Stage 1 prolapse after birth: What you need to know
After you give birth, you may be told that you have a stage 1 prolapse without being told what that means, what you can do about it, and if you even need to be concerned.
Inside this blog post, I'll break down exactly what you need to know so that you can free up some brain space for taking care of your baby rather than worrying about your pelvic prolapse.
What is a prolapse?
A prolapse is simply when one of the organs that are situated within the pelvis (which would be the bladder, the uterus, and the rectum in a female body) begin to lower further down in the pelvis from where they typically reside.
When this happens, you can experience symptoms such as an uncomfortable pressure or a bulging sensation in the pelvis. You may also have bowel or bladder changes like leaking or pain with urination/defecation.
Prolapses come in many variations, both in terms of which organ is affected and also in how much the organ has dropped.
You may hear about different types of prolapse called bladder prolapse, rectal prolapse, uterine prolapse, or anterior prolapse as well as various stages of prolapse (will chat about this later).
Why does a prolapse occur during labor?
A prolapse can occur for a variety of reasons, but typically it will come down to the inability of the connective tissues that support the organs inside the pelvic region to withstand different pressures being placed on it.
As you can imagine, birth is a process that creates a very significant increase in the amount of pressure within the pelvic region. With this increase of pressure, a prolapse can result.
Grades and stages of prolapse
When discussing prolapse, there are multiple grades. These grades, or stages, of prolapse are named based on severity of the "bulge" into the vagina.
Based on what we call the POP-Q system, there are 4 stages of prolapse.
Stage 0 indicates that there is no prolapse, or bulging of the tissue, up to stage 4, which indicates that the tissue that is affected is as extended into the vagina as much as it could be.
With that being said, when you are diagnosed with a stage 1 prolapse after birth, know that you are only ONE step away from having zero prolapse at all. Keep reading…
So what does it mean to have a stage 1 prolapse?
When you have a stage 1 prolapse, there is a lot of data that supports the body's ability to resolve the prolapse without treatment (cool!)
However, as a pelvic floor pt, I would recommend seeing a pelvic health specialist for an evaluation around 6 weeks postpartum to have a full assessment.
While grade 1 prolapses can get better without treatment, we want to be sure that the demands of life and being a mom (lifting, carrying, bearing down in any way) are not causing the prolapse to not resolve or, worst case, get worse. You especially want to seek help from a pelvic health PT if you are experiencing leaking, pressure, or pain at any time.
Typically, when you are diagnosed with a prolapse, you'll be told to avoid heavy lifting and to do Kegel exercises. But please know that Kegels are a hot topic as patients often are not doing them correctly, which can make symptoms worse, and "avoiding heavy lifting" is one of the most nonspecific statements, as "heavy" is subjective and person-dependent. This makes the advice given pretty unhelpful.
What to do if you have a stage 1 prolapse after birth
First and foremost, don't be too alarmed. You can address this as you have the time, preferably around 6 weeks postpartum.
My recommendation would be to book a session with a pelvic floor physical therapist so that you can have a full evaluation completed where you'll learn exactly how you, specifically, can help your pelvic floor muscles and your pelvic region as a whole (as well as your core) recovery from pregnancy and childbirth.
Treatment for pelvic organ prolapse focuses a lot on pressure management, as "poor" pressure management is typically the causative factor.
We know that if we can change the way we handle pressure via our core and pelvic floor muscles and the way we displace pressure inside the body, we know that we can decrease the risk for worsening your existing prolapse, improve prolapse symptoms, and even decrease the extensiveness of an existing prolapse.
Where to find a pelvic floor pt for prolapse treatment
If you’re local to Durham, NC or the surrounding areas, I’d highly recommend making an appointment so we can dive deeper into the potential causes (and solutions!) of your specific symptoms and to ensure that we assess your specific pelvic musculature and presence of prolapse.
I’d love to help you live without pelvic pressure, heaviness, or discomfort as well as develop a general postpartum wellness plan with you.
You can reach out by completing a contact form here, scheduling a complimentary discovery call here, or by clicking the button below.
