To ask if you have (or had) a prolapse after birth? I'm 25 and mortified

[Jessy111]

I gave birth 6 weeks ago and needed stitches for a second degree perennial tear.

I have reluctantly examined my bits to see how everything was healing and noticed things looked odd on the inside, a swelling of sort.

A closer inspection has revealed what I'm %99 sure is a prolapse (to be confirmed at my doctors appointment next week)

If i insert my finger past some tissue i can feel a lump and my cervix is well within reach, it has dropped down very low.

I'm only in my mid twenties and I'm mortified at the prospect of having a damaged vag

Can I have your experiences please, perhaps some reassurance that it can be resolved without intrusive surgery? I'm already doing my pelvic floors.

I'm so sad about this

Not much help but I just want to say please don't panic. It's only 6 weeks post birth and things change. I've only had c sections but I noticed the same as what you've described. When i was checked by a physio she said it looked all normal however. Please don't worry. Everyone changes a bit after pregnancy, wait and see what the doctor said. Even if you had to have surgery which is unlikely it's not the end of the world x

I had a tear and an episiotomy, at six weeks PP things still felt pretty swollen and I was a bit aghast when I had a look with a mirror, worried myself by googling things. Six months PP now and all back to normal genuinely no different, other than a very neat pink line where my stitches were that's fading already.

You may want to try using pelvic weights when you’ve recovered. Your GP can usually refer you to a physio that specialists in postnatal care

Yes I did following an episiotomy and forceps delivery. I was so upset about it. However, the good news is that it did correct itself so try not to worry too much. I would start doing pelvic floor squeezes if it's not painful, this is what I was advised to do by gynae doctor.

I had intercourse for the first time since giving birth and couldn't feel a thing much unlike the first time after previous birth, after doing some research it's apparent that this is typical with a prolapse - numbness during sex.

It sounds so trivial and somewhat petty but I really enjoy sex and the thought of not being able to feel it indefinitely is so upsetting.

I'm doing my pelvic floor exercises like a mad woman in the hope it will make a difference

I'm doing

Yes, after my second birth I noticed something wasn’t right. GP referred to urogynaecologist, then referred to physio. A lot of pelvic floor exercises later (download squeezy app), and even another vagina birth, and it’s ok. Not back to how it was but rarely noticeable.

6 weeks pp with my second I thought my life asi knew it had ended. It hasn’t.

Go and see a women's health physiotherapist op. They will be able to give some advice and hopefully some reassurance. I thought I had similar post partum but it settled down. I did have some issues later as I wasn't that careful about maintaining things so would definitely advise a physio now for guidance. Some do a 'mummy mot'.

Yep, I did after the birth of my second baby. I was beside myself - mortified, despairing that my vag was broken forever.
I found two excellent exercise programmes that you could do in the v early days after birth for prolapse (femfusion on YouTube and the Hab-it programme), saw a women's health physio, and two months after experiencing the prolapse, I'd managed to reverse it. I still keep up exercise for core stability as I know my pelvic health will always need to be looked after.

Time, gentle exercise, and good professional advice can make a MASSIVE difference.

Oh and sex is still awesome (I was terrified it would be awful).

After my first birth I had an anterior and posterior prolapse (bowel and bladder). It was horrendous. I was too embarrassed to see the doctor but it got to the point that I had to as I could no longer go to the toilet (number 2). I had a repair done when my son was 4. I had my next two children by ELCS as vaginal birth can undo the repairs.

Yes, I self referred to pelvic physio and just had my first appointment.

I'm doing pelvic floors daily and trying to do four walks a week. No running until it improves.

Go and see your GP, it's better to tackle it rather than leave it until it starts to bother you.

Yes this was me....

Noticed exactly the same symptoms as you after baby no 2. Cried every day about it

Saw the GP who confirmed prolapse (cue more crying) and referred me to a specialist women's physio.
Anyway long story short I am now 7 months post partum and saw a urogynaecologist last week for some other issues who confirmed prolapse is gone!

So my point is it's really early days for you and things will get better. Pelvic floor exercises will help - I'd recommend using the NHS Squeezy app to remind you to do them and explain about technique etc and push for a referral to a women's health physio who can check you are doing them correctly and advise a treatment plan. I think in some areas you can self refer...

Also are you on any contraception yet? I only ask because I was and it caused things to feel a lot worse as my body was having a weird reaction to the pill even though I'd been on it for years before....since I've stopped taking it I've seen a huge improvement...

Oh I'm so pleased with these responses, they give me hope! Thank you so much.

I'm going to speak with my GP about seeing a specialist / get a referral to women's health after an examination concludes it's a prolapse, which it almost certainly is.

I've been shut in the bedroom for the best part of half an hour holding back tears. I feel very shallow for being upset about this when I've just given birth to the most wonderful baby.

