Whole Woman Village Forum

Hi

As I first posted here when I was 6 weeks postpartum, I am now 15 weeks postpartum, seeing a physiotherapist and doing some light excercises. My question to you all is, in re: my cystocele (yes I am obsessed), I have checked it daily for the past 3 weeks. I saw my old vagina again. No ribbing or bulging of my bladder just my old self. Now today I decided to look again, and to my sadness, there was the ribbed tissue poking out it's head just outside of my vagina. What gives? What have I done different? Nothing. I still have to carry my boy in his car seat but try not to do too many outings in a day. One or none if I can help it. I sit right, do a hard kegal before I cough...sneeze etc, and only walk for cardio though this way taking forever for weight to slide off. I also make sure to lay down during the day just to be horizontal.

Hi Christine

I have just done the ballet workout (phew!) and got to the last warmdown/stretch which is lying flat on my back. When I lay down like in the picture in the book my sacral area was very tense and there seemed to be a large gap between the floor and my lumbar spine, big enough to slide my whole hand under. Without making a big effort and having some discomfort I could not flatten my spine at all.

After a few minutes sitting up reading through it again I lay down again and my spine was much flatter.
1 What is this last one, other than just having a nice little lie down after working all those muscles?

After the birth of my daughter, nothing seemed to work properly. I had a natural childbirth, but it was very long and hard because dd was turned upside-down and stuck on my tailbone for all but the last hour. I did end up having an episiotomy that I was trying to avoid because her heart rate dropped and didn't come back up. I never lost a single drop of urine the entire pregnancy even when laughing or coughing (thought I made it through without that experience..shucks!). After she was born, I had absolutely no urinary control at all. As soon as my bladder filled up, it would automatically start emptying itself. It hurt to sit down for about 7-8 months..doctor told me it was just extreme bruising and everything looked fine. Even now if I'm on my feet for too long in one day I have a heavy, sore sensation down there. I used to love to exercise and run but can't even imagine doing that now because I am still incontinent to some degree (not like it was after my daughter was born, but not "normal" either). I thought that things were supposed to feel more "streched out" for sexual purposes after having children...it feels so tight down there the times that I have had sex that it hurts and I'm sore for days. I do kegels, but honestly don't see much improvement, if at all. During menstuation, I feel so sore and heavy in my vaginal area. I have to push on my perineum in order to have a bowel movement most times.

i just ordered some balm in anticipation of eventually having sex again. i am very scared to have sex for the first time post partum (god help me a tampon hurt, so i am a bit concerned). so my question to christine is whether or not the balm is okay for cunnilingus or should be only used right before intercourse. my second question is for the entire forum. i need help feeling comfortable having sex again. many of you talk about having great sex, but can you remember your first time postpartum and do you have any advice????

first, I'm not knocking anyone's choice for surgery. I think that in a case involving traumatic and irreversible damage to muscle, ligament and bone, the underlying physical structure might not be as responsive to the posture and lifestyle changes described on this site.

for me, I've had damage, probably due to childbirth. it involves torn skin, fascia and muscle. hasn't healed yet, and in all likelihood will never heal on its own. the prolapses that I have, I believe, developed in response to the damage I've incurred, as well as years and years of postural effects and to other underlying conditions (ie, low postural tone and fibromyalgia).

Hi - I have been wondering about this question as gravity is obviously doing its worst during the day !. Would it help to sleep with the pelvis elevated ? or does this push the organs into a posistion which is not what they have ever naturally been in ? If this does help where should the elevation be specifically - at legs/feet ot directly under the hips ? I am 12 months post natal and wondering if this could help in some way.

Many thanks for you time.

Hi Wholewomen

When I was having babies during the 1980's I can remember being admonished by my peers and older women for stretching up on tippy toes to hang washing up on the line, postpartum. They only ever said, "It isn't good for you", and either could not or would not expand on this admonishment, though I suspect it was because my uterus was going to fall out, and it never did, so I carried on stretching up on tippy toes to hang out the washing because it felt so nice.

Is there anybody out there in Mum land who had babies during the 1980's or before, who can shed any light on this? Was it a wives' tale meant to stop me from having a nice feeling in my body and being able to avoid adjusting the clothes line, or is there some sense in this advice. Was I setting myself up for the prolapses that have knocked on my door twenty years later?

I have cystocele, rectocele and prolapsed uterus and I deal with it very well with a pessary and handling urinating and defecating issues. In handling the latter, if I get constipated I need a good amount of time and PRIVACY to address it. Our bathroom is off the master bedroom and the sink is in a little alcove in the actual bedroom. Only the commode and the tub are behind the bathroom door proper. So I need to close and lock the bedroom door when I have a very severe constipation problem to handle. I may need to give myself an enema; I may need to do things that require the sink. I need the whole bedroom, not just the commode/tub room.

I posted a help request titled 'Uterine Prolapse Pessary' of 9/2. 63 people have read my post, and no one has responded. I can't tell you how that makes me feel. This is the first time that I have EVER had the nerve to put a post on the internet to request help, and noone has answered. My uterine prolapse at Stage 2 might not be as bad as some people, but it is terrifying to me. My doctor, who is a participating provider on my insurance (I'm stuck with him) doesn't have much knowledge about pessaries. I really would like to hear from prople who wear pessaries for uterine prolapse - if they are able to remove them at home and how successful they are - and how comfortable.