Prolapse after birth

[Sophia73]

Just wondering if anyone has experienced a prolapse of any kind (ie uterus, vaginal wall, bladder etc) after birth.

I had a difficult delivery with DD 3 months ago involving forceps and episiotomy and discovered I had prolapsed (obs says it is uterus). It's making me quite depressed as I have been told not to do any activity or exercise and I'm normally an active person. I'm not clear on whether these things clear up or am I doomed for a life of inactivity? I also worry about intercourse (painful/uncomfortable) and further pregnancies.

I am doing regular pelvic floor exercises but no professionals seem to be able to tell me if or when prolapses right themselves.

Any good news stories most appreciated as I'm getting quite down about the whole thing.

Thanks!

[AnyDream]

Hello, sorry to hear you are having such a hard time getting helpful information! I had some mild prolapsing after my first birth which seems to have come back as a result of my 2nd pregnancy...I was horribly alarmed at the time and had the same difficulty getting any information/even a diagnosis. In the end, I rang the Womens' Health Centre to get the name of a GP who specialised in women's health (by this time my DD was about 8 mths old)...she hastened to reassure me that it would get better over time and with plenty of pelvic floor exercises. Which it did. Otherwise she was prepared to refer me to either a continence nurse, women's physio or a gynaecologist, depending on how it played out. Are you having any treatment, or have you just been told not to exercise? Perhaps you could make another appt and ask for a referral to a women's health physio for some assistance with how to get back into exercising, as that is a realistic short term goal.

[Ginger]

Hi Sophia- sorry can't give you any info but if you're in Melbourne I can give you the name of a fantastic women's health physio that i see regularly.

[Sophia73]

Thanks for replying Marydean and Gracie!

FYI I am seeing a physio who specialises in post-natal issues. She is the one that recommended no exercise - except for the pelvic floor ones. Both she and my obstetrician (who I had a feeling was butt covering himself) would not commit to advising me whether this problem will ever improve. Three months on and things feel worse than ever.

I was glad to hear your story Marydean...I hope mine does the same.

[chickenlittle]

Hi Sophia73

I had a prolapse of the front v wall about 3 weeks after birth of 2nd baby who is now nearly 1. Yeah I can totally sympathise with you and it was a bit depressing at the time to be honest! I felt like I was ruined!

It is definitely better now for me, although like you I was in the dark for a bit.

Everyone seems to be unsure of as to whether these things can ever improve, but I can tell you mine did: most days I don't feel it, there's no issue with stress incontinence, and I feel absolutely normal in every way now.

I had a fab womens physio who gave me mega pelvic floor exercises.

And my female GP told me at my post natal pap smear "don't worry - give it time - it's only been four months". So it does take many months perhaps to get better, but if you're careful not to do strenuous stuff, and do your pelvic floors often, and "brace" down there when you have to lift heavy things, you should be (hopefully) much better with time soon too.

All the best, sending you good vibes!

[Olive]

gracie who do you see???

[Novella]

Hi Sophia, I was the same it was such a big shock, I was in the dark the GP I saw said just do pelvic floors and give it time (not very helpful when you feel so uncomfortable).Seeing a phsio that specialises in womens health was the best thing I did, she gave me so much information, made sure I was doing Kegel's properly and reassured me.

She said that 3 months after birth is usually the worst, if you are breastfeeding it will improve more when you stop (due to altered progesterone levels). After seeing her for about six months she was happy for me to play netball. I now do cardio 2-3 times a week and pump once a week. Don't get constipated, maintain a healthy weight and keeping doing Pelvic floors and you will see an improvement. I don't have that horrible 'full feeling' down there anymore, things have improved immensely. Do I still have a prolapse? Yes. Does it cause me any discomfort or bother my everday life? No

[Sophia73]

Wow Sararose that's really encouraging for me! Particularly regarding your level of physical activity - my main fear is i wouldn't be able to do any of those things you mentioned. Good on you!

I was pretty upset yesterday after a GP examined my prolapse and said " wow that's a severe prolapse"! I had just been feeling like I was getting a bit of improvement from the kegels and she landed me with this...oddly enough my gynae said he didn't think it was that severe and said it would settle down. So two totally different opinions!

Unfortunately I am also getting constant urinary tract infections from this prolapse so am nearly always on anti-biotics. As a result of this and in the hope that I may get some improvement I have decided to stop breastfeeding - am currently in the process of weaning DD completely onto formula.

[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.