Christine

hi there jellybaby83
I just responded to your other post and mentioned that sometimes prolapse does get worse before it gets better, especially in pp moms.
no matter. you can still learn to stabilize and reverse it. short of taking a scalpel to yourself, there is very little you can do to make it irreversibly worse.
but here's a quick do's and dont's:
do avoid constipation
dont strain on the toilet
do learn the posture
dont wear tight binding clothing
do eat a diet of wholesome, nutritious foods
dont lift more than you can, and especially not while holding your breath
do get some rest - you just had a baby!
but dont be afraid to get up and go for a walk
do stay hydrated
and be sure to fully empty your bladder to avoid uti (sometimes due to position of the 'dropped' bladder, its hard to get all the urine out, you can try getting on hands and knees to fully void, once daily should be often enough).
learn the posture.
stay positive.
you will get through this.
(((hugs)))