Let’s talk Prolapse, ladies! For those of you who do not know what that is,
Prolapse: literally means “to fall out of place‚” from the Latin prolabi meaning “to fall out.” In medicine, prolapse is a condition where organs, such as the uterus, fall down or slip out of place. It is used for organs protruding through the vagina or the rectum or for the misalignment of the valves of the heart. A spinal disc herniation is also sometimes called “disc prolapse.”
So many prolapse but the kind that I’d like to talk about today has to do with the lady bits. I’m not gonna get super graphic but I do feel like it is my duty to make others aware of what information and experience I have to share.
When I had Eliana I did it al naturale through the va-jay-jay. But let me back up even further back before the birth. I had planned on keeping healthy and in shape before baby E was born. I was walking 3 vigorous miles everyday and trying to eat healthy. Well, at 7 months along the doc informed me that my amniotic fluid was low. I was put on slight bed rest. Exercising was out of the question. I couldn’t even clean the house(for those of you who have read about my neat freak tendencies then you know this drove me bonkers). So for 2.5 months before I had the baby I could do nothing more than sit on my hands and wait.
The entire time that I was giving birth all I kept thinking is “YES! I’m gonna get to clean the house and go walking!” Well, that wasn’t the only thing I was thinking. I was also thinking “HOLY GEEEZZZZ!!! How did my grandma have 12 kids. Cause these contractions are gonna make me lose my mind up in herrr”
When I had Eliana I ended up losing a lot of blood, which is called Post Pardum Hemorrhaging. This meant that I was on bed rest after having baby. I could do no more than carry her and go to the bathroom. No unnecessary walking or lifting etc.
When I went to my 6 week O.B. check up the doc said I looked great and that I was clear to enjoy normal activity again! WOOOOFREAKINWHOOO! Boy, was I excited. I went to the gym.that.very.day. I walked for most of the time and I did about a whole 5mins of broken up slow jogging. I got to my mom’s house and told her about this. Her eyes nearly about popped out of her head. She said, “You should NOT be running right now. Your uterus could fall right out of your vagina!” And I was like, “Mom, whateva!” I thought she must be exaggerating and trying to scare me. I thought nothing of it again for the next few days.
Then I began to notice that I was not able to pee like I normally did before baby. I chalked it up to having just given birth for the 1st six weeks but why was I still dealing with it 2.5 months out? Then I noticed that my lower back was constantly hurting. I began to really wonder about the Prolapse that my mom talked about. I looked it up and symptom per symptom was becoming clear. I was freakin’ the hell out slightly worried about this.
I set up another appointment with my OB. Luckily she wasn’t there that day (I say luckily because obviously my OB was not concerned or observant enough to catch the prolapse at the six week consult). Her Nurse Practitioner was the one who saw me. She took one look and could see that my bladder was slightly drooping. This was what the medical world considers a 2nd degree Prolapse of the bladder.
The Nurse Practitioner referred me to a physical therapist. Yes, there is a physical therapist for your whoohaa.
I’ve been going for several weeks now and I am seeing great improvement. But most importantly I was made aware of just how fragile we are down there after a baby.
I think in today’s society we are so used to seeing an actress have a baby and be back to pre-baby body in under 2 months. We can’t wait for the doc to give us the go ahead at the 6 week mark. The truth is that our bodies need at least up to a full year to fully recovery. I think the doctors are giving us the okay to start back to exercising and such because we are sooo persistent that we want to get back in shape that they just want us to get out of their hair.
According to the medical research most woman(that have had children vaginally) have some degree of prolapse but not all are aware of it.
The reason I feel so inclined to share this with others is because it is kept so hush hush! MORE THAN ANYTHING I’d like to go out and start jogging again but I know that allowing my body time to heal properly is more important than getting back to a more slender weight. Yes, I am working out but it is extremely light, almost annoyingly easy.
Do some women go straight back to P90X right after giving birth? Yes. Do they show immediate signs of prolapse? Not always. Might they have problems later on down the line like needing a bladder sling or hysterectomy. Maybe.
I’m not telling you guys this to scare anyone or to offend anyone who has gone back to hitting the pavement 8 weeks after delivery. Only to give you information that not even OB’s make their patients aware of. It’s worth taking a look at.
Okay, that’s enough of the After School Special! Thank you, Joi, for letting me guest post. And thank you RxFitnessLady followers for hanging with me today.
