Pregnant with prolapse help!

[Bella1994]

It’s early days but I’ve just found out I’m about 4 weeks pregnant with my second child. I hade prolapse after baby number one and she is now nearly 3. I’ve been fighting the gynocologists to help me for nearly 2 years as my symptoms are bad and effect my mental health I really struggle with bowel movements and my cervix is so so low. I want a sibling for my little girl but I’m sooo scarred I will make a difficult time even worse and get deppressed and it’s had a massive effect on my mental health. I have some questions for you all

1. if you’ve had mild prolapse which doesn’t feel mild to you how did you convince them to give you a op.
2. how high up is your cervix ? Mine is 1 to 2 knuckles in and atm is just at the entrance.
3. will a low cervix effect the baby and will it get worse
4. will my pelvic floor be relaxed more at this stage could that be making me feel worse?
5. I’ve been to physio and hasn’t done anything I feel like they done want to give me a operation as only 29 so I’ve just been left

Bump? Anyone :(

I am so sorry that you’re going through this. There are several different kinds of pelvic organ prolapse (rectocele, cystocele, vaginal vault, cervical) and everyone’s experience of having one or more of these will be different.

Discuss your worries with your midwife - they’ll have seen it all before and can reassure you. If you have symptoms of prolapse then those symptoms may well get worse during pregnancy, due to the effects of hormones during pregnancy relaxing your pelvic floor ligaments and the weight of your uterus, baby, placenta, amniotic fluid etc. The symptoms will improve again after childbirth, and if it’s still a problem at your 6 week check then your GP can direct you back to women’s physio and/or gynae. It’s a good thing that you haven’t yet had an operation to deal with any sort of pelvic organ prolapse - it’s a big no no unless a woman is 100% certain that she is finished having children. The risks associated with that are too high.

Try not to despair - having symptoms of prolapse now doesn’t mean that you’ll have it forever and it can get better! You might need a different women’s health physio and then perhaps consider an op when you’re finished having children, but you may find things improve a lot. In the mean time, make sure you’re getting plenty of fibre and drinking lots of water to keep your bowel motions soft, and take plenty of lactulose too if diet doesn’t do the trick. Straining will worsen symptoms. Hopefully your midwife can advise on pelvic floor exercises - it is so so helpful to do them during pregnancy. Personally, I found some “visualisations” more helpful than others to engage my pelvic floor - and the PT could tell which ones worked better for me than others because she had her fingers up there at the time!!

Congratulations on your second pregnancy!

Thankyou I’ve been doing kegals and I done physio there’s no change :(

Speak to your midwife and your obstetrician about all of your concerns and they will advise and reassure you. At your six week check, ensure that you are referred to women’s health physio (again) and also request that you are referred to gynaecology.

Good luck OP and I hope that you’re still able to enjoy this pregnancy. It’s tough enough being pregnant while worrying about a toddler! You are very important, so look after yourself and be kind to yourself x

Hi,

I'm currently 20 weeks pregnant with my first baby. I've had a back wall prolapse since i was 18 due to coughing. I was really worried that i wouldnt be able to have a natural birth or be able to have a healthy pregnancy due to the prolapse, its quite a bad one, it actually hangs out my vagina all the time. My consultant checked it last week and said everything is fine, pregnancy and labour wont affect it however it may just feel a bit worse after i've had baby. In terms of being20 weeks now, my prolapse feels a bit better i think personally. x

Hi all,

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to know how your prolapse is feeling @Bella1994 ? I’m 4 weeks pregnant and knew straight after ovulation. Usually my prolapse is baaaaad during ovulation and then completely normal after and in the lead up to my period. This month it never went back to normal, so I figured it was either cause I was pregnant or it was getting worse… I’m relieved it’s because I’m pregnant. Anyways it feels horrible - is this what it’s like now throughout pregnancy? I manage it with Pilates, but that’s on my back and I’ll need to give that up soon, so I’m really worried it’s going to get worse.

It’s grade 2 uterus and grade 1 rectocele I got it graded 4 weeks ago, and that was after a month of no Pilates and kegals and strained REALLLY hard when asked to strain, so he said it’s grade 2 on strain, I got dismissed from Physio because apparently the muscles are strong.

