Pelvic organ prolapse after birth

Thank you Nels and Roses.

I will post links etc. that I find may be relevant for those wanting to educate themselves more about POP. This post is from another forum written by Sherrie Palm (wonderful POP lady advocate) shares a bit more about POP:

It is unbelievable in my mind that women aren't told about POP ahead of the curve; for most of us it's discovery upon diagnosis. There is no routine screening for POP, diagnostic practitioners are not educated very well about POP, and no one talks about it out loud. That will all change very soon; we bang the drum daily to generate awareness while we provide guidance and support for women who are navigating the condition which impacts women physically, emotionally, socially, sexually, as well as impacts their fitness regimens and sometimes their employment. How can women lift their children if they have POP? How can they engage in intimacy if they have pain or anxiety? How can they carry on day to day acting like nothing is wrong when they feel vaginal or rectal pressure or tissues bulging from the vagina? For over 4000 years the medical community has treated POP as though it wasn't a "big deal" but it is a big deal-pelvic organ prolaspse is seldom life threatening but it is always life altering.

What is important to know is millions of women have this condition (the current statistic used is 3.3 million women in the US but research often indicates that half the female population has POP-women in all countries, not just the US). You are not alone. We stand side by side, a strong army of women growing stronger, demanding change. Our voices are getting louder. Women should be informed about POP before they get pregnant so they understand ways to modify daily activities. Women need to know how to check themselves to see if they have POP (take a hand held mirror at the end of the day and look at your vagina to see if you see tissue bulging). Women need to know Kegels and body posture are an important part of prevention and self treatment (kind of like brushing your teeth to prevent cavities). What's most important is that women know there are many treatments for POP, both surgical and non-surgical, and step one is getting an accurate diagnosis. Any doctor who does pelvic exams can diagnose POP but few know enough about it to diagnose if accurately; it is important to get advice from a specialist-a women's health physical therapist or a FPMRS urogynecologist or urologist. (The letters in front of the dr are important-these drs have specific training for POP.)

Copied from here: www.mothering.com/forum/502-healing-birt...-support-thread.html


(Ps: above thread is one of the very few threads available online where moms share their journeys (I think it is a UK based Forum?) and where one can find other ladies going through the same.)

wow! I have been following your story from the time you were looking for a VBAC specialist.

I had no idea about POP & thank you so much for sharing this experience with us.

Hi Gloie

thank you for sharing so openly about Pop, I applaud. I read alot about natural birth and cs while considering my vbac and nothing about Pop. I will be following this thread closely as I would also love to make mims aware of this condition. It is sad to know that no care givers put this out there as they do ruptures. You are helping alot if moms and moms to be.
I will keep praying for you and other women going through this, you are a strong woman. I am glaxd you are finding help and seeibg results. I will be sharing the links given with some moms at our meetings.
thank you again for sharing

Hi Ladies,

Thank you to each and every one of you who has taken the time to send me their well wishes and support. Your kind words and prayers gives me hope.

Antz, thank you for sharing the info you have managed to get from your cousin. Many websites giving information about POP suggests that the size of the baby could be a contributing factor and then other websites disagree. I must say that I have read almost equally as many stories of women with very average or small babies suffering POP too...It is all very confusing. My first baby was 3kg and my second 3.7 kg (a bit on the larger side).

It makes sense that the pregnancy itself puts pressure and strain on the pelvic floor regardless of type of birth used, therefore it does occur in c-sections too but like I said before, it is hard for me not to deduct from the hundreds of stories of POP I have read about when 99% of them was after natural childbirth. I suspect that I had a very mild (stage 1 or 2) prolapse after the birth of my first child via c-section. I think one can live for years with a stage 1 or 2 prolapse (perhaps like your cousin) without having obvious symptoms, but sadly if this is not monitored well it will most likely become Stage 3 or 4 prolapse, from what I have read it seems.

I had symptoms that I know now are signs of POP that was not correctly diagnosed whenever I went to my GP with my sporadic aches and pains.

Some of the symptoms included:

- minor incontinence when sneezing, but it didn't happen every time therefore I disregarded it as serious.

- total incontinence when vomiting and because this only happened when my GERD was giving problems or a tummy bug, it also didn't happen a lot.

- minor incontinence while jumping on the trampoline with my child and also the feeling that my insides were going to fall out of my vagina while jumping.