Thank you for listening to my girl Veronica & please join me today in wishing my first born God daughter a happy 10th birthday!!!
Rx Fitness Lady
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Wow Veronica! Thanks for sharing. I never jumped back into fitness after having my girls. I had a great doula who advised me to take it slow. It was probably after about 6-8 months that I was doing regular workouts again.
There is a lot of pressure to get back into pre-baby body shape. I hate that. Regardless, our bodies have been “traumatized” and have changed. We need time to theal.
Happy 10th Birthday to your God-daughter Joi! I love that picture of you!
Wishing you a lovely day.
xoxo
Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom recently posted…National Child Day: Teaching Children About Rights and Responsibilities
I’m so glad you had your Doula to advise you to take it slow. I really appreciate my mother being adament about me not jumping back into exercising as quickly. The issue is MUCH better know and I am grateful to have healed and learned to take care of my body.
Thank you for sharing! I think sharing the TMI details of health related concerns is SO important. If we don’t hear it… how will we ever know about it?
Kimberly recently posted…Mindfulness Moments: Advice to my 18 year old self
You are so right Kim. No one really talks about these things and these are important health matters.
Wow, I really didn’t know that! I did know about it taking a LOT more than six weeks to get back to “normal” or the new normal.
Tamara recently posted…Look Ma, No Hands!
I had never heard of prolapse before my mother told me about it. I really think that should be an issue the ob talks to pregnant women about. Being informed means better health.
I wish I had read this 12, 14, and 16 years ago. I was so anxious to get back to my regular routine and my runs after having kids. I feel like I am paying for that a little now…but I never knew.
Michelle recently posted…Creating Custom Cards with Cardstore.com
Michelle, I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am that my mama harped on me about this issue. I was anxious to get back to workouts too. I know I would have made the issue worse without her scolding. This is why I share my story, so that hopefully new moms can avoid injury.
Thanks for sharing Veronica! I know all too well what you’re talking about. After having our first child via “c-section” and our 2nd and 3rd via “v-bac”, my “lady bits” went through a lot! I’m long over due for the big “H”, but have tried more natural ways, i.e.(Kegel exercises), so we’ll see where that goes. But, the older I get(I’m 45), the more futile that becomes. So I’m pretty much ready for the “H”, so I can get back to doing certain things. See Joi, I don’t hate exercise…I really do have a legitimate reason for non-strenuous workouts, hahaha! 😀 Have a wonderful day ladies!
Michell recently posted…Mastering YOU Monday…stay in your lane
Oops, “Happy Birthday” Joi’s first born god-daughter!! 🙂
Michell recently posted…Mastering YOU Monday…stay in your lane
You are doing exactly what my physical therapist said to do. KEGELS KEGELS KEGELS! Those can do wonders to strengthen the muscles. I hope that if it comes down to getting an “H” that it is exactly what you need to live your best. 🙂
I’m putting together more pieces after reading this. I’ve had the 4 kids. At my last routine GYN appt, my doc mentioned that my bladder is “still high up” despite my pregnancies. I didn’t even know the bladder could drop under any circumstances whatsoever. Thank you for sharing here today. This is an important topic! I’m raising 2 girls, so I gotta stay informed.
Yum Yucky recently posted…My Tummy Tuck Consultation: what to expect, the cost, and why it didn’t go well
That is so great to hear that your bladder is still in place after 3 children! Great strength down yonder. And with you being even more fit now you will probably have good tone for a long time.
Thank you for the photo compliment!!
Ps. You look fab in that pic, Veronica! xo
Yum Yucky recently posted…My Tummy Tuck Consultation: what to expect, the cost, and why it didn’t go well
Wow, important information indeed! It’s true, that we need to take it easy after having our kids, and yup it does take a long time for our body to get back to normal for sure. It would be great for the medical profession to be honest and tell us what the risks are if we try to get back to our “normal” workout routine too soon. There is a major pressure to have us go back to normal too soon.
KalleyC recently posted…#mylifesphotos Challenge: Selfies
I agree 100%! I tjink it is only far for the ob’s to warn of the danger of doing too much too soon. They studied that info, we on the other hand are niave to it.
This was very informative Veronica! Child birth scares the crap out of me anyway, so now I’m really concerned for when I get preggers! I don’t have children yet, but when I do, I will take head to giving my body time to heal. Thanks for guest posting! Happy 10th birthday to your God daughter Joi!
