Pelvic organ prolapse after birth

@Gloei - I am in the TTC Group at the moment and like the others had never heard of POP before your story, I read up a bit on it and was truly horrified at the damage that can be done. Hun i am so sorry this happened to you and that your doctor didn't warn you about this before going natural. This birth of yours was a VBAC wasn't it? (Secretly following some of the pregnancy groups) Did that put you at an even higher risk level? Im coming to realise that our doctors hide quite a lot from us, Im not sure if its too protect us from all the "what ifs" or if its because they don't feel like all of the questions involved... I'm a firm believer in knowing all of the pros and cons and making an informed decision.

I pray that you will heal beautifully and find an amazing support system. Please know that this doesn't make you less of a woman! Allow yourself to still feel beautiful and strong and I pray that you still find intimacy with your husband and keep that special bond

hi Gloei,

I have been following your posts in the Aril thread, though I am not due in Apr. I want to thank you for the bravery of sharing this with us, like Zaza, until i saw yuor other post, I had no idea POP existed. I really dont have any advices, or words enough to make you feel better, but i just wanted to send you my love and support through this time, and i am really praying for a miracle for, it really broke my heart to read about all the things you are unable to do now. I am really sorry, and thanks for sharing. All the best, and I really hope things improve with your condition

**hugs**

Dear Gloeiwurmpie

Thank you for sharing, I never knew this until I read your topic.

www.voicesforpfd.org

I found this site after reading more about POP, has a lot of useful info, hope it gives you more alternatives

I cannot offer you any advice or even say I understand how you are feeling but I can pray and hope that you find a solution or remedy, remain strong in your mind, I am sure there must be developments out there than can make this better.

But thank you so much for sharing and educating me, it's true each pregnancy comes with its fair share of everything.

Hoping you will keep us updated on your personal experiences here.

Hi Ladies,

I would like to connect with ladies who has suffered Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) after natural childbirth. I am beyond devastated about this happening to me and I am still in shock. It has been 3 months since the birth of my little girl with a vaginal delivery. I discovered the POP or "bulge" one week Post Partum but my midwife seemed to have given me the idea as if it will clear up easily and is a normal part of post partum recovery. It has not cleared up magically and I am having a much worse recovery compared to my previous c-section. I am in my thirties but I feel like a disabled pensioner. I wonder and fear if I will ever be able to have a "normal" life again.

What is almost the worst for me about the POP and what I regularly struggle with is how on earth have I not read about POP in all the literature/articles/forums regarding the pro's and con's of natural childbirth? I have considered myself rather educated about health issues and complications that arise with child birth. I have gone to antenatal classes, I have read a million birth stories and NOT ONE SINGLE WORD ABOUT POP. If it was due to the fact that it is so uncommon and I am having a very rare complication, this would make sense. My Gynea (who happens to specialise in Pelvic floor disorders), 2 physios specialising in pelvic floor rehabilitation and numerous articles on the internet suggests that between 30 - 50% of women will suffer POP after natural childbirth. Now with tears in my eyes, how is it possible that no-one ever speaks of this???

My hope is that ladies who are pregnant and need to make their birthing choice be aware of this very common (according to my research) devastating complication after childbirth. I don't want to bash natural childbirth, but I feel women should begin to talk about this and how it could or may be prevented. Personally if I could go back in a time machine and I could choose my birth choice again I would certainly not choose a natural delivery again (unless I have been thoroughly checked by doctors/caregivers to confirm I am not at high risk of developing POP).
Sadly I never even knew your uterus and bladder and rectum could literately fall out of your vagina and then being told that it is "normal" and that you have to live with the discomfort and pain and whole long list of other embarrassing symptoms (not to mention the end of your sex life as you know it).

I trust that many ladies who will have a natural delivery will not experience POP and will bounce back after their delivery feeling wonderful, but statistics show that sooner or later most women will have to face POP at some point in their life. I believe we can lower the amount of women who suffer from POP if there is better education and awareness around pelvic floor health and the prevention of POP.

Now some people have told me that the POP might go away after 2 years. Some have told me that it may never go away and worsen and I will defnitely need surgery (which is major surgery with high risks especially risk of recurring surgeries). Some have said that it will improve but never go away. In the mean time I live everyday in fear, pain and discomfort and fighting off depression. I can not see how any benefit of natural childbirth outweighs the possible complication of POP. A mom who is not functioning well, struggling to pick up her baby, can never run again, never jump on a trampoline with her children and a whole list of other lifestyle adjustments including a very challenging sex life, extremely painful periods, difficulty having bowel movements and difficulty urinating every single day is not enjoying the "benefits of natural childbirth that people rave about" - in my opinion at least. Once again if my situation was a minority, why are people telling me the whole time it is so common, women just don't talk about it? I find it hard to think that something that is so debilitating goes unmentioned. Perhaps not everyone experiences the same level of discomfort, but I still find it surprising that women can have their organs protruding out of their body and not think it is a big deal. I understand that most women unknowingly experience POP after childbirth and many are not having a lot of symptoms and only find out should they have an internal exam, although it seems that many doctors don't tell women if they have stage 1 or 2 prolapse (stage 4 being the worst).

Perhaps I am then terribly vain when I feel disfigured as a women and my sense of femininity has been scarred and perhaps I was naive in what toll childbirth will take on my body. I have a lot of guilt because I know I still have so much to be grateful for everyday, but I was in NO WAY prepared for this type of post partum recovery.

POP lady Sherrie Palmer calls it the "silent epidemic". I hope this can change so that our daughters have a smaller chance of having to live with this one day.

I would like to encourage pregnant ladies (and all women) to read up on POP especially this questionnaire and to discuss this list with your caregiver before making choices about your childbirth choice and if you fall in a high risk group what you could do to reduce the chances of developing POP. If I had this information, I would have probably been advised that a c-section might be a better option for me as I could tick several items on that list. I did the worst exercises in my pregnancy (mat work pilates) - I now know what worsens POP among several other things that I did not think much of at the time as being problematic.

static1.squarespace.com/static/52a626cfe...OR_QUESTIONNAIRE.pdf

and read more about POP here:

www.pelvicorganprolapsesupport.org/pelvi...lapse-help-and-hope/

I really hope that ladies will be willing to connect with me here (or send me a private message) as this is a very lonely place to be with no-one who knows what you are going through. I have joined other international forums about POP but I feel in South Africa women needs to talk about this too, perhaps sharing details of treatment options in SA.
Thank you to the ladies who have already contacted me privately trying to connect me to other moms going through POP.

(Please note: I don't want ladies to think I am bashing natural childbirth and I don't want to start a debate about natural VS c-section. This has been only my personal feelings and experiences about all of this and I wouldn't want to suggest to anybody what birth choice they should make. I am also aware that POP does occur even with c-sections but I understand it is very rare. My goal with this post is to spread awareness of POP and bring to the light how it may be prevented and hopefully we can create a safe space where moms can share their journeys here in a supportive environment that are going through POP. )