new mums, how long before you could do sport again without "leaking"?

[miniegg]

hello
i'm a new mum - my baby is four weeks old -and I am gutted at the state of my pelvic floor. despite doing millions of kegels while I was pregnant, it is in bad shape - if I do anything more than walk, i leak really badly.
I had a really awful labour (hours of pushing, then several failed attempts at ventouse)which is probably why it is so damaged. I also have a minor case of uterine prolapse - the GP doesn't seem to think it's a big deal though i don't like the way it feels!
I am wondering about people who have had similar experiences - how long did it take to heal? I really want to be able to do sport again soon. The GP recommended swimming but I hate swimming, so that wasn't much consolation!
I posted a similar query under the childbirth thread but didn't get very many responses..

what kind of sport did you have in mind? My dd is nearly 4 and I still leak when it comes to the trampoline!! Your GP is right, swimming is really good for pelvic floor. If things are really bad you could ask for a referral to specialist women's physio?

hi
i'd like to be able to run again! (or rather, jog!) No desperate hurry but I would like to get some resemblance of my old body back before I return to work after christmas, not least cos I can't fit any of my old clothes and do not want to be buying a whole new wardrobe!
The GP has referred me to a physio, but i expect it will take a long time to get the appointment.

well it sounds like you had quite a difficult birth (I had quite similar by your description) and it does take time to heal. Jogging is probably a bit hard on the body atm! You do need to do your pelvic floor exercises religiously and if you don't feel like swimming maybe try some gentle stuff in the gym first? I've read on other threads on here that the pelvic cones that you can buy are very good. Not tried them myself! Hopefully someone else will post some words of wisdom. Bump it tomorrow if quiet on responses tonight. HTH

Hi miniegg

Sorry to hear about your problems. I have had very similar. You need to give your body plenty of time to heal. Apart from anything else, at 4 weeks post birth your hormones are still all over the place (hormones have a big influence over continence for some reason, which is why a lot of women suddenly notice a problem when they hit the menopause). Your body has also taken a real bashing from your awful labour, but it will recover with rest and endless Kegels.

I totally agree with everyone who's recommended seeing a specialist physio. It's easy to do the exercises wrong, so it's worth getting the training. Kick up a fuss if the referral takes ages. I cried all over the office of every doctor I could to get the help i needed quickly!

Good luck - you'll be surprised how quickly you'll start to feel better.

thanks - that gives me some hope..

bump

Mini - if you are looking for a specialist Physio google Association of Chartered Physio Therapists in women's Health

great, thanks, will def. have a look