A MUM knew something was wrong when she felt an uncomfortable bulge in the entrance of her vagina.
It was 2010 and Caroline McShane given birth to her second daughter just seven months before.
The social media manager, then 35, had had her final postnatal checkup six months earlier – all UK mums have one between six to eight weeks after giving birth.
Caroline, from Cirencester Gloucestershire, said she hadn't wanted to bother her GP again. Instead, she pushed down her concerns and just hoped the bulge would go away on its own.
“I wish someone had checked me at that point and explained it wasn’t normal – and how important it was to get it properly sorted,” she said.
A meeting with her doctor some four months later didn't provide the mum much relief.
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He diagnosed Caroline with a slight pelvic organ prolapse – where the muscles that usually support the uterus, bladder and vagina are too weak to stop the organs from sliding down – and told her to do pelvic floor exercises.
But the mum said she was never properly assessed of shown how to do the exercises – also known as Kegels – correctly.
The feeling of a pelvic organ prolapse has been likened to sitting on a small ball.
It can be brought on by childbirth or menopause and sufferers can also feel a dragging discomfort or heaviness in their genitals.
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Caroline was able to live with her symptoms for 10 years and still enjoyed cycling, swimming paddle boarding and horse riding.
But her condition deteriorated in her early 40s when she started developing early menopause symptoms, including heavy periods.
The bulge in the entrance of her vagina got bigger and caused her severe discomfort as it extended further out of her body.
Caroline also experienced urine leaks, which she said made her feel like an old lady.
She sought advice from her GP twice and was again told to do Kegels.
Symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse
This is when one or more organs in the pelvis – such as the uterus, badder or top of the vagina – slip down from their normal position and bulge into the vagina.
You might experience pelvic organ prolapse when the group of muscles and tissues that normally support the pelvic organs, called the pelvic floor, becomes weakened and can't hold the organs in place firmly.
Having a long or difficult birth – or giving birth to a large baby or multiple babies – could increase your chance of developing it.
Getting older and going through the menopause are other risk factors, as well as being overweight, and having long-term constipation or other conditions that cause you to strain.
Though a prolapse isn't life threatening, it can cause a fair amount of discomfort and pain.
It'll usually be classified on a scale of one to four, from slight to severe.
Symptoms can include:
- a feeling of heaviness around your lower tummy and genitals
- a dragging discomfort inside your vagina
- feeling like there's something coming down into your vagina – it may feel like sitting on a small ball
- feeling or seeing a bulge or lump in or coming out of your vagina
- discomfort or numbness during sex
- problems peeing – such as feeling like your bladder is not emptying fully, needing to go to the toilet more often, or leaking a small amount of pee when you cough, sneeze or exercise
The mum was finally able to get an urgent referral an NHS gynaecologist through her private health insurance – he explained that the damage from childbirth hadn’t been properly managed and had been aggravated by menopausal hormonal changes, causing the ligaments holding up her organs to collapse.
Caroline underwent major surgeries to repair the damage.
She had a hysterectomy to remove her womb and ovaries, and her her internal organs were stitched into position.
Now 49, she is slowly building her pelvic floor and core muscles with gentle exercises, to regain strength without damaging her stitches.
She lamented not having her symptoms checked much earlier to lessen the extent of damage done to her pelvic floor.
“I wish someone had explained at the time that I needed to take care of my pelvic floor on an ongoing basis because, if not, this is what could happen," Caroline said.
Stories such as Caroline's have lead medical experts and charities to call for mums to have a second health check – including a pelvic health assessment – in the year after birth, not just at six weeks.
Tina Mason, specialist pelvic physio at Women’s Health Brighton, told the Mirror: “I regularly see women in their 50s and 60s with pelvic floor dysfunction which could have been prevented – or prevented from deteriorating – if they had been given the right treatment and information after they’d had their babies.”
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She said news mums who were taught to do pelvic floor exercises properly would have that skill for life and be able to prevent many problems.
It's not just new mums who can suffer from pelvic floor prolapse – a teenager took to TikTok to share how an innocent fart left her with her 'uterus hanging out' in her underwear.
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