To ask for your postpartum prolapse recovery experiences?

[Afm88]

Has anyone's prolapse which occurred postpartum fully healed? Have you been able to return to all of your previous activities?
I've been diagnosed with a grade one bladder prolapse, but only been advised to do pelvic floor exercises. I'm waiting to see a private pelvic floor physio next month. I'm looking for any positive stories of postpartum prolapse symptoms disappearing, or even fully reversing if such a thing is possible.

Posting on AIBU for traffic as some of the other boards are quite quiet.

your physio will sort all this out, don’t worry :) I had prolapse after birth and so saw a physio, followed her exercises and instructions religiously, and now I’m symptom free.

breastfeeding can also slow down recovery, so if you are breastfeeding don’t put too much pressure on yourself as the last bits may just resolve themselves when you stop

good on you. i'm 4yrs down the line and really should go see a physio... it can improve over time without exercises... well, until you catch a cold/cough for weeks then start leaking again...!

do you still do the exercises? everyday?

Were you able to return to your previous activity levels? For example, do you still have to avoid lifting things?

@user123212 no I don’t do them anymore - but if/when I start planning another pregnancy I will book an appointment for some preventative advice.

@Afm88 completely normal :) your recovery will of course depend on how bad it was to begin with! I had an episiotomy which is obviously more controlled than a tear. There are other options too if it’s more severe like a pessary (which I didn’t need but the physio described as a sports bra for your vagina lol)

That's reassuring to read - knowing that people have healed/reversed it gives me hope. I have been told that it is only grade one so I'm hoping with physio that the symptoms will dissappear entirely in time. It already feels so much better than it did just doing kegels, so I'm hoping with physio input I can get to where you are.

Oh you should be fine then! I had 2 moderate (front and back) and 1 mild (upper) prolapse. As long as you like your physio - it’s obviously a very intimate situation and it’s important to feel comfortable and be able trust in them. Mine was truly excellent.

How long ago did you give birth? I was told seemed like a prolapse but they wouldn't properly diagnose it until after 9 months (or something like that)/after breastfeeding but anyway it has pretty much fully recovered and can run, lift weights and even managed ok on the trampoline with kids the other week. Sometimes still an issue with unexpected sneezing but probably if I actually did the exercises any more it would be fine

One of my friends had electro therapy down there that she said really helped. Along with the pelvic floor exercises xx

@Maryamlouise I gave birth around at the end of July, so not long ago. I didn't know that regarding not diagnosing a prolapse until after nine months. Also, that's great to hear that you're able to lift weights and do normal things.

@CaffieJ I've not hear of electro therapy. I'll look into it.

@Maryamlouise @Afm88 this smacks of typical NHS not caring for women’s health tbh and thinking only of the pennies. I know someone who needed pelvic floor surgery due to complete incontinence but they wouldn’t do it because ‘she might have another child in the future’.

It’s disgusting and complete rubbish - a physio will be able to help your situation at any point so don’t be put off! (Although you may have to go private which I appreciate is not available to everyone). I started seeing mine after a few months and 95% was resolved within 4 sessions. As I said, I’d you’re breastfeeding you may have to wait until you stop for a 100% recovery.

Had a slight bladder prolapse after first baby, June 2020. Had excellent NHS physio (pelvic floor exercises) in Oct 2020, returned to running. Had second baby this Feb, back to running 12 weeks later.

You don't have to wait 9 months for diagnosis, that's rubbish. You can recover.

@OCDmama that's great to read. I hope you don't mind me asking - did your symptoms reappear after delivering your second baby?

I wonder if the nine months is to do with allowing your body to have a natural recovery time. It seems sensible to encourage you to do the relevant exercises and give advice regarding how to avoid making things worse, but not calling it a prolapse until after nine months as it may resolve within the first year. I know my GP diagnosing me with a prolapse at six weeks caused my mental health to spiral - I cried for days as I was convinced my life was over. Using Google to find out more about prolapse took me to a very dark place. Maybe not diagnosing a prolapse so early on and referring me for physio would have prevented this decline in my mental health.

I had a prolapse after my first, couldn't wear tampons, generally uncomfortable. It was liveable when I did my pelvic floors.

Second child it disappeared!!! I have no idea how but completely bonkers.

It's quite a radical treatment, maybe try the physio first?

@KatyN that's remarkable that it disappeared after having a second baby!

Hi! No it didn't really. I did lots of exercises through pregnancy though. I did have a vaginal birth both times (first was ventouse at the end after about a thousand interventions), I will say I was fitter/didn't gain as much through my second pregnancy - having a toddler to run around after ensured that! (Birth also much easier, no epidural, interventions etc other than hormonal drip and I pushed him out in ten mins!).

I had a wonderful physio who said loads of people get prolapses, and if it doesn't interfere with your life not to sweat it. So we focused on my recovery to where I felt I could comfortably run with it, not with the goal of making it go away.

She said even professional trampoliners who haven't had babies will leak a little bit when bouncing, which made me feel a lot better.

Hello,
very worried mum here
I am 4 weeks post partum with baby #5
i was diagnosed during pregnancy with a grade 2b anterior and posterior wall prolapse, I am still feeling horrendous 4 weeks after delivery- vaginal birth, 5 mins pushing.
I am very worried though as I can now feel my cervix is super low too.
can this be normal postpartum for it to sot very low? Its not visible but I can feel it a 1-2cm up. Hoping its not another prolapse!
any ideas or hope for recovery? Thanks im advance!

Some post-partum prolapses heal up completely, others heal up to an extent. The oestrogen in your vaginal walls makes a huge difference in strengthening the walls and holding the prolapses back. When you breastfeed you're in a low oestrogen state so the prolapses are noticeable. When you stop breastfeeding you notice a big improvement. There is also natural healing that takes place and it can take a year or more.
I have the triple whammy of bowel, bladder and uterine prolapse following the birth of my second child aged 38. I felt a huge improvement at around 11 months when I stopped breastfeeding. I'm now 50 and perimenopausal so once again I'm in a low oestrogen state. I'm more aware of the prolapses but they're not that bad. To be honest, they make absolutely no difference to my life and I'm not worried about them. They don't restrict me in any way. I just carry on as normal.
The things that helped me when newly diagnosed was buying a Kegal 8 machine. It has a programme for prolapses. It definitely made a difference.
Also these exercises: Hab-it Exercises - Hab-it are amazing and really do help. They're devised by a physiotherapist who has a prolapse. She's still very active, goes running etc.