Is this right?

[rbmilliner]

Hi

Apologies now if TMI but I'd just like to know the way my 'down stairs' region is right.

Had a forcep delivery 5 months ago with the birth of my first child resulting in a grade 2 tear and lots of stitches. Whilst not painful, still feels uncomfortable, as if there is pressure. Definately not as is was before giving birth.

It hasn't been the easiest of recoveries having an infection and then on visiting a gynaecologist because something was sticking out of it, finding out there was a 'skin tag' protruding as a result of the forcep delivery about a month ago which was removed under a local anesthetic.

After this little op I really hoped it start to feel normal again but not really. It still feels wrong and I'd really just like to exercise as it does as i say feel uncomfortable and I can't really take walks or go on a bike as I'd like to. I have been doing pelvic floor exercises.

Is this just the way things are after giving birth? Does this sound normal? Feel bad about keep going to GP with this problem if that's just how things are after having a baby.

I had similar complaints after having my daughter (no forceps though) and just felt like things were too ‘open’. Turns out when my daughter was crowning a lot of my main pelvic floor muscles were torn off my pubic bone. It’s called levator avulsion. I’m not in the UK and have heard they’re not as up to date on diagnosing this sort of problem as where I live (this sort of injury was only ‘discovered’ a few years ago), but if you see a urogynacologist they should know about it and hopefully be able to do point you in the right direction if they think that could be a possibility. Forceps greatly increases the risks of an avulsion so worth trying to find out if that’s the source of the symptoms. A good women’s health physio is worth their weight in gold, my physio was the one who noticed the damage.

It sounds similar to the feeling I got about 7 years after having ds1 (long 2nd stage of labour ending in third degree tear after ventouse delivery) which turned out to be a mild bladder and uterus prolapse (interestingly I gave birth in the UK but the prolapse was only diagnosed once I moved abroad some years later). Treatment is targeted pelvic floor physio (including doing pelvic floor exercises with a probe to test you are doing them right!). There are other options if it is a more significant prolapse.