The Fourth Trimester: Uterine Prolapse… Yup, That’s A Thing

the fourth trimester Hey Mamas! I’m glad you’re here. Today begins the start of my new blog series, The Fourth Trimester. Today I’m chatting about uterine prolapse… yup, that’s a thing.

The Fourth Trimester is made up of the months that come after baby is born. For reference, let’s go ahead and call it the 12 months after baby is born. If you google fourth trimester, it’s usually referred to as the 3 months that follow birth, but in my opinion postpartum symptoms can go on for much longer than 3 months.

I’m going to come up with more topics to share throughout this series all relating to the fourth trimester (postpartum anxiety, postpartum depression, hair & skincare concerns, energy levels, working out, etc…) If there’s anything specific you would like for me to share or cover, please send me an email! I would love for this series to be a collaborative series from all of us. We’ve already chatted so much about it over on Instagram, so I thought we could bring it this way as well.

In each blog post I’ll be sharing a bit about my experience (if I’ve had any in that area). Also, there are some topics that I obviously haven’t experienced for myself, so if you have a story to share about your experience let me know. I would love to have a few guest posts! My hope is that this series will open up a conversation about the fourth trimester, to help mamas feel less alone, and to be a resource. I really hope you guys like the series, and please let me know if there’s anything you would like for me to chat about!

the fourth trimester

Okay, so where do I even begin on uterine prolapse. Ugh, I really hate the word prolapse, lol. Also I want to clarify that there are certain degrees of severity when it comes to prolapse, and mine is minor compared to what some people deal with. For example there’s nothing visual going on, lol (you can’t see my organs falling out of my body or anything, but man somedays it feels like they are).

Anyway…I first found out I had a prolapse after Noah was born. He was about 5 months old. I was carrying him around ALL of the time to get him to fall asleep. He was a BIG baby, and that extra weight pushing down on me was not helpful. I was so anxious about putting him in his crib to let him cry, so I would literally carry him around until he fell asleep.

I had no idea what was going on. I was a first time mom, and had never even heard the word prolapse. I went into my doctor, and they confirmed the prolapse. Luckily mine wasn’t terrible. But somedays I swore it felt like my uterus was just going to fall out. It created a really uncomfortable pressure. The more I was on my feet, the worse it got. My doctor recommended physical therapy, pelvic floor exercises at home, and also mentioned that I could get a pessary if I wanted. Immediately I thought “heck no I’m not getting the pessary” so I went home and worked on it. My mother in law actually flew into town to help out with Noah so I could take some time off of my feet.

Gradually it got better, but it was uncomfortable for awhile. I wasn’t able to work out like I used to. Long walks were even out of the question. Running? No way. I focused on core exercises and kegels. Honestly I don’t know if any of that stuff helped, or if it was more of a “time” thing. I think I started to finally feel better when he was around 1 year old.

the fourth trimester

Now… this time around, it’s worse. Luckily the degree of severity isn’t major. I know a lot of people that I read about have a very serious prolapse, and I’ll share one of their stories below incase you’re dealing with something more severe that might require more attention. Baby #2 did some damage during pregnancy. I had a really hard pregnancy with Emma. Noah’s pregnancy was easy, and I was able to remain active. But pregnancy #2…. I had SPD, and a lot of sciatic pain. It wasn’t pretty, and I spent A LOT of my third trimester on the couch. I wasn’t able to remain active which I think also contributed to the prolapse this time around. My muscles weren’t active at all for awhile, so now my body is really weak. Sometimes I feel like the blob…. seriously (where did my muscles go!?)

