worse at 3 and a half weeks pp normal?

I am new here so I'm not going to jump into giving advice but I just wanted to show u some support! I wouldn't be too worried just yet! You said u were working on posture n I know from the others that's the most important thing! You just gave birth to a beautiful new human being and it takes some time for your body to recover! The first year has ups and downs but as long as your working on posture I would calm down n just enjoy that beautiful new baby! The first thing I did was start on the home page then read everything I could! This place is wonderful n Christine is an absolutely amazing woman who has dedicated herself to helping so many!! Her words are so helpful! Also there are so many amazing caring and giving women who are full of excellent knowledge!! I hope I have been helpful!!!

Hi worried - Yes, I think that 3 weeks can be a typical time for pp prolapse to worsen or to appear for the first time. As WMLB says, it will be up and down for the first year and really takes a full 2 years to figure out what your "new normal" will be. Learn correct WW posture, be careful to guard lumbar curvature when lifting and carrying, rest as much as possible (ha!), follow good toilet and food habits, and very important - avoid all the slouching into soft furniture that new moms seem to do alot of. This is probably at least partly responsible for pp prolapse and the fact that it takes time after the delivery to really manifest itself. This flattens lumbar curvature which is what we are trying to avoid. Good luck, keep it up, congrats and enjoy your wonderful family!! - Surviving

I wouldn't be too worried about it just yet new momma! One of mysteries about prolapse is why a woman generally feels great right after the birth and then it shows up weeks later. Mine showed around 6 weeks. Sometimes it just gets worse before it gets better, but it will get better! And you are starting on the posture so early and know what is going on with your body so early that you will probably have faster results to your symptoms. Good job for everything you have done so far, it does get better in time :)

Hi worried new mom

Yes, the others are correct. It is fairly normal. We really don't know why. I think that in the first few weeks there is still a lot of 'spare volume' in your belly, and the uterus and surrounding tissues are still bigger than normal which in itself would provide a pessary effect.

Then there is the fact that, even though the outside of your body is getting smaller, gradually all the fascia that has stretched to accommodate a very large uterus will shrink back to a normalish length by 2 years postpartum. I imagine that it reverts quite quickly at first, so that by the time you hit about six months pp it has done quite a lot of its reversion and the real improvements will then start. By that time a women who is nursing will also have used a lot of her fat store, so there isn't so much crowding in her abdominal and pelvic cavities.

Then as you say, as you say, you kind of get over the tiredness of the first few weeks and start to exert yourself a bit more, and feel like getting back into family and community life, with your toddler and baby both getting heavier by the day. This period of time needs you to really start using your brains to make life easier for your still recovering body. Figure out how to use mechanical advantage to help you with load lifting and carrying. Keep emptying out the baby bag that goes out into the world with you, so you are carrying only what you need at that time. Consider having a big baby kit that stays in the car, and just take a smaller bag with immediate necessities in the pram. Get rid of the heavy pram and into a lighter weight stroller as soon as you can. Ensure that the design of the stroller allows you to *wheel* it along when it is folded for storage.

I recently had a client with a young baby, a two year old an a four year old. She had a very smart, strong and expensive, twin stroller but when it was folded for storage or to put it in the car, the wheels didn't touch the ground, so it had to be dragged along, or pushed into the storage cupboard at home. It was only possible to fold it with lumbar curve intact by standing astride it, which was very cumbersome. It was also extremely heavy, and they had a large SUV/4WD. This Mom had to lift the whole stroller to hip level to get it into the back without damaging the duco on the vehicle. In short, it was an ergonomic nightmare. I really hope she was able to get into a smaller model, for the sake of her body.

This time when you have a fully dependent baby and a toddler with a mind of his/her own, is short in the space of a lifetime, but it can feel like an eternity when you are in the middle of it, with what I call PPTV, or postpartum tunnel vision, living in the moment, and fully focussed on the needs of your young family. Sometimes, hunkering down, and not trying to extend yourself too far, or too hard, to keep up with the pace of modern life, is a good investment in your body. This too will pass.

I am not saying don't exercise, don't go out, don't get back into your old activities and lifestyle. I am saying, you are in a different physical and head space than you were in before. The rules have all changed. You just have to go with the flow a bit, to conserve your body and your sanity.

Louise