Childbirth after prolapse

[onedayatatime73]

Can anyone please advise?

I was induced for my first dc, had a frightening situation where they were prepring for and emergency c section, but then managed to deliver with ventouse.
The result - I have a prolapse which is managed with a pessary, and have been advised that once I have finished having children i can have surgery to repair the prolapse.

I am now pg again. I have been advised by gp, gynae and midwife to have a c section otherwise a second vaginal delivery could make the prolapse much worse.

However, I saw the consultant today, who told me he didn't advise a c section and that my prolapse "might not get worse".

I got very upset, and told him he was contradicting other advice, an we left it that he will "think about it".

I am really upset and panicked. Has anyone been in this situation? What can I do?

Many thanks

Congratulations on your pregnancy, but I'm so sorry you have a prolapse.

I sustained childbirth injuries when I had DC1 22 months ago, including cystocele, rectocele and uterine prolapse. My symptoms were so bad and I was experiencing so much distress as a result, that I elected to have all the repair surgery done now and think about whether I wanted another child later. Obviously I will be for ELCS.

However, I was told that if I delayed my repairs until after my family was complete I could have a VB. The feeling was that this shouldn't make things that much worse, although no one could give me any guarantee that things wouldn't deteriorate. Logically it feels like things should get worse, although I was told that any worsening of a prolapse would be because of pregnancy, rather than VB. On the other hand I was told that if I wanted ELCS before repair surgery this would be possible. The only consideration was that it might be better to do repair surgery without having to factor in the scar tissue from ELCS. But that depends on what sort of prolapse you have and what sort of repair you need - my cystocele and uterine prolapse were foxed through a c-section type incision, so that consideration was relevant for me, but if your repair surgery will be done vaginally, then this might be less of a worry. And even if repairs are done through an abdominal incision, this was felt to be a relatively minor worry not a deal-breaker.

If it was me, I'd go with the MW, GP and gynae. Especially the gynae - I assume this is the one you have consulted about the repairs? I think in cases like ours the opinions of people who patch up women after births have gone wrong have more weight than obstetricians who don't have interaction with their patients much beyond the birth.

Go back and talk to your gynae, GP, and MW. If, based on the information you have been given you feel that an ELCS is in your best medical interests, then that is what you can press for. If this consultant doesn't agree, you can ask to be referred to someone else. And get your gynae to write a letter outlining the reasons why ELCS is advisable.

There's a thread in general health that you might find helpful to post about this on.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/1514278-Any-old-prolapse-Uterus-womb-prolapse-rectocele-cystocele-enterocele-urethrocele-incontinence-pelvic-floor-anterior-and-posterior-repair-TVT-etc-part-5

Good luck. I'm so sorry that you have to worry about this when you should just be looking forward to your new arrival.
X

Hi there one day.
I had/have a rectocele from dc1's birth and have just had dc2. I was told to go ahead with a vb. I chose a homebirth as my best chance of giving birth with no intervention as I wanted to be able to push really gently and avoid e.g. forceps.
Everything went well and I had my 8lb 8oz boy at home in water 2 weeks ago with no tears and no stitches. My rectocele was very bad 2 or 3 days after the birth (actually hanging out of my vagina) but its all tightening up now and has gone back in the right place and I can even do a poo without holding it all in with my hand (tmi) so I don't think it's any worse than before. I have a referral to the gynae clinic at 6 weeks pp and also to see a physio next week to make sure it's on the right track and to discuss any further treatment.
Yours sounds worse than mine though, and having so recently gone through childbirth again (!) , I'd be very happy to accept an elcs! .
HTH.

Thank you so much for your advice here, really helpful. Also helps to know I am not the only one. Thank you for sharing your experiences and I am sorry to hear you have both had to deal with this too

We're always here if you need to use us as a sounding board! X

I have just found this forum as am in desperate need to information and I couldn't believe this thread! it is exactly what has happened to me! I saw the consultant this morning who also informed me a c section was not appropriate after other professionals had said that i should have one! I left in tears, the conflicting evidence and now the stressful thought of labour when I had psyched myself up for a cs was unbearable! He even tried telling me that a prolapse isn't a result of childbirth but something that was already there!!!

My midwife has suggested I think about it and research for a few days before pushing for a cs. I don't really have a problem with vb exactly it is just the thought of making both my prolapses worse. I want to prolong the surgery for as long as poss as the success rates aren't as long as i would like.

Please keep us updated oneday! and big hugs to you having to deal with this too! xx