So… the last couple of months have been rough. I get a lot of questions about my “work-out routine”… Welp there isn’t one. I’m not really able to work out like normal. Sure, I can do some basic stuff, and I probably should do more of it (like stretches, pilates/yoga), but I really miss going on long walks and running. Cardio in general would be amazing (even the elliptical is off the radar for me right now). I’m wondering if I would be able to do a spin class? That might be something I could look into since I would be seated, and not putting a ton of pressure on the pelvic floor. But then again, they stand sometimes while spinning… so maybe not. It’s honestly super frustrating. Just when you really want to get back into shape for swimsuit season, you can’t.

the fourth trimester

It’s frustrating to see all of these other people working out. Don’t even get me started on how many times I see people sharing their workout routines on Instagram, and how it bums me out. I used to be SO active, so it’s really hard to not be able to get up and go out on a run, jump around at the trampoline park with Noah, or put in a P90x video and do a cardio workout.

I feel best in the morning. This is because I’ve just been sleeping and not moving for an extended period of time. As the day goes on, it gets worse. I’ve had to stop carrying Emma around before she goes to sleep (which has actually made her able to self-soothe much quicker than Noah did). Luckily she’s a super chill baby, so crying it out for her didn’t last long at all. Once the end of the day nears, all I want to do is lay down and rest. If I spend a lot of time walking around and doing house chores, I will feel pretty uncomfortable by the end of the day.

the fourth trimester

Luckily prolapse doesn’t really interfere with sex, since sex does the opposite of prolapse. But I will have to admit after a long day, when I’m feeling pressure & a bit of discomfort, I’m not always jumping at the opportunity. Seriously, I can’t freaking wait for this to be over. I’m hoping it doesn’t take a whole year this time like it did with Noah. I’m trying to work on core exercise in the morning, and trying to stay off my feet when possible.

I also ordered pelvic floor exercise weights which I just started using in the morning. My doctor recommended them, and they’ve been helping. I will admit I wasn’t super excited about the idea at first, lol. It’s not the most fun thing to do while drinking your morning coffee. I’ll link the ones I bought HERE for anyone who might be looking for them.

Luckily my prolapse isn’t really bad. Some women can have it so bad that they require surgery. I’m lucky that I’ve returned to normal after Noah was born, and am hoping everything returns to normal soon this time around as well. With proper exercise, and time I’m sure it will be better soon (remaining positive over here, ha!).

More Info On Prolapse:

A detailed medical article: HERE

A story of another woman who dealt with pretty severe prolapse, and how she got over it HERE

If you have an article that you’ve written on this topic with your personal experience, feel free to send me the link and I’ll add it here. It seems like this is a topic that a lot of people aren’t jumping at the opportunity to write about.

If you have any tips for uterine prolapse, feel free to leave them in the comments for other mamas below! Thanks so much for reading today. This was an awkward post to write, and I was nervous about sharing it. But my biggest reason for sharing was to help someone out there understand that they aren’t alone if they are dealing with physical issues postpartum.

XO,

Lee Anne

10 Comments

  1. Lauren on February 14, 2018 at 1:11 pm

    Thank you so much for sharing! More women need to talk about postpartum issues so we know we’re not alone in dealing with these things. I had diastasis recti and pelvic floor issues which were really discouraging at first. I went to PT though and it’s been getting much better. I hope you’re able to get back to feeling good again soon! This stuff is so hard but thanks for talking about it ❤️

  2. Amanda on February 14, 2018 at 3:30 pm

    Oh I’m so sorry you’ve got this going on! I think it’s so great that you are sharing your issues/struggles! SO MANY realities are kept hush-hush & it needs to be shared! It’s REAL LIFE! You & your family are just adorable! Keep it real Mamma!!

  3. Rebecca on February 14, 2018 at 3:55 pm

    Check out Katy Bowman. She’s a biomechanist and a mom and has dvds on pelvic area and “down there” for women. She’s huge in the movement of your body field. I’ve been reading her work since baby # 3.

  4. Lauren on February 14, 2018 at 5:00 pm

    Lee, I’m so sorry you are “dealing” with this. For anyone struggling, there is a group on Facebook called POP Fitness, Run by an awesome postpartum trainer named Haley Shevener. As a fitness professional myself, that focuses on postpartum fitness, it makes me so upset to hear that there are so many that aren’t taken care of like they should be. I have a big list of names of trainers I trust and can refer to anyone who’s interested- my colleagues and I talk about all things pre/postpartum on our pages- sex, incontinence, prolapse… let me know if you need ANYTHING!

