Second baby with prolapse

[londonloves]

Hi all, can anyone tell me about their experiences of a second pregnancy and birth, with a diagnosed prolapse following the first?
I have a 15 month old son and starting to think about timing for another baby, I am very broody and want him to have a sibling but I have found the whole prolapse thing so traumatic, even though it's apparently only mild. The thought of it getting worse makes me feel so miserable.
History of the first birth is back to back labour, prolonged second stage then manual removal of retained placenta. I think I maybe made it worse using a crap baby carrier in the early day's too. Have had private physio and it's mostly manageable, I am very bad at doing exercises regularly though, which baffles me as it matters so much to me but I somehow have never managed to get into a routine. I had a shit time postnatally with breast feeding issues and in law issues and when the prolapse was finally diagnosed I really fell apart.
Really interested I hear stories of anyone I similar circumstances and how you got on second time round. Thanks ladies.

[londonloves]

Bumpity bump

[Liande]

Hi there, sorry to hear you’ve had a tough time with your prolapse. I had a mild rectocele prolapse after the birth of my second child. I had physio for 6m and when I remembered tried to do my pelvic floor exercises (although not consistently!) It only really got better kind of by itself after about 18m and I was lucky that I didn’t need surgery. I think not lifting heavy babies as much, or car seats etc really helped in the last few months. But similarly to you it has really made me question having a third baby as I’d hate for it to return and possibly be worse.

[bassackwards]

Hi OP, I'm in the same boat as you so have no advice I'm afraid. I have moderate prolapse following a forceps delivery 15 months ago and have only been diagnosed recently. The horrible dragging feeling and incontinence made me see a gynaecologist. Like you, I never really did much pelvic floor exercise. I find it so difficult and boring! But now I'm seeing a specialist physio who is checking up on me regularly so I have no choice but to do them. I haven't noticed any improvement yet - just a couple of weeks in - but my impression is that it can take some months of concerted effort. At the advice of the physio, I'm using the Squeezy app to remind me to do the exercises, as well as the Elvie device to help me track my progress. Without those, I probably wouldn't do it.

But yeah I'm thinking about having another baby soon and was worried about it exacerbating things but I'm hoping the physio will get me in the best shape I can be. Interested to hear how other have found it!

[londonloves]

Thanks for replying ladies.
That's interesting re the Elvie, I've got one but immediately after birth I couldn't even get it to stay in so I gave up on it, might be worth another try. I like to have some sort of idea of how I'm doing!
Not being able to run anymore is making me pretty sad to be honest.

[redtulip12]

My first birth was also back to back, went on forever and I also had a prolapse. My second birth was a breeze in comparison but I still had the prolapse ( although no worse after). Went to see a gynaecologist and was told I may need surgery in future but to wait and see if it got worse or if I planned to have more children. My youngest is now 13. It's still there, but no worse and doesn't currently affect me. Hoping not to have surgery and certainly pleased I had my second child.

[londonloves]

Thanks @redtulip12 - how was the pregnancy symptom-wise?

[redtulip12]

@londonloves absolutely fine. I didn't walk as much at the end of my pregnancy but the whole birth etc was so much easier.

[DrG13]

Hi OP. You might find this study useful:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3458705/

There is a second study with similar results but I can’t find it at the moment. Hope this puts your mind at rest a little.

[smellsofelderberries]

I'm just over 38 weeks pregnant with my second after ending up with prolapse from my first delivery. DD was 18m old when I fell pregnant again and I'm still breastfeeding her. I've had almost no symptoms of my prolapse throughout the pregnancy. I've been very strict at staying on top of bowel movements (I don't have a rectocele and want to avoid one) and have been moderately strict with maintaining my physio exercises. I am just down to doing a few pelvic floor exercises a day now though. I have decided on an ELCS (in 3 days!!) for myriad reasons this time, some of which are I am keen to avoid another manual placenta removal and haemorrhage, due to some family circumstances I need to have a date in the diary, and I simply have no desire to give birth vaginally again. I am still wavering about my decision as my delivery with my first was very straight forward (aside from the haemorrhage), but I need to know I've done as much as possible to protect my pelvic floor from an unfavourable outcome. I've worked so hard on getting stronger and I don't want to have to start from zero again.
I've mostly read (and heard) other women having very positive experiences of pregnancy after prolapse, as long as you're proactive about your health.