So you’ve had a baby and you finally get to become the solo inhabiter of your body again after 9+ months of being nauseous and gassy, kicked and stretched, uncomfortable and hormonal. But, when you look at your body and it is in a completely new form. The sags, the stretch marks, the extra weight that just will not go away. Trust me in many ways I think the post pregnancy body is a badge of honor but if we are all being honest there are things that we just wish we could “fix” or at least make a little less problematic. I am actually one of the fortunate ones, not one stretch mark, my weight went back to pre-pregnancy weight within a year. And though I have a slightly more of a “pooch” in my lower abdomen, my outward body went back to how it was before I had my daughter. And I am thankful for that, I am.
But I specifically say my outward body because what pregnancy and birthing a baby took from me was bladder control. I can’t cough, sneeze, jump, run, laugh, dance, heck sometimes even just walk without the reminder that a baby blew up my nether regions. For the first year or two I assumed this was just part of the deal, that eventually muscle tone would repair and I would be back to normal. Unfortunately, this has not occurred. Almost 5 years post birth, 1000s and 1000s of fruitless kegals later I still feel like I am a jump and a skip away from Depends (literally). I have peed my pants way too many times for a 30 something-year-old woman to be confessing to or should ever need to.
On the plus side though, I have developed some very specific techniques for managing my ailment, such as the “stop and cross.” Any time I feel the need to cough, sneeze, or chuckle a little my body instinctively stops all other motion and I quickly cross my legs. The “stop-sit-and cross” is much more effective but is not always possible.
My daughter is well aware of my challenges, she frequently lets me use the bathroom first when we get home and repeatedly says “Mom, you don’t want to have an accident.” She has seen me dart through shopping centers attempting to find the nearest bathroom. She has seen me scooch my way from the car to our first-floor bathroom. And has pretty much accepted this as normal for me.
Now, I want all those who are truly concerned to know that most days I make it through okay without any “accidents” but this is a challenge for me. It’s a change that happened to my body that I did not even know was a possibility. I had never really heard women talking about this problem. Turns out after talking with my doctor, that it is a side effect that does happen to some woman and though not as common as stretch marks, it is more common than I would have thought. Some will be able to resolve the problem with simple muscle building exercises or even making dietary changes, however, for me, this most likely will not be the case. When I am done with my child birthing years, I will likely need to see a specialist to discuss options of treatment.
Pregnancy and giving birth are definitely miracles. The good far outweighs the bad. But this is definitely not something that I planned for or even saw coming.
I worked with a woman in Jacksonville, Florida that leads a pelvic floor recovery class. There are tons of exercises to do (kegels are just the tip of the iceberg). She helps post pregnancy and people that have been dealing with bladder or pelvic issues for years. You really have to strengthen the transverse muscles and core to firm up the pelvic area. It is a life changer. You can google the exercises as well 🙂
I’m lucky in the ‘need to pee’ area BUT the emergency C-section has taken away my sit up ability. I could drop and give you 200-300 crunches right now. I can hold a plank for a few minutes. If you held $10,000 in front of my face and told me all I had to do was one full sit up without touching the floor with my hands and I had 30 minutes to do it, I would lose the money.
There are pelvic pt’s who are specialists. Have you sought the advice of one of those?