11 weeks pregnant / prolapse

Body: 

Hi.
I'm new to this site so apologies if I am posting in the wrong place. I have a 2.5 toddler and after her birth had separation of pubic symphysis, and was diagnosed with cystocele, rectocele and the non technical term "wobbly urethra" so frequent pee. I saw a urogynecologist and did pelvic floor physical therapy for close to a year.

Now I am approx. 11 weeks pregnant (I'm 36 years of age) and the prolapses are beginning to be noticeable again. I'm interested in learning about correct posture but also trying to manage the prolapses as best I can during this pregnancy through diet and exercise.

What portion of whole woman is safe to do during pregnancy? Surely working on my posture is key but what about the exercise DVD? Also I have been seeing some posts on diet but I can't find a comprehensive resource on what foods to remove, add etc.

Thank you.

HI FMS

Everything is OK during pregnancy except firebreathing and nauli because of the abdominal vacuum that is formed during these exercises. It might be OK, but we recommend not doing them during pregnancy, during menstruation, or until your lochia has ceased after the birth.

Within a few weeks your pregnant uterus will pop out from under your sacrum and start growing forwards. This often means that the early pregnancy symptoms of POP will lessen, but it doesn't always work this way, as you may be currently finding. However, the posts from other women who have had a pregnancy with some prolapse symptoms right through will demonstrate how they have gone. If you have prolapse symptoms right through your pregnancy it does not automatically follow that your prolapses will be worse after the pregnancy. Many women have posted about prolapses being no worse 12 months pp than before the pregnancy. You will find them by searching prolapse and pregnancy, using the Search box. Hopefully some will post a response, indicating what happened for them.

When doing the exercises we only do them to our own capacity, and allow the body to respond by getting stronger in its good time. Rather than saying how many of each to do, or getting your body movement the same as Christine in the videos. Some of them are pretty strong exercises with very strong muscle engagement. And Christine is pretty darned strong. I have done workouts with her. I know! ;-)

As you are only 11 weeks pregnant I would leave it for a few weeks before doing any of the really strenuous exercises, or really pushing yourself, full stop. Pregnancy in itself is not an illness or an injury, but changes happen all over your body during pregnancy, so your will not necessarily respond the same to exercise this week as it did last week. Listen to your body while you exercise. It will tell you.

When you exercise in WW posture your pubic symphysis is being pushed together with an action not unlike a clamp around a pipe join, where forces from both sides and the top will close the bottom of the clamp. When you tuck your butt and hold your tummy in, the downward forces of your torso and the upward forces from your legs are not in line, so your pubic symphysis will tend to separate at the front and be compressed at the back.

The pubic symphysis joint is analgous to the intervertebral joints. It even has a disc like structure in the middle of it, which absorbs forces, and is designed to have equal pressure exerted on it front to back. Like the intervertebral joints it is designed to rotate slightly, which is necessary for walking, but it is not designed to be held in a 'bent' configuration. If in doubt, consult a physiotherapist, but I think your body will tell you if what you are doing is OK for it.

Louise

Hi fms,
Firslty - Welcome to WW! I do hope you find the information available both here on the forum, but also the wealth of resources available in other areas of this site useful. Do look up the videos for an easy way to be further informed about the WW approach and response to prolapse.
Your symptoms will definatley improve if you adopt the WW posture as much as you can diring your daily life. In time this begins to become second nature. When/if ever you notice you've slumped or are not in natural posture, then just go into natural posture... After doing this umpteem million zillion times, you'll gradually find yourself in natural posture more often than not! :)
I used to teach pregnancy yoga and we generally said it was best to wait until after about week 14 before doing the more demanding yoga poses. Priot to that we encouraged restful, gentle yoga. Towards the end of pregnancy the sessions and yoga were more focused towards preparation for labour. Whatever form of exerecise you do during pregnancy, it's essential you listen to your body and are aware of what your limits are - and don't push yourself beyond what feels comfortable or safe. It's best to air on the safe side. The WW yoga ensures you are working with WW principles which will improve your prolapse symptoms. I think there's a WW products sale in the WW store at the moment if you're considering buying a WW dvd. The 2nd cakra yoga dvd is said to be especially good for post partum women, so this may be a good investment for later.
I would also recommend the 'Saving the WW' book to anyone woman with prolapse symptoms. It's full of helpful information and support around symptoms, treatments and WW principles and support.
There is a WW slogan; "Change the posture, change the symptom". This applies during pregnancy as much as any other time in a woman's life.
Re diet: you may find further info re diet and pregnancy elsewhere in the forums. There's a great deal of advice regaqrding just about everything for pregnant women. This As far as I understand, most of it is common sense: avoid processed foods as far as possible and eat reasonable amounts of wholesome organic food (made somewhere with love if possible!) inc variety of fruit and vegetables; avoid soft cheeses and cut or or reduce caffienated drinks and alcohol...
One of the most important things is to attain as much rest and relaxation as possible and optimize levels of happiness. Hope you have a happy, healthy pregnancy - and enjoy these last few months of your time with just you and your toddler.
With love, Lindyx