Pregnant with severe prolapse?

Body: 

I am a new member, though I have been reading on this site for several months now. It has been very helpful. I have a severe uterine prolapse, rectocele, and cystocele (I don't know the degrees, but I do know that my uterus is out of my body and my obgyn said that my case is as bad as it gets - ugh!). I am choosing not to have surgery at this point, and I know I need to start doing the posture and exercises that I've been reading about here (though I wonder if they will do me any good as my case seems extreme?!). My question is, if I got pregant again (we have four children) would everything be all right? It seems hard to imagine the uterus being able to move back up where it needs to be during pregnancy. When I got pregnant the last time, my prolapse wasn't as bad as it is now as I was able to wear a pessary and now I can't. I have read about others on this site who have been pregnant and had a safe delivery, but I don't know if their prolapse was as bad as mine. Any advice would be helpful. I am hopeful and feel blessed to have found this site!

It's just impossible to say. Many women here wonder "how bad can it get?" Would you mind telling us, in all honesty, what you mean by "My uterus is out of my body?" Thanks! C.

I'm not sure how to answer it in all honesty! It is rather embarassing to admit (it took me months to finally get up the courage to start posting!), but I have what I think is most of my uterus protruding out of my vagina. I have seen two obgyn's about my prolapse, rectocele, and cystocele, but I don't know much about them (aside form the reading I've done) as the doctors are so brief and only interested in telling me about surgery. I have no pain, leakage, back problems; just a huge bulge. So in that case, I guess it could be worse. It is just always there - I can't help but notice it all the time, though I have gotten used to it (as much as one can! - and I do wear a jockstrap to help with the pressure down there). I walk, keep up with my children, and enjoy life. I just wish it wasn't there, of course. And I do wonder if it would be safe to get pregnant - for me and the baby. My doctor could be wrong about my situation being as bad as it gets. She could just be saying that to scare me into surgery!
Hope that helps to clarify things, Christine!

Hi Titus2mom,
The birth of my first daughter 7 years ago left me with my uterus on the outside of my body and also with a bowel and bladder prolapse.

I went on to have two more children falling pregnant within 2 mths of trying with each, I was extremely nervous as i honestly thought I could lose them as my uterus and cervix was on the outside of my body, but with both as the pregnancy progressed (by the time i was about 16 weeks) the gain in size pushed them back up inside me.

What you do have to do is make sure when you have given birth and waiting for the placenta to be delivered DO NOT LET THE MIDWIFE TUG ON THE PLACENTA as this can actually cause the uterus to be pulled inside out and also damage the back vagina wall, the hospital assured me they never do this but I know from baby 1 that they do, it was my regular doctor who told me to make sure they are all aware of the prolapse when I arrived at the hospital.

Pelvic floor excercises didnt help (And i did do them on a regular basis) as I was told I have a genetic problem suffering very weak body tissue, but I have since had surgery (now i have finished having children) and am very happy now with the results, its such a relief being able to walk without that balloon between my legs and the severe back pain when i did walk too far.

The bonus if you could say that is when you are close to your due date you can actually feel your cervix and see if you are dialating :o)

Good luck with baby number 5, you will be fine xx

Thanks for your answer, which I find very encouraging. Considering that your cervix is attached to the base of your bladder at the “supravaginal septum”, at least half of that bulge must be your front vaginal wall and bladder. Other than the very rare case (which we have never heard of here, by the way) of the entire vagina turning inside out – with bladder, uterus, and rectum outside the body – your condition is what I believe to be “as bad as it can get.”

That being said, you have very little issue with discomfort, mobility – and sex it appears! Women need to hear this!

As far as whether it might worsen with another pregnancy, who knows? I so loved Jane’s (fullofgrace) brave vision of pregnancy pulling up her prolapse and actually improving it. That didn’t turn out to be the case, but she insisted her cystocele was no worse after her gentle home birth. We do know the cervix almost always pulls out of the vagina by the fourth month or so. We also know the cervix pulls UP over the baby’s head and shoulders during delivery – it does not push down.

In any event, I think you would respond very well to the postural work. The natural shrinkage of the uterus post-menopause may leave you with very slight symptoms in the long run. We just need another ten years or so to chart the natural history of prolapse in women doing this work to know for sure.

Thank you for the encouraging reply, mummsy. It helps to feel that I am not the only one in this situation! :)
And thanks, Christine, for the info! I will begin the postural work soon.