post birth problem..advice please...
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Topic: post birth problem..advice please...
Posted By: 4thtymlucky
Subject: post birth problem..advice please...
Date Posted: 16 August 2010 at 7:23pm
| I had a HBA2C last year on Xmas morning and since then I have a very weak pelvic floor. I'm currently trying to keep up with my kegel exercises as I am 5 months pregnant. My situation is embarrasing to say the least, as everytime I "leak" it flows to the front of my pad/pants. I wear the thick pads expecially for weak bladders and even then I can leak "outside" of the pad. When I have a really bad episode I can soak a pad but only the front half of it. I'm just wondering if since having a natural birth that my "peepee tube" has been disfigured/pushed out of place and what I can do about it. Any advice at all will be greatly appreciated. |
Replies:
Posted By: High9
Date Posted: 16 August 2010 at 7:42pm
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I had a normal vagina birth for my first in Feb and I had to have a catheter put in after I had an epi, MW forgot to tell me to go pee before hand! Anyway I have little leaks too and no amount of exercises down there seems to work but it is slowly getting better, I practice on the loo whilst peeing stopping and starting the flow if that makes sense?
It took 3 months after the birth to finally be able to stop the flow! I would be squeezing and squeezing trying to stop the flow but it wouldn't! Sorry probably not much help. Talk to your mw about it? Being pregnant I imagine would make it a bit harder. What happens if you double up pads or move your pad further up? ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: T_Rex
Date Posted: 16 August 2010 at 7:44pm
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Oh dear, you poor thing! Can you wear the pad really far forward? Have you spoken to your MW about it? ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: fire_engine
Date Posted: 16 August 2010 at 8:15pm
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Get referred to a women's health physio - there is be a free one at Middlemore. They can give you advice on exercises etc. Definitely talk to your MW - she may recommend a gynae referral. I notice my pelvic floor is getting weaker the further through the PG I am. I had no problems after Dan was born, but since about 4 months, have had the occasional leak, and never at a good time (not that there is such a thing). ------------- Mum to two wee boys |
Posted By: Rovic
Date Posted: 16 August 2010 at 8:16pm
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Sorry no idea if labour can affect the internal anatomy? You could always get your mw to refer you to the hospital physio or even contact the community continence nurse at your closest hospital and they may be able to help you out. Also NZ Continence association has a website that you could check out. HTH edited to fix bad england ------------- http://alterna-tickers.com"> 
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Posted By: luvmylittlies
Date Posted: 16 August 2010 at 8:26pm
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Sounds pretty rough, poor thing. Sorry about the huge post and just ignore anything you already know.
Firstly I reckon be really sure that you're doing your exercises properly. A lot of people work really hard at them but they're actually using their abdominal muscles which actually makes things worse. Practicing the way Lil_Nic suggested is okay but ONLY to get the idea of the muscles you're trying to use. If you regularly practice this way you'll end up messing with proper bladder emptying and end up with lots of urinary tract infections. To check if you're doing it wrong (without writing an essay) put your hand on your stomach when you're doing them and if you can feel any muscles working you're using the wrong ones. You should be imagining that you're trying to "lift" up the area between your vagina and anus, then squeezing the round muscles of your vagina and anus. That's all. Don't work too hard or you're bound to "bear down" which WILL make it worse. Secondly the other thing that will make it worse at this point is being constipated and having to strain to use your bowels. Keep your fibre and fluids up to avoid this. Try Kiwicrush (with the fruits in the freezer section at the supermarket). Thirdly, despite what people think it's often not the vaginal delivery that damages your pelvic floor - it's the stresses that result from carrying the baby in combination with the relaxin so that everything is stretched. So I probably wouldn't fret that it was the delivery that caused this. But I suspect that you may have weakened your pelvic floor during these previous pregnancies and this one has just tipped them over the edge. Unfortunately you're getting bigger and even without previous problems this baby might be squashing your bladder and stressing your pelvic floor. It's going to be really hard to get them working properly again before you deliver but worth a try. I'd strongly suggest you speak to your GP or midwife and get a referral to a Women's Health Physiotherapist or a Continence Nurse. Definitely don't accept that incontinence after having kids is just the price you have to pay. It's not. ------------- Adoring Mum to Talisin 8/9/11 and Kiara 18/01/10 |
Posted By: High9
Date Posted: 16 August 2010 at 8:49pm
Thesaff, that's exactly what I do! The 'lift' sorry not too good at explaining it! But my mw also told me to stop and start pee as a way too...  ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: pickle
Date Posted: 16 August 2010 at 8:57pm
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Hi - I know all about this one - I have actually just had an operation to correct it all!!! Two pregnancies and pushed two babies out, second one had complications after the birth but all ok. I noticed afterwards that i couldnt empty my bladder property and had leakage. Played tennis and netball and had to wear a pad and leakage not too bad. Then started a get fit lose weight programme and started running NOT good to the point where i couldnt run IYKWIM. So off to a gyno I went and had a procedure called a TVT which basically means they have put a piece of velcro round my Uretha to tighten it, i am only a week out of surgery so cant wait to go running and not weeing myself!!!!
