Loosened vaginal wall, pregnancy hormones or prolapse?

Hi LA - I don't want to leave this post unanswered but I think you will just have to be patient right now. Every pregnancy and every birth are different and can change your body in different ways. If some other more recent PP moms want to chime in, that would be helpful. I suggest you not worry too much, in mid-second-pregnancy, about how your vaginal walls feel during sex. Plan on really incorporating WW posture into your post-partum life......this helps get the organs out of the way so that the vagina can be a flat, closed, airless space. It's all connected! I would like to hear the experience of other younger moms here. - Surviving

Here is one discussion where Christine explains how our vagina actually closes onto itself like elevator doors:

https://wholewoman.com/forum/node/4108

If you type elevator doors into the search, you will find many references and really interesting discussion on this.

i've got the 'loose walls' too.
since incorporating WW - i actually haven't felt the hanging bulge of my bladder... early on i had a definite bladder bulge that i could push up and over my pubic bone and it would come back down.
i haven't had that in many weeks now..... i do feel a slight rectocele at the back but other than that i just feel that the walls are 'loose'. I can't remember what they felt like before to be honest.... my vagina was never a hollow tube, it was always "fleshy" - i remember having to kind of work a tampon in by moving it a bit forward, backward etc - it never just slid straight up there. But that makes sense to me when Christine talks about the flat airless space.... so I guess I'm not sure what amount of 'fleshiness' i'm feeling has always been there vs what's prolapse vs what's some normal laxity due to breastfeeding....(is there some laxity due to breastfeeding?)
in any event i'm going to keep working on posture and i'll see how the feel changes over time.
sexually - it doesn't feel all that different to either of us. I was getting a lot of trapped air early on but that's gotten way better. the last few times - no trapped air (i still get the occasional trapped air and air bubble when walking around though). it does sometimes during sex feel like there's some extra skin around - but i think sometimes it's my mind being overactive. I'm SUPER aware of my vagina now lol. The sad part is i'm not relaxed enough to enjoy sex AT ALL at this point. I can't mentally get over the prolapse yet....
however, one thing i've learned on here is that the organs are constantly in motion so don't take anything as being set in stone and kind of take things day by day.

Whole Women...keep strongly lifting your tailbone as you take long strides walking, and you will see that your vagina tightens over time. When you lift your tailbone, you must also pull your chin in and your shoulders down.

Importantly, understand that the round, drawstring closure of kegels actually loosens the walls, as the pelvic wall must slacken in order for you to be able to contract. If you sit on a firm surface, pull up strongly into WW posture, and contract your muscles you will see you won't be able to get much movement because the vagina is already closed!

The side-to-side closure of the seam that runs from front of urethra to back of anus is only achieved by lifting the tailbone. The pelvic interior follows the movement of the bony pelvis, flattening the channels (urethra, vagina, anorectum) so they are protected from intraabdominal pressure.

The more you work with this, the more your body will teach you! :-)

thanks so much Christine! This was one of my big a-ha moments in the past few weeks of searching these forums - trying to do a kegel while standing or sitting in posture and realizing - nope, can barely do one.... that really lit the lightbulb that in fact, strengthening the 'pelvic floor' (or pelvic wall) is done all day long as long as you're in the right posture. No need to squeeze anything.
But now you've just added another little lightbulb - lifting tailbone while walking to tighten up those loose walls. It's making more and more sense to me.... especially with chest lifted to pull everything up from the top.
Anyways - as a new member, reading through years and years of such great material - i wanna say thank you for keeping this site running. It has been such a great comfort to me - as well as what I said in my post above - my bladder has not been hanging down since I started the posture. I didn't think that would be possible.... I'm scared to check down there often, and there are days I feel flappy or bulgy and I think - uh-oh - that's gotta be that bladder coming down again. When I gather up the courage to check, it hasn't been the bladder in a long while - just those loose walls. I'm staying diligent as much as I can to keep this up.... but a lot of the fear has subsided, even if that bladder does come down again.

after feeling like dangerous surgery was in my future, the relief you've given me is immeasurable.

