Prolapse after birth

[Bea06]

Hi,

I also suffered a uterine prolapse after giving birth via vacuum extraction over a year ago.

Like you I struggle(d) to find clear information as to what my prognosis would be. I have also been told not to do any form of high impact exercise (which I miss desperately). I was also given widely differeing opinions as to how bad it was/is.

I completely empathise with how you're feeling.

My problem is made worse by the fact that my pelvis is also sitting on a completely different angle as my ligaments will no longer hold it in place.

I found that I only really began to get some relief from the constant sensation that my entire insides were going to fall out of my vagina about 11 months after she was born.

I have since been prescribed 'Ovestin Cream' which has been helpful. I think that my cervix feels as though it has retracted (for want of a better word) back up about an extra centimetre or so (which is better than nothing)! However, my vagina is still on a completely different angle.

Am afraid, that it's had a major impact on my sex life, and I'm currently looking for a counseller who may be able to talk through some of this stuff with me.

However, the good news is that I was recently talking to an older woman that I know who suffered from a uterine prolapse as well as severe incontinence for years after giving birth. She had surgery about 7 years ago and said that it absolutely changed her life. She said that her prolapse was so bad that she'd forgotten what it was like to have an empty vagina and a full bladder! She said her sex life had completely recovered and that she'd recommend it to anyone.

I've got the details of her doctor and am going to make an appointment to see him in the next few weeks. She said that it's possible to have surgery before having another baby, but the only thing is that they ask you not to get pregnanat for a year after the surgery. That was a relief for me, because quite frankly I don't know how I'm supposed to get pregnant when my sex life is like it is!

I hope things are going alright for you and I don't know what else to suggest except to keep persisting and that maybe take some heart from the fact that you're not alone. I think that there are a few of us out there with this problem, but it's difficult to talk about as it's not the sort of thing that comes up in general polite conversation, nor is it the sort of thing you can really compare with some one!

Mine was really bad, its certainly not resolved but it has improved. Good luck.

[danniellabella]

i was looking down there with a mirror yesterday and things dont look right at all. i'm wndering if i have a prolaps. is excess bleeding a symptom? dh had a look down there too and really didnt like what he saw. i'm going to try and make an appt with my gp who specilises in womens issues

[Bea06]

what does it look like?

mine didn't look at all right after I gave birth and I also bled a lot, which I've since heard somebody else say might be related to having a prolapse.

how did your check up go?

[Sophia73]

Just wondered if those of you who have had a prolapse also had episiotomies and either vacuum or forceps deliveries? I know there is a link between the two.

On a positive note my prolapse is certainly improving (DD is now nearly 5 months). Saw my physio yesterday and she did say "nothing ever feels or looks the same (ie vagina) after birth" which is something to keep in mind. I know it sounds obvious but sometimes I think we expect it all to be exactely the same down there.

Danielle - I hope all went well with your GP appointment.

[Novella]

I had a small tear, natural birth. Unfortunately I have poor conective tissue, its genetic both my grandmothers have had prolapses when they were younger.

There is some interesting studies that suggest after 5 years the number of women with prolapse is the same between women who had vaginal births and women who had cs, because of the weight of the baby on the ligaments during pregnancy and pregnancy hormones. I wonder if forceps, vaccum extraction or episitomy have different outcomes after 5 years?

[danniellabella]

I went to the doctor on Monday and she said everything looks normal for someone who gave birth 8 weeks ago. She suggested that perhaps I may have very slight prolaps after doing a number 2 and if I think something is sticking out that shouldn't be to use vasaline on my finger and gently push it back. I went home and straight away I had another look and it did look a bit more normal but then I looked after a number 2 and if I've strained then I can see that there may be a bit of a prolaps. I was also told to keep doing pelvic floor exercises 3 times a day for 10 repititions and hold each one for 5 seconds and then squeeze harder and hold that for 5 seconds before relaxing.