I'm so grateful for my healthy baby but feel as though that pregnancy has taken so much from me, I had a traumatizing birth with subsequent complications and now this. I already know I never want more children

Not on any contraception yet no, but I'm planning on having an implant (and no sex for the foreseeable in light of this ghastly thing)

I had one after my second baby, the day after we got home from hospital I ended up going back to the maternity ward late at night. Midwife said she had never seen that before which was not at all reassuring. Anyway, consultant said it was fairly common but referred me to women’s physio. I did lots of pelvic floor exercises in the meantime (squeezy app is great for reminders!) and when I saw physio she confirmed that everything had sorted itself. All the hormones make everything a bit loose but hopefully it’ll straighten out.

Hugs for you, I remember how upset I was when it happened xx

Have a look into hypopressives

im 25 with a prolapse ( or atleast i think i still have it)

also pregnant with my second so i guess ill see what happens after this birth.

I really appreciate the fact you ladies are sharing your experiences with me I know it's very personal, so thank you!

I feel alot more optimistic knowing this is something that can sometimes be resolved without surgery. I wouldn't refuse the surgery if it was nessecary but I'm terrified of operations (another long boring backstory I won't go into) so want to avoid it at all costs if possible.

To the PP who has had a surgical repair, how was it in terms of recovery? After you had the operation were things completely back to normal?

I've got an app similar to the squeezy one (I was being stingy and not wanting to pay if I could get something similar for free) but if the NHS one is recommended I'll download that now.

Ironically my pelvic floor muscles don't 'feel' that damaged. I can feel them when I tense, I can manage the kegal exercises, I don't have any pain. It's mind boggling to me that this has happened as if I didn't have a very obvious prolapse down there I would think I'd escaped the birth with minimal pelvic floor damage. Does that make any sense? Perhaps I can feel them when I tense because there's a big bloody ball there.. maybe if that wasn't there then I wouldn't feel the kegals. Idk

Will give hypopressives a Google now, not sure what they are. I'll check it out.

Can I ask a very personal question? (whilst I cringe inwards)

Did you ladies with prolapses have the numbness and loss of sensation during sex too?

I didn't have to have surgery to fix my prolapse - but I did have to do an awful lot of clenching! Start now, stop and start the flow every single time you have a pee, and clench 3 times every time you think about it during the day, plus 3 sets of 3 every morning and night.

Forgot to say I'm also looking into kegal weights / ben wa balls

Just waiting for the green light from the doctor before I go putting anything else up there

Ah yes I've been practising the tensing when I go to the loo, I guess with that in mind it's clear I do have more damage than I thought as I can't stop the flow no matter how hard I try to (even though I can feel the tensing)

Yes to the numbness and loss of sensation during sex. That was during the one and only time we attempted at 3 months pp.

With everything going on since then and how awful I felt we haven't attempted it again since so can't report back...also not on any contraception at the moment so need to sort that out first!

It's upsetting isn't it, the numbness and no sensation with sex.

I was so confused and worried afterwards as H said he could still feel pleasure and i felt absolutely nothing. I knew nothing about prolapse or what was happening down there until I had a closer look and did my own research.

I really hope I can feel something again eventually, 25 feels so young to be reduced to feeling nothing at all during sex. It's really depressing. It puts me off wanting to attempt it again and then I spiral and panic about how having no sex life will affect things between he and I.

I've just had another look in the hope I was wrong and things were just swollen, nope. It's definitely a prolapse.

It looks horrible. If I push it protrudes out even more. I feel so emotional over it so I keep reading back these replies to give myself a shake and remind myself not to be so daft.

I think my hormones are compounding everything

jessy a few things to hold onto that helped me emotionally - research suggests one in three women will suffer from some sort of prolapse. You are not alone, not weird, with nothing to be embarrassed about (though it took me a LONG time to realise this myself). Talking about it in real life helps - try and frame it as 'you've pulled a muscle', and don't be ashamed to casually tell people around you if you need help with anything. Keeping it a secret only makes it worse. You may also find in talking about it that others confide they've had the same. That was certainly my experience.

Physically, the pelvic floor exercises are obviously important, but so are the wider core strengthening exercises. Do not neglect these! I think doing these was a key part of my recovery (see my earlier post for recommendations, and my physio gave me a programme too).

Don't lift anything heavy. Just don't. Ask for help if you need to lift the baby in the car seat, a heavy washing basket etc.
Lie down a lot. Gravity plays a part here - everything felt better after lying down for a while.

I didn't try having sex for a long time after having the prolapse (5 months?) and by the time I did I had healed and it was GREAT. No loss of sensation. So hopefully that may improve?

Re having more kids - a friend who had a prolapse after her first baby had her second last year with no further issues whatsoever. So don't rule it out if you don't want to!

Finally, if you're in London and can afford to pay for a physio, I'd happily give you the details of my women's health physio. She is amazing and made me feel so much better, both physically and emotionally. It's expensive but for me it was worth it as i was going to have to wait a while for an NHS referral.