Sherelle recently posted…29, I Welcome You
I’m glad to have had the chance to advise you before having a child. Now you can enter motherhood with more knowledge on taking care of your body. In due time you’ll be able to get back to the gym. I took my sweet time getting back to work outs and was still able to lose a good deal of weight. Infact, I’m almost 30lbs lighter than my Pre-baby weight
wow, I had no idea running could trigger/worsen this condition. Yikes, so glad my body refused to cooperate when I tried to exercise/run a month after giving birth. V, man, that totally sucks your OB didn’t catch it in your 6 week check-up. geez. aren’t they suppose to be looking/checking for this type of thing????
glad that things are progressing and it’s good your not afraid to share your story to make other women aware. Our bodies do need time and more than a few weeks to recover but our society has the mentality of you must lose the baby weight in a week. just a bit crazy.
Em
happy birthday to your god-daughter joy!!
Em K recently posted…sweater weather
Em, I can’t even tell you how angry I was that my ob would just brush off some thing like that! I thank God that her nurse practitioner was the one who checked me again. I’m also thankful the Nurse caught it early before I did damage.
Wow – I had no idea. I always wondered why I couldn’t rush right back into running after having my babies. Thanks for sharing this – wish I would have known about it years ago!!
Happy birthday to the super cute God-daughter – double digits is a big deal!!!
Kim recently posted…Resistance Bands or Weights?
I had no clue about this issue until I had to deal with it myself. I know they say no activity for 6 weeks but maybe if they explained the reasoning then it would help us ladies understand and take things slowly.
I appreciate the continuing ed course!!
Dr. J recently posted…Calm Wives Lead to Happier Marriages
You are so welcome, sir! Sorry that I can’t give out any CEU credits for reading this post.hehe 😉
Excellent info! I don’t want to get all TMI either but I wanted to do sit up within a few days of feeling physically well enough to do them. Something was wrong in va-jay-jay area that made it uncomfortable to sit OR sit up. I had had a 10lb baby natural and had chalked it up to it was going to take more than a minute to heal. Well TMI anyway (I wasn’t sewn up properly). And I suffered with discomfort all the way until my 6 week check up. No woman should do that. If something doesn’t feel right it probably isn’t. What I had to do was nothing major, it was taken care of right there at my six week appt but my six weeks was extended as far as “relations” go and I was sobbing before I could make it back to my car. That part is funny to me now. Totally looking back at myself saying REALLY?
Kenya G. Johnson recently posted…A selfie revelation: It has victory written all over it…
Thank goodness your issue was able to be taken care of so quickly. You are right. No person should ignore her body telling her something isn’t right. We have to take care of ourselves bc no one else is going to do it for us.
So glad you were brave enough to share this. It is true, but in our society people are in the place to where either they have to or they desperately want to get back to life as normal. But labor and child rearing are huge jobs alone and like you said, you really do take a full year to heal. xo
Brittnei recently posted…Ask Away Friday with Christy from A Woman The World Deserves
I agree. The fast pace life we live now doesn’t allow for a whole lot of rest time. That’s why I was so anxious to get back to my routine of fitness. But I am rathet grateful that my mom was adamant about me taking things slow. Lots more damage could have been done.
Hey Veronica!! Miss you boo!! This is a really important story, thank you for sharing, I had no idea this could even happen but I have encountered my share of body wonkiness post partum. Childbirth is something else!!
Happy birthday to your God daughter Joi!
Nellie recently posted…A Whirlwind 27 Hours, A Lifetime of Memories
Hi Nellie! I SUPER miss all of you wonderful blog friends. I’ve been ridiculously busy with the new job position. AND to make matters worse I can read you all’s bligs but the work wifi blocks the comment box. So on the off chance I do sit down to read I can’t comment. 🙁
I couldn’t agree with you more about the child bearing. It certainly is something else!
No one ever wants to share those TMI details but talking about them makes it easier for most people
Debi recently posted…11/24 Sunday Coupon Insert Previews RP/SS – (National)
It is such a personal issue but it really needs to be brought to light, especially by doctors.
Thank you for allowing me to guest post, Joi! I’m hope it was of any help to new or future moms. 🙂
And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to that beautiful God daughter!