    Much love!
    Lauren

  5. Danielle on February 14, 2018 at 5:47 pm

    Great post!!! Thank you for the honesty! So many women still don’t talk about the nitty-gritty if pregnancy and childbirth even at this day in age! I bet you there are tons of women who have never even heard about uterine prolapse after reading this! As a culture, we need to get over ourselves and talk more about reality and not all the rainbows and sunshine. We’d be a lot more educated and informed of our bodies and choices! ??

  6. Haley Shevener on February 14, 2018 at 5:58 pm

    Hi, Lee Anne!

    First, I’m sorry to here that you, too, are managing pelvic organ prolapse (POP). I was also shocked to realize this was even a possibility, let alone something I was dealing with! Even as a personal trainer of over a decade working with women, I was so uninformed.

    I now work exclusively with pre- and postnatal women, many of whom have POP. I also am the Head of Methodology at a training company called The Lotus Method, where my role extends to training trainers, in addition to clients. I write on social media (@haleyshevener on Facebook and Instagram) and for various blogs about my experiences both training myself, and others. I also run a prolapse support group geared towards women looking to maintain their fitness called POP Fitness. There are leading pelvic floor physical therapy experts in there, and I’ve had an incredible response from both women with POP and my colleagues working with this population.

    I have been able to return to a high level of athleticism, and have found immense growth through my experience. I would love to connect with you and share any resources I’ve found that have helped so many of us.

    Know that there is so much healing, hope, and movement in your future!

    Big hugs,
    Haley

    • Haley Shevener on February 14, 2018 at 5:59 pm

      Ackkk, pardon my typos!

  7. Christin on February 14, 2018 at 6:16 pm

    Girl I completely understand… after my 1st baby I had horrible pressure but just thought it was par for the course. After s quick visit to the doctor she said I had a moderate prolapse. Thanks for opening up and sharing especially topics that aren’t often talked about. Prayers that you feel better quickly!

  8. Kristina on February 14, 2018 at 8:13 pm

    I had some issues after my 2nd (almost 10 lb baby!) & I really like the Hab-it physical therapy dvd. The lady is a pt & had prolapse herself. I felt so much better after my 3rd than my 2nd & I really think a lot of it has to do with the body awareness (habits 🙂 she teaches. I feel like I know how to use my body properly to pick up pretty much anything I need to now. Just no crunches or trampoline for me. Thank you for sharing! I know it’s very frustrating, depressing, sad, etc etc, especially when we compare ourselves with other moms post partum activity for those of us who’ve had issues. ❤

  9. Correna on February 14, 2018 at 11:56 pm

    Thanks for sharing your post mama! I think it’s great to talk about an issue that so many mamas experience but is so little talked about. I am a mama to 3 boys and with my first two I did not have any prolapse issues but with my third I was 6cm dilated for over a week so it definitely affected me after delivery. I was also experiencing pressure like you had mentioned. Luckily, my prolapse was minor but it was a daily bother the more I was standing. My doctor recommended physical therapy or told me I could get a pessery but I also did not want to go that route. A friend of mine who is a physical therapist and also specializes in pelvic health gave me some great exercises to do, with that and time mine has become much better! My little man is 8 months now and I really don’t find it bothering much anymore. One exercise that really helped me was putting a pillow under my butt the put your legs up on the couch and do a bridge like action while doing a kegel and move your knees together and apart. (Don’t know if that all makes sense but the inverted position really helps). I think it’s so great your talking about this as I had no idea really what a prolapse was before I experienced it and I think there are probably mamas that may have a prolapse as well but don’t know what it actually is. Anyways, sorry for the crazy long post ha ha, hang in there mama your not alone and your doing a great job, your kids are adorable?

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