After 2 children, my body is stuffed....

[Isadora]

This is a bit of a vent because my DH is sick of hearing me whinge about it all. In hospital the physio told me that my tummy muscles had seperated 15 cms, which is huge and 'the worst case scenario' apparently. I have a small torso, my babies had no where to go but straight out. I was huge with both my girls. Obviously this has put a huge strain on my tummy muscles and now I have no tummy strength. This in turn gives me bad back aches as I have no support in my tummy.

THEN, even worse, I felt like my insides were falling out downstairs. I finally got out a mirror and had a look, and it seems thats exactly what is going on. I really think I now have a prolapsed hoo haa!!

I feel so down about it. I am 25 and feel like a granny already because of these issues. Worse still I would love 3 children, but I think its probably best for me to stop at two, would hate to see the state of me after a third

[Mildez]

Isadora you have done a fabulous job baking your girls to term and birthing them. I'm sure with time these things will improve and if not there are always thing that can be done to improve it or repair. I wouldn't rule out more babies just yet. You have only recently had your last bub and it will take time for things to improve and you to have some strength back again.

[Traveller]

Your DD2 is still very young and it can take a long time for your body to get back into feeling normal. That said, now is not too soon to see a physio about your tummy muscles and this should hasten your recovery.

WRT the prolapse, have you had your 6 week check yet? If it's not soon then please make an appointment tomorrow to get checked and referred to someone who can help you. There are treatments for prolapses, not all of them surgical. Once you have been treated you will be able to find out if a 3rd child is a possibility or not but for now you need to concentrate on getting better.

[*Sparklez*]

Hav you seen a dr? And maybe some physio and exercising would bring them back slowly...

I'm 26 with 4 and I feel like my body is aged more than my mum I hate it but I look at those gorgeous 4 sets of eyes and thank god lol that there is a reason I feel like I'm falling apart..

I'd seriously go see the gp and see if he can refer you to a gyno or someone to help downstairs and also a physio


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[Taurean]

That's rough hon! I strongly suggest seeing a physio who specialises in pregnancy on a regular basis. They can help SO much!

I've been seeing my physio since early into my pregnancy due to back, groin and pelvic pain. My lower back and glutes still play up on a regular basis so I now do pilates (one-on-one) with my physio once a week. We are working to strengthen my core muscles (which is not easy after being pregnant and giving birth!) and I can say it has definitely helped. My muscles separated but nothing too major but I couldn't do situps for a long time so we are also working on that now too. My pelvic floor muscles also got one hell of a work out so I do exercises to strengthen them as well. With a bit more effort from my side (), I think my pelvic floor muscles could be brilliant TBH. I know what to do, I just need to do the exercises!

It is incredible what a good physio (and pilates) can teach you about your body and the simple exercises you can do to get things back to some sort of normal. You need to be prepared to put in the effort though, like any exercise.

My sister had a prolapse after her second son was born and she's fine now She also had severly split stomach muscles but they seem to be AOK now...given she's one of Australia's top kite surfers

Don't give up hope yet!!

[Queen]

Can you get a second opinion? Is there anything that can be done?

Hope you get some answers soon xo

[Isadora]

I havent had my 6 wk check yet, its in a couple of weeks. Should I wait or go sooner? I feel like an old woman!!!!

Anyway disregard this silly vent. After reading a particular thread in platinum my problems seem so pathetic really

[Ozziehoffy]

I understand how you feel. My tummy muscles are r00ted *sighs*... I still have separation going on and my pelvic floor and bladder haha funny!! I am hoping to find the strength to face these things one day soon cos it depresses me greatly to look in the mirror and see this stomach hanging and floppy

[~Stoked~]

I had the same problem downstairs after I had bub #2. I was thinking the worst and getting very upset at the thought of no more babies. I was holding it all in and getting more and more worked up til one day I blurted it out to my mum (expecting her to be all concerned for me!) and she said "oh don't worry about that, it's nothing. I had it after every baby and it all goes back to normal"... She's had 5 babies. So that made me feel better! Sure enough everything downstairs is back to normal! It takes some time (and pelvic floor exercises help too) but you'll get there. Hugs x

[Isadora]

Stoked - Really? Thats good news then. I hope it goes away for me too.

[HotI]

Definitely see a physio, cos they can help with both the abs and the possible prolapse. There are exercises you can do that can really help. A tubigrip can also help support your abs and your back while they gain strength back.

[~Stoked~]

Stoked - Really? Thats good news then. I hope it goes away for me too.

It's early days yet. Give your body some more time. Hotl's suggestion of using tubigrip to support your abs is a good one. I wore tubigrip for about 8 weeks after the birth (I also had terrible muscle separation). I also saw a women's health Physio when my baby was a couple of weeks old and she suggested I go home and forget about it until after my six week check as the body will do alot of healing on it's own in that time. After the six week mark she gave me lots of exercises to do to get my strength back up.
Please don't worry yourself too much. Everything can and will be sorted in time xx

[~Raven~]

It's still early days so please try not to be too down yet

I could hardly do a pelvic squeeze 6 weeks post birth and at my checkup told the OB that it felt like everything had collapsed up there. He said just keep doing the pelvic squeezes because sometimes it takes longer for the nerve endings to heal. By 3 months it was all good and strong

I'm a HUGE advocate for pilates to help strengthen the pelvic floor and stomach muscles since I started doing it with a physio between my 2 and 3rd PG's.

[Pandora]

Most things will either repair themselves or are able to be fixed.
I had 5 ' fingers' of stomach muscle separation plus pelvic floor issues.
I saw a physio who specialized in continence for 6 months after DS2 was born and we tried all sorts of stuff before finding that one side of the muscles were "gone, they seem
To have torn away" even then she said they could grow?
Even still it can be fixed with surgery, I'm just waiting til DS2 is older.
She told me to be sure I'd finished having kids because to have anymore after surgery would mean elective c-section.

[Trillian]

Hun, there is a support tube that you can wear for your stomach. A friend of mine had a very severe case of muscle separation and she had to wear the support for a few months post birth to help keep her stomach in while her muscles healed.

[Pandora]

Tubi-grip
My hospital gave me some. The physio will be able to get it for you

[Mak]

Definitely go seek some advice from a specialist physio so you know you are on track - I remember things changing heaps at 6weeks, 3 months and even at a year. Try to be kind to yourself too - your body needs time to recover!!!!

[Laranna]

Yep definitely see a physio. My physio after DD helped me fix my pelvic floor strength, pubic pain and dropped bladder. We did some one on one exercises and I also had a tubigrip as well as strapping around my hips to help stabilise my pelvis. Getting your pelvic floor good again is the key, and pilates will help big time! Can't rave enough about pilates.