Wanted To reply as I remember scouring the internet looking for answers to this question! I developed a rectocele after giving birth to my first son (traumatic bleed/incident) and was honestly heartbroken about it! Was referred for physio and it did get better after about a year. I was worried about what another pregnancy would do to my body but got pregnant again and during my 2nd trimester my uterus prolapsed! Apparently can happen due to pregnancy but I was horrified, had time off work (I’m a teacher) and thankfully it corrected itself as I entered the 3rd trimester.
i became so worried about a vaginal birth causing my uterus to prolapse or to worsen my rectocele that elected for a c section and honestly it was the best decision ever! Recovery was much better than my vaginal birth, no prolapse and my existing rectocele has improved.

My sister, however, had a mild bladder prolapse after her first vaginal birth but went on to have a second vaginal birth (midwives and consultants all told her it wouldn’t make her prolapse worse) and her prolapse has gotten worse and she now also has a uterus prolapse.

i honestly think that having a section has saved my pelvic floor and stopped my prolapse worsening, would recommend any woman with an existing prolapse to opt for a c section.

Thanks @Netballmama ! I’m 15 weeks now and the prolapse feels much better but I have just spent the first trimester basically sat down, so I’m going to now try getting Pilates and exercise back in. I’m meeting with the specialist tomorrow to discuss C Section - I’m more and more sure that’s the way to go, I won’t be able to live with it if I make my prolapses worse and can no longer run or even walk long distances!

I found physio support hopeless for my mild prolapse. I then found Dr Bri's lift programme online and it is really helping. I am currently doing the 1 week free trial on repeat and now contemplating purchasing the full programme but have seen improvement with just the trial.

The physio told me my problem was an overactive pelvic floor but then gave me lots of kegals to do which made things worse. Dr Bri's programme shows you how to relax your pelvic floor.

https://www.vibrantpelvichealth.com/lift

I haven't conceived since my prolapse (from DC2) but I can honestly say going to a private women's health physio has helped me recover to full health. The NHS physio didn't do anything for me. I would suggest if you can afford it to find someone with a good reputation in your area. In the early days I found lying on my back with my legs up on the sofa and deep breathing helped a lot (probably have to modify this somewhat for pregnancy). Don't do pelvic floor exercises, you need to relax it completely before you start training it. What has your midwife suggested? Have you spoke to her about it?

Also happy baby pose to stretch your pelvic floor (Google it). Hot baths to relax it and I found sitting with a hot water bottle inbetween my legs in the evenings helped. I really feel for you, it's not nice at all but you can get better from it!

hi ladies I know this is an old post but did any of you find you had small amounts of spotting I really feel it’s due to my rectocele as it seems to happen I’ve been sitting up right for long periods of time I also get pain in that area that wares off once I’ve laid down for a bit, I also have retroverted uterus,

@SuchAScaredMumma how did things work out for you after you gave birth? I have grade 1/2 uterine prolapse and front wall after the birth of first baby and thinking about ttc again.

Joining this thread as I too have a uterine prolapse at 19w, stage 2. It's very disconcerting and up until now, I was keeping my anxiety in check.
I've reached out to a private women's health physio so I know I'll be doing the right thing for me.@Netballmama@Netballmama@Netballmama@Netballmama@Netballmama I too am a teacher and I'm worried I'll need time off. Can I ask how much time you took off?

Hey! My second one is 3 months old :) I had an emergency c section in the end, and just went to see the pelvic floor nurse a few days ago. She says I’m a grad 1 uterus, so that’s gone down (YAY) but on the cusp of a frade 2 rectocile. My pelvic floor is still strong but I would say that I haven’t done anything since my son was born, and am constantly wearing him so this is a blessing - working up to the Pilates again now as my hormones start to regulate again and DS gets heavier and heavier.

I would still go ahead at TTC, my prolapse and pelvic floor still feel the same, so I’m glad I went for a C section, for that reason. I will say I much preferred my natural birth but that’s a personal choice.

@SuchAScaredMumma thanks so much for replying. I’m glad it hasn’t got worse for you. I think I would also opt for a c section second time around.

Just wanted to provide an update for anyone still watching this thread. My son is about 14 months old now and I went to see the pelvic nurse yesterday. My uterus prolapse has gone completely, nothing coming down at all. My rectocile is now a grade 1,”if that”. I’ve been cleared to start running again and the nurse actually said “wow” when she felt how strong my pelvic muscles were (all down to Pilates). She’s now convinced that I can also reverse my rectocele.

I know this isn’t the case for everyone, my mum has just been told the only long term option for her is surgery, but I also wanted to share that for me it’s meant that my core is now in the best shape it’s ever been (I still have a flabby pouch, but on the inside it feels strong!)