I’m so glad you’re sharing this! Women def need to know about things like this – it’s not always puppy dogs and rainbows when having babies. It’s actually never like that but some women want to believe that!! Luckily (I guess?) I had a c-section with the twins and was able to get back to running in 2 weeks but it was SLOW going. As for the prolapse? My aunt had to have major surgery 20 years after giving birth to 3 huge baby boys. It slowly and totally destroyed her bladder over the two decades since. Crazy!!
Allie recently posted…It Takes A Village To Get Your Tonsils Out
Your poor aunt. Yes, babies change your body and those effects are rainbows and unicorns. Haha
Hi Veronica it’s never TMI because we need to know. I had a c section but I have heard of this before and my friend who loves to exercise could not and she almost drove me nuts everyday. She is much better now it has been over 5 or 6 years. Thank you for sharing
Kita recently posted…Talk Tuesday
Lol. I bet she did drive you nuts. From 7 months pregnant to being healed from the prolapse it was 9 months of no exercise. I was patiently waiting it out but my husband got to hear me whine about it. 😉
Wow! I had no idea this was even a possibility. Thank you for bringing awareness.
FitBritt@MyOwnBalance recently posted…Stitch Fix and Swing Meets Street
I didn’t either until it happened to me. I’m so glad I caught it early.
I had no clue about this! Thanks so much for sharing.
Jenni recently posted…How We Did 3
You’re welcome, Jenni. I hope it is something you can share with any new moms you might know.
I’m glad you shared this, no one will really talk about how hard pregnancy is on your body. I think the best thing I ever heard was “it took 9 mos to get there, it will take 9 mos to get back” it just allowed me to relax. I know so many people who are having issues even years later. Great post!
Stephanie recently posted…Asparagus Mushroom Quinoa
You are exactly right, Stephanie! It does take another 9 months to feel back to normal.
Veronica, I was on bed rest with my last child. It was horrible. Especially since the other two were 7 and 4. Ugh! I do not know about prolapse in this situation but I do remember that after I had my second baby, I went to the doctor and told him it felt like my vagina was falling out and he told me I was crazy (only not exactly like that but like that). Now I”m wondering if that is what it was (that was 22 years ago). Luckily my children were spaced far apart so my body had plenty of time to heal. You are exactly right your body requires a year after baby!!!! Thank you for sharing your story, I hope that if someone else has those same feelings after having a baby that they go to the doctor and find out what to do.
I had no idea that there was a PT for your for your PP. 🙂
Carla recently posted…The Secret Supper
Carla, I’m so sorry your doctor brushed aside your concern. If you research uterine prolapse you’ll see that lots of woman described EXACTLY what you were telling your doctor. I do hope that other women will have read this and have knowledge that not even OBs are telling them.
Two friends had it happen and they’ve never given birth. It was such a scary situation for the both of them.
Reginia {PoisedinPrint.com} recently posted…Around the Water Cooler; That One Person
It is so scary! And not talked about nearly enough.
Hi Veronica,
Thanks for sharing Veronica, hoping that your recovery goes well. Keep on doing those kegals, also look out for Pfilates, pilates developed to help regain the strength in your pelvic floor. Thankfully I did pre and post natal training when pregnant with my first daughter, so I knew what was advisable to do and not to do whilst pregnant and post natal.
I always say pregnancy is life changing on so many levels 🙂
Gillian recently posted…Fitness Friday 18 – Upper Body Blitz
Thank you so much for sharing Veronica! I appreciate your honesty and candor. We often fail to address some of the realities of childbirth and how important it its to not be in a rush to resume or start strenuous activities in hopes of losing baby weight. I was just talking about this issue with someone. if not properly addressed it get worse and she’s at a point where she might need surgical intervention. Nice reading your words again girl 😉
Hope recently posted…The best sleep position.
Thanks for sharing! I have experienced prolapsing with my current pregnancy and my twin pregnancy…. I don’t have many symptoms when I’m not pregnant. They don’t tell you all these extra things that occur due to pregnancy. I would love to hear what your physical therapist has you doing to improve this! My doctor is only talking surgery to improve it.
We did lots of Kegels with a machine that was able to read how strong or weak I was. It also gave electroshock to contract those muscles to aid them to become stronger. She gave lots of education on what daily activities help or hurt when you have prolapse. If I were you I would see if there is post partum physical therapist in your area that can at least examine you to see if there are remedies before surgery. I wish you good recovery.
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