- IBS with constipation at times.

- Regular urge to pee like when having a bladder infection but when tested no infection was present.

- Painful sex at times, especially the feeling that the bladder was being squashed especially with certain sexual positions. Pain after sex as well at times.

- Unexplained pelvic pain, sometimes directly on the pelvic bone.

- Hip pain that radiates into the pelvis, especially around ovulation.

Clueless, the fact that you know about your aunt raises an important point. I think it is in the interest of women to speak to other female relatives about their post partum recovery in order to determine if you are at risk or if you know you have POP like me to discuss this with sisters, mother, cousins and aunts. I know this is not an easy conversation "around a cup of rooibos tea and some biscuits", but I think it will do more good to start talking about this ladies condition that affects so many, granted most will only discover POP at Menopause.

I totally agree with you that it is hard to find unbiased Pro's and Con's about birth preferences, especially on public forums. I remember when I had to make my choice 6 years ago I was totally lost and I was in so much stress about what would be right choice for me and my baby.

Zaza, thank you for understanding all my ranting. Thank you for spreading the word - I believe this is the first step, get women talking about this and breaking the silence!

Karmie, I am glad I am not the only one who thought they have read a lot about childbirth and who was totally shocked to find out about POP only now. I have come across a few websites mentioning POP as part of the con's list now while I am searching for answers and a better understanding. Perhaps the info was there all a long when I was doing my research, perhaps because I didn't know exactly what POP entailed (and how common it is) that I just kind of "glanced" over it. I guess I spent most of my research on very Pro-natural websites that was unlikely to mention POP and was focusing more on the benefits of natural birth instead of the risks.

Pillpusher, If it is true what I have read on other POP forums, it seems as if doctors are not very forthcoming with info about POP, perhaps because not everyone can agree on the causes etc. It seems as if the whole thing kind of gets swept under the carpet. I would love to hear what your doctor's response was.

Hasie, Thank you so much for giving me the information! I have met with Dr. Lizelle at 5 weeks PP. She was really lovely and as you say passionate and energetic. After much deliberation, my husband and I decided that I won't be able to continue the therapy with her because it is so far for us to drive and I don't have anyone nearby to leave my baby with when I do an hour session with her twice a week for the next 6 months. Unfortunately she charged quite a bit above medical aid rates which we simply can't afford now. It takes an hour to get to her and it was just logistically not viable with breastfeeding schedule. I have now started PT at another recommended Pelvic floor specialist closer to me. The urogynecologist referred me to her. She is doing bio-feedback where a probe is inserted into the vagina and one can measure the strength of a kegel contraction and it also stimulates the pelvic floor/vaginal muscles. It is amazing the see how the pelvic muscles are becoming stronger with each session!

Hi Gloei,

I apologize in advance, I did not read the whole thread, so sorry if I am duplicating info.

One of my colleagues posted this on my Dedicated Doulas facebook page a while ago, it might be of value to you:

The Pelvic and Urotherapy Institute at Netcare Sunninghill hospital.
Dr Lizelle Grindell, she is an Applied Electro & Psychophysiologist alias a Pelvic Floor Specialist. Amazing, passionate lady!
Have a look at the following related websites for topics regarding your pelvis.
www.pelvicandurotherapyinstitute.co.za
www.bedwetting.wozaonline.co.za
Her email address: pelvic-urotherapy@doctors.netcare.co.za
Her studies and expertise in this field has brought a comprehensive understanding of the broad range of discomforts and disorders, and prevention and treatments thereof.

Even as someone in the medical field, I didn't know about POP. Thank you for bringing it to this forum, Gloeiwurmpie. I have made a reminder on my cell phone to discuss it with my doctor when I see her again as I am currently hoping for a natural birth.

I hope that you will make a substantive recovery, it sounds like you're going through a very rough patch and it's ok to admit that, even if you have other things to be grateful for, you are feeling devastated by this condition. Talking about it is at least a step in the right direction to improving your emotional and mental state on the matter.

Hi Gloeiwurmpie

This is the first time I heard of POP, and I thought I knew just about everything there is to know about childbirth!

I am so sorry that you are going through this and I sincerely hope that you will recover fully soon. Please update us from time to time to let us know how your are getting on.

I want to thank you for creating awareness around this topic!

Big hugs