"I'm afraid of getting pregnant again because I have a prolapse and I don't want it to get worse."

"I want to wait to get pregnant to allow my body to heal." 

There's a secret far too many people do not know. The secret is that our bodies are amazing. After the birth of my first child I had a grade 2 cystocele. Basically the ligaments around my bladder weren't doing their job and my bladder was sagging into my vagina. Before getting pregnant again the cystocele had improved to a grade 1 and only dropped a little bit into the vagina. Remember how our bodies are amazing? Well, 6 weeks after my second child was born I no longer had a cystocele as it healed during pregnancy.

You might be thinking, how can a prolapse get better with pregnancy? Pregnancy is often touted as a horrible experience, filled with pain, prolapse and stress. Instead of fearing the pregnant body, I trust it and respect it. I trust that with the right guidance, a good dose of work and a whole lot of change, pregnancy, delivery and postpartum can be different.

Here are the changes that we can make during pregnancy as well as the natural changes our pregnancy bodies go through to help heal a prolapse:

• Change in hormones

  • During pregnancy a woman can create more estrogen than she would throughout her lifetime. Estrogen helps to increase blood flow to the baby, transfer nutrients to the baby and also improves muscle mass and strength while also decreasing ligament stiffness.  These natural hormonal shifts made pregnancy a perfect time to work on healing because everything could move more freely while also building strength.

• Change in organ and pelvic position

  • During pregnancy our bodies naturally shift and we find a new center of gravity. With my first child, I let gravity do it's thing and often had low back pain because I would find myself dumping into my low back. This time around I paid attention to my posture when I was sitting and standing to make sure my weight was distributed evenly. I also kept my diaphragm and pelvic floor in a neutral position to keep from pushing everything into my low back. Being consciously aware of everyday movements decreased back pain and rib pain while also creating a better base of support.

• Change is muscle and fascial restrictions throughout the abdomen, pelvic floor and hips

  • When most people hear the word prolapse they think of weakness and try to kegel their way out of weakness into strength. While some people have a weak pelvic floor, others, like myself tend to walk around with their butts clenched tight. Besides learning to relax my butt, I regularly saw a massage therapist, a chiropractor, and did internal work on my pelvic floor to release tension. This not only helped my pelvic floor but it also made the right hip pain I had disappear.

• Change in emotional stressors and mindset

  • "I can do this." "I've got this." When I was pregnant the first time, I had a lot of emotional stressors. I'd often find myself kicking dirt and thinking of every way I could fail. Since then, I quit my job, started my own business and have been much happier overall. This time around instead of thinking of all the ways I could fail, I focused on all of the ways I could succeed. I changed providers, hired a doula, connected with my breath, trained for birth and trusted my body.

• Change in nutrition

  • Admittedly I didn't change a lot in nutrition but I did make sure I had bone broth regularly, took my prenatal vitamin with some regularity and ate well. I would make beautiful salads and veggie trays to go with my grassfed meat. I ate fresh fruit and listened to my body. To support tissue healing I cut back on the sugar in my coffee and made sure I was eating enough good fats and proteins.

• Change in birth

  • With my first child I was curled up in stirrups, not feeling a thing thanks to the epidural, terrified and holding my breath while pushing as hard as possible to meet the nurses demands.  My 7lb wonder entered the world but her birth was far from amazing, it was traumatizing. This time around I was squatting in a warm tub,slowly breathing through contractions when my body decided it was time to push. It took three pushes, one to break the bags, one for the head and one for the rest of her 8lb 2oz body to make its way out. This birth process was healing and highlighted just how amazing our bodies can be when we trust them rather than fear them. 

• Training for Birth

  • There are a ton of programs that offer a great combination for prenatal fitness- breath work, mobility, stability, balance, and coordination. I personally worked through the areas that weren't moving well or only moved with discomfort and helped them move better. Instead of clenching my butt for dear life to support my body, I gained strength through squats and deadlifts to help my body stabilize. I worked on single leg movements for balance and coordination. Through exercise, I was able to respect the natural changes my body was going through while working to heal my body at the same time.

The key word here is CHANGE. Change can be scary, but start to make a change somewhere. Anywhere! Don't fear change. Stop fearing pregnancy and birth and instead trust your body can do it. Your body is amazing if are willing to give it a chance and trust it. 

*Side note: if you think you have a prolapse (bulging or pressure in your vagina, leaking or discomfort), please work with a pelvic health therapist. They are trained in helping determine the cause of your prolapse and help meet your individual needs.

Lauren Keller, DC, DABCA

Jill O'Brien, MPT, DPT, OCS