Today I am joining the Not Just a Mom link up with some of my favorite bloggers, Dara & Ashley, with the prompt of self care! I think an important note of self care is that it can be really simple & basic, you don’t have to do facial masks or bubble baths, go on trips or buy fancy clothes. Self care might also look like doing simple chore tasks throughout the day so that you can enjoy an evening free from thinking about having to do those things tomorrow.
A slightly bigger way to practice self care that I know FAR TOO MANY women do not get is pelvic floor physical therapy…bare with me for a minute as I explain a little more, unless you’re my dad or father in law then feel free to stop scrolling 😉 Not to go in to too much detail but at about 4 weeks postpartum I was diagnosed with vaginal prolapse which is when either (or even all) the bladder, uterus, or bowel protrudes to the vagina due to weakened pelvic floor muscles. This is so incredibly common & most women don’t even realize they have it! I was experiencing discomfort/mild pain due to my prolapse and was told to give it 3 months to heal on its own or then get a referral for pelvic floor physical therapy. Oh and I was told to just do kegels without even being taught how to properly do them (which turns out many women don’t know how to do them, I was one of them).
Signs of a weakened pelvic floor can be pain, heaviness, pressure, bulging, pain with sex, incontinence, leaking of urine when coughing, laughing, running, jumping, etc. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY WOMEN EXPERIENCE THESE AND JUST CALL IT MOTHERHOOD!??! Sorry to yell lol but weakened pelvic floors are so common in women due to the pelvic floor holding the weight of the uterus during pregnancy & then the strain of childbirth, just so common. It breaks my heart how many times in my short year of motherhood I have seen or heard women laugh off peeing their pants, even if just a little bit, as a right of passage to being a mom. Peeing your pants while it may be common, is NOT normal. Let me say it one more time, COMMON BUT NOT NORMAL! And even better, there is help! And even more than that is that it is pretty easy and never too late to address!
After diagnosis I really dove in to researching my condition & what could be done. The statistics are mind blowing…I found that at least 50% of women over 65 have urinary leakage, more than 40% of women experience symptoms postpartum related to their pelvic floor, less than 20% of women seek care, not everyone should be doing kegels (for some it can actually do more damage), etc… And truthfully these numbers are all likely low because so many women don’t bring it up with their health care providers I think because they’re embarrassed or just think because everyone says it is normal they just accept it. What I think is more embarrassing is not seeking help and/or laughing about it.
So please, if you have any of the symptoms discuss it with your health care provider and you may have to be insistent, or find a provider that will listen & is willing to help. I was kind of shrugged off but really had to almost demand a referral to a physical therapist. I went to PT twice a week for 6 weeks and then once a week for just two more weeks. I was given small exercises to practice to engage supporting muscles, to strengthen others, and education to be mindful of how my body/muscles function & the implications they may have. Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy, like any PT is very individualized. I definitely had to put in the time and ACTUALLY do the work, which typically was 15-20 minutes twice a day to do my homework exercises but they were not difficult exercises. I am not “healed” and never will be but my symptoms are nonexistent 98% of the time, I have the tools to know how to manage my symptoms should they arise, and mostly I can enjoy life without discomfort or embarrassment or fear.
I know this was a little deeper of a post for self care but I am so passionate that pelvic floor physical therapy should be a standard of care for ALL women. It is so simple but it really has made a huge impact on me and I hope to spread the word to help other women too! If you have any questions or would like to discuss further, please feel free to email me(ourhomewithhounds@gmail.com)! 🙂
A few of my favorite pelvic floor physical therapy accounts to follow on Instagram for more education on the topic:
@the.vagina.whisperer
@theladypartspt
@drsarahduvall
@pelvicguru1
This is so very interesting- thank you for sharing Rechelle
Happy to share knowledge 🙂
Wow, thanks for sharing this and for linking up, this is important for women to know about!
SO important! I knew nothing until I was diagnosed & researched on my own.