I would like to raise awareness about the risks of vaginal birth. I am very young and after a traumatic birth I ended up with severe bladder and uterine prolapse. This is a result of a damage to one of the lavator muscles in the pelvic floor - not fixable! I have lived with this almost 3 years now and I feel completely disabled. I am unable to enjoy my life due to restrictions. Looking after my child is hard and we're limited to very minimum we can do as I can barely walk without the discomfort and pain. House chores are a challenge too! Not mentioning cooking. I cry everyday and can't stop thinking how horrible life is. Thank you NHS for NOT pointing out the risks of vaginal delivery. I will do my best and start informing women so they can make a conscious decision how they want to deliver their kids.
Pelvic organ prolapse after birth - NHS England: A Ca...
NHS England: A Call to Action
Pelvic organ prolapse after birth
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I am so sorry you have had such problems since the birth of your baby. Childbirth is a natural process and for most people lacking in any complications.
How old are you? You say you are very young so is it possibly because you are so young?
Natural childbirth is usually the best option both for mother and baby especially baby who for one thing gets the good gut bacteria when coming down the birth canal. It is normally much easier to recover from natural childbirth than caesarian which is surgery after all and can have lasting effects on some women who don't feel they can bond with their baby so well as those after a natural birth.
Is there really nothing that can be done to help you. I thought there were gynaecologists who could repair the pelvic floor. Is your bowel affected?
Thank you for your reply. I'm only 37 and I think it's a bit too young to suffer for those problems for 3 years now!
I understand that natural childbirth is better and that's why I opted for one but I had never been presented with risks like prolapse or torn levator ani muscles that cannot be repaired. I used to run a lot and exercise and now I'm disabled. I can't even cook dinner without pain..
doctors can't repair it. It can only be tucked in with a huge risk of it coming back. I was told I would need 2-3 surgeries in my life giving my age!
I would like women to know about it. I'm not trying to scare anyone or put off but everyone deserves to be able to make a conscious decision.
It's a life changing injury!
I understand more now what you are saying - yes, I think quite a few women suffer from prolapse after childbirth, unfortunately, but not usually until later in life or at menopause time.
Could a change of diet help perhaps - is your bowel involved or just your womb and bladder. I had a bowel prolapse as well as a bladder and they did a hysterectomy when I went in for a bladder and bowel repair. I wouldn't recommend it, though as I suffered complications and almost died. I can take no drugs now and avoid surgery unless absolutely essential. They didn't repair the bowel as I was going under with the anaesthetic. I have to eat little and often of foods that are not what I call heavy - no grains and not too much high protein such as meat or fish and this has helped with my bowel prolapse along with highly nutritious whole organic foods..
It doesn't sound like you receive any good advice from the health department. You sound like you need help from someone. Do you have any good naturopaths nearby or good natural health centres you could go to ask for help.
I have every empathy with your plight. As an older woman with a uterine prolapse I know what a trial it can be, and I also know that the medical profession are quite capable of trivializing what can be the devastating effects of prolapse.
But it would be remiss not to point out that the alternative to the quite natural method of vaginal delivery is Caesarian section, and that is not without its own risk of quite different types of prolapse. When the abdominal wall is breeched with a scalpel, a very real risk remains afterwards of a weakness that may prolapse, and quite often does. That goes for all surgery, not just gynae ops.
So, I guess it can be risky either way. Looking at the further information you give in a reply to another answer It sounds as if your baby was born when you were around 34 years of age. And although you quite rightly consider yourself very young to be dealing with a prolapse, you might be a little surprised to know that any woman of 35 or over, delivering for the first time is referred to as an elderly primigravida! And that's because nature really designed women to be fertilized and birthing from about the age of 17 or 18, when muscle and organs are at their peak. And tapering off by the age of 35. Depressing, isn't it?
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