six week checkup

Submitted by worried new mom on June 25, 2013 - 11:57pm
Body: 

I am six weeks postpartum and went in for my checkup with the doctor. I asked her opinion on my prolapse situation and she first had me sit up slightly and bear down, then she had me lay down and bear down. My bladder was full at the time. she concluded i have a mild cystocele. My question is whether I could have done lasting damage by bearing down those two times with full bladder. How sensitive is prolapse to doing a few "wrong things"like that. I didn't bear down too hard but my symptoms are worse tonightt (although it was also a long day without much rest etc). I am concerned that I may have caused damage (Ive been otherwise trying to be very careful since the birth).

Thank you for any advice. One of the hardest parts of this for me is the mental aspect, the worry, hence the name...

Forum:

fab

June 26, 2013 - 6:48am

Yes, I can see that the bearing down can contribute to a worsening of prolapse, in the same way that hanging on to urine too long will make your bladder descend. Look, if the prolapse is there I can’t see why doctors require you to bear down, unless they want to see it at the opening of the vulva. And why would they want that? It is a puzzle to me. Unless they want to simulate you standing up. In that case you can stand up and they can crouch down to look surely?
The thing is of course, you need now to rest up a bit and then when you are up and around make sure you take it a bit easy in that you do not inadvertently do anything that will encourage your prolapse to descend again. Once you have done this for a few days, WWposture will enable your prolapse to rectify to where it was previously, but yeah next time I would be asking my doctor whether this bearing down was entirely necessary.
Also be reassured being a new mum, you will suffer ups and downs with your prolapse, but ultimately it will get better, but adapting WWposture now will guard against it returning with menopause.

worried new mom

June 26, 2013 - 10:22am

Thanks Fab so much for your reply. I agree that the bearing down was not a good idea- I never should have asked her to give me her opinion on my POP...ugh. I guess hindsight is 20/20. What I am hoping is that an incident like that won't cause lasting damage. As long as I can get it back to where it was and know nothing was altered for good. I do feel a lot better this morning. I will take your advice and rest up in the next few days. Do you think POP is caused by a longer accumulation of events (ie: pregnancy, poor posture etc) such that one or two short wrong actions (bearing down, lifting something heavy once) will not change the ultimate healing process? I ask this because I am sure I won't be perfect in the next two years (i have a toddler too and things get busy) and I want to try to avoid the panic attack that comes with thinking I permanently ruined something or hindered my healing when I do something wrong. I wonder how sensitive the area is in that regard? I don't have issues with regularity but I imagine this would be akin to someone who bears down while going to the bathroom. Has anyone experienced worsening symptoms after doing that and then found that it goes back to baseline? Thank you once again. I am very grateful for everyone's advice. I am hoping to find some peace with this whole thing so I don't keep losing sleep over it:(

Surviving60

June 26, 2013 - 1:39pm

WorriedMom, all of us are having good days and bad, setbacks and recovery, all the time! That's what the posture is all about - it's maintenance and it allows you to get on with life and lose the worry. - Surviving

Bonne Maman

June 26, 2013 - 6:43pm

WM, I have been having the same thoughts as you! Now that I am 10 months postpartum, I can say that there are ups and downs, sometimes caused by long days or lifting too much, and sometimes caused by hormones or god knows what, but in general I am improving (especially with the posture and exercises) so I think those little blips are not as damaging as I thought they were.

Aussie Soul Sister

June 27, 2013 - 2:47am

Hi Worried New Mom & Bonnie Maman,
Be gentle with yourselves, you are new Mums & need rest & belly breath when you are worried.
Take advantage of the invaluable information on this forum, Christine's research papers, book etc.
Just doing WW Posture is enough to see improvement, while you live your daily lives, enjoying your babies. Absorb all the other information while living in the posture. Doing that will negate worry.
According to others on the forum it takes up to 2yrs to recover from birth. In saying that I had my 2nd 22mths after my first, my prolapse showing up during 2nd pregnancy. I had my 3rd & biggest babe 2 1/2 years after that & waited, avoiding the only alternative of surgery for a further 16 years until finding Christine's work last year.
You are not alone in this & I wish you well,
(((hugs))) & Best Wishes,
Aussie Soul Sister

optimistic33

June 27, 2013 - 10:58pm

Hi there,

Just wanted to drop a quick note to say that I think you are going to heal to the point of not even having a cystocele anymore or most definitely not where you will sacrifice lifestyle or notice. Others told me this when I first came to this site and I wish I would have listened more closely and wouldn't have done so much - I think I would have had a full recovery. I had a setback but now am feeling better thanks to lots of support but I agree that you shouldn't worry about the prolapse and should enjoy your baby, make your honey or others do most of the lifting when he can. Take it easy - it takes at least six months for your tissues to heal. Just because you feel really good doesn't necessarily mean your body is ready to respond so give it time so you don't hurt yourself. :)

worried new mom

June 28, 2013 - 12:05am

Thank you everyone for your advice and support. Somehow it helps so much knowing that this is normal and that others have had improvement, even with set backs. I wonder if most women have some sort of prolapse after birth but maybe just don't notice or worry about it. I wonder if a degree of prolapse and its gradual reversion is just part of the pregnancy/postpartum process. I do have one more question : I can't help but worry a little about the issue of vaginal tightness/sex etc. Since Kegels are not recommended, I am concerned about things feeling stretched out and what I can do to tighten. Has anyone noticed the vaginal muscles tightening up on their own postpartum, in time, just with WW techniques and no kegels? I know there is a lot of reversion and healing to take place and I would like to know if that is also part of it. .. Does anyone have other suggestions about how to tighten those muscles?

123Butterfly

June 28, 2013 - 12:33am

Fab mentioned a technique in an other thread. Perhaps you can find it with the searchbox?
Best wishes
Butterfly

Surviving60

June 28, 2013 - 7:34pm

I think this is the discussion that Butterfly is referring to above.

https://wholewoman.com/forum/node/5535