Talk to your MW and let her know of your concerns but from my experience its part of pregnancy and childbirth but it is definately not something that you have to live with. PM me if you want to know anything else  ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: MummyFreckle
Date Posted: 16 August 2010 at 9:16pm
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Oooh Pickle - would love to know more, would you mind PMing me to tell me about the op / recovery etc....I was seeing a specialist continence physio / gynae and they recommended this after I had finished having babies.....its one of the things I am looking forward to after this one arrives!!! I have terrible bladder weakness, I also get regular allergies / sinus problems so spend a lot of time sneezing....
------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 16 August 2010 at 9:17pm
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The pelvic floor muscle exercises are not as effective when you aren't pregnant but it sounds hugely embarrassing and frustrating and I'd raise it with the mw and see if there's anything she can do to help. It's possible that a physio may be of assistance to you, to learn some of those weird exercises. -------------  |
Posted By: luvmylittlies
Date Posted: 16 August 2010 at 9:27pm
Yeah and the fact that you got an improvement means that you must have been doing it right. But unfortunately this piece of very old fashioned advice still gets handed out a lot. It definitely targets the right muscles and is a really good way to start when things are still really weak and/or numb because you can get a good idea of what you're trying to do. Problem is if you do it a lot it trains the bladder to not empty fully, then because you always have a little bit of urine in your bladder you're prone to infections plus more incontinence because you're bladder is never empty. Incontinence can be a single issue or a combination of so many things. If it's that bad that you're really wetting yourself you need to get someone to look at you properly. It might just be really really weak pelvic floor muscles or at the other extreme it could be something like what Pickle said. Ugh, sorry about the formality of my posts. I can't write stuff like this without switching into work speak. ------------- Adoring Mum to Talisin 8/9/11 and Kiara 18/01/10 |
Lil_Nic9 wrote:Posted By: High9
Date Posted: 16 August 2010 at 9:43pm
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All good, thanks for clearing it up though! Appreciate it! ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: crafty1
Date Posted: 17 August 2010 at 2:21pm
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Get a referral to womens health physio - your GP can send you. Ypou need to get that checked out as it could be more anatomical issue than just weak muscles if you have been doing kegels and it isn't helping. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
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Posted By: 4thtymlucky
Date Posted: 17 August 2010 at 5:56pm
| Hi everyone, thank you so much for all your wonderful, friendly and supportive advice. I will definitely let my mw know and ask for a referral to the free specialist at Middlemore as I am in South Auckland. I am also keen to learn more about the surgical aspect of helping fix my incontinence. I suffer from a chronic cough which does not help my situation at all. Sometimes when I leak it runs down my leg no matter how far up/high I place the pad. I wear the proper incontinence ones but am worried that as my pregnancy progresses that I will have to upgrade to the underwear. The kegels make me feel better that I'm doing something positive and I'm pretty sure I'm doing it right but I think it may be anatomical. Either way, I will post again once I have results of some sort. Thanks again everyone and blessings ladies. |