You are so welcome, Typicalme. It is always a great joy to witness these lightbulb moments. You are absolutely right that we don't need to do anything special to "strengthen the pelvic floor" but move through our day in WW posture. Hugs!

I had a hysterectomy and a prolapse 2 yrs ago,now my bladder has fallen again...I am scared because it is out of my vagina,I have to work,how far out will it come,I am waiting for more surgery in 5 months,thank you for any advice

Hi Grandies and welcome. Christine does have a program for post-hysterectomy, but it will help us if you can be a little more specific. Have you already had repair surgery for the bladder prolapse? There is no surgical "cure" for prolapse so if you are contemplating a 2nd repair there, best not to hope for too much.....If you have not had any surgeries other than the hyst, and you still have a reasonable amount of vaginal length to work with, Whole Woman posture may be able to help. If you can, tell us what procedures you've had, and what you are planning to have. - Surviving

I have been told that hrt ie estrogen fixed a prolapsed uterus because the prolapse was caused by the slack internal muscles after menopause plus straining and lifting and that the mesh thing ie the other way to fix it was mesh which is to be banned as it caused too many problems would have not happened if the women took estrogen - I am not a nurse or a doctor so I am really asking opinions as a herbal alternative and that is my choice
I suppose a natural estrogen would be safer anyway I am not going to take it as too much of a risk to me because of the side effects - it would be interesting to hear of comments

thanks to the founder of whole woman for a chance to talk about this - we live in a democracy and we have freedom to think and choose and it is good sometimes to talk about this as it seems a very common condition for women and there are others who understand.- so thanks

thanks to the founder of whole woman for a chance to talk about this - we live in a democracy and we have freedom to think and choose and it is good sometimes to talk about it as it seems a very common condition for women and there are others who understand - so thanks

I think if you follow Christines advice it would really encourage you - keep positive

Do people think loosened vaginal walls are caused by lack of estrogen is it that simple?

Surely hormones must be part of the picture. Prolapse symptoms seems to go and come with cyclical hormone cycles in menstruating women. Menopause seems to bring on symptoms for many, and post partum women tend to have prolapse symptoms that are affected by their hormonal state as well as whether or not they are breastfeeding anymore, etc.

I don’t think there is anything “simple” about it, though.

Some women on this forum use plant phytoestrogens like Red Clover tea to help with menopausal symptoms. That seems to be a consideration.

I have been told by a physio that lack of estrogen causes prolapse so the reverse will be true- the problem is that the side effects of estrogen (manufactured) are not safe so don't go there as risky - yes perhaps red clover is worth a try?- there is a story of a lady who fixed her prolapse with natural progestron? cream - I don't think you can make it simple

Hormones can play a part to a small extent, I think, but the majority of prolapse is a postural problem. When we spend our lives sucking in our tummies and tucking in our bottoms, along with sitting in soft furniture, straining on the toilet, doing everything we can to have flat abs, heavy lifting, etc., these are the things that really bring on prolapse.

By the way, I had a surplus of raging estrogen when I found my prolapse.

Red clover has been used by many of our ladies including Christine for those menopausal symptoms that so many can get. Do a search of it on the forum, and you will find many very good threads on the subject.

Hi ladies - I know this thread is a little old but I am wondering if someone can enlighten me on the difference between loose walls and prolapse? I have a cyst/rect, but also feel that my right vaginal wall is bulgy (the size of a blueberry) - it just feels like tissue, nothing firm behind it. Is that a loose wall? I know it may sound daft but I have kinda just chalked it up to birth damage but now that I am pregnant again I want to make sure that I get as much information as possible. Thanks!

The falling back of our pelvic organs creates more looseness or sagginess to some extent, although some of it can be hormonal or post birth.
But, as we are pulling our pelvic organs forward out of the vaginal space and our vagina closes more onto itself, we then can get some relief from this feeling.