clovenhooves The Personal Is Political Reproductive Rights Article Prolapse, tearing, pain: a urogynecologist on what you should know before giving birth

Article Prolapse, tearing, pain: a urogynecologist on what you should know before giving birth

Article Prolapse, tearing, pain: a urogynecologist on what you should know before giving birth

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Clover
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Feb 11 2025, 9:05 PM
#1
The Guardian, February 10 2025.

https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2025/feb/10/urogynecologist-childbirth-interview

Quote:Dr Jocelyn Fitzgerald, who specializes in disorders of the pelvic floor, is ‘begging women to learn’ the physical risks and changes that accompany childbirth

Quote:I like to joke, but actually I’m very serious, that the reason more women don’t know about urogynecology is because we would have to admit that we need urogynecologists,” Fitzgerald says.

Urogynecologists specialize in disorders of the pelvic floor and all of the organs contained within the pelvis of people assigned female at birth: the vagina, the uterus, the bladder, the rectum and all of the pelvic muscles and nerves. One of the most common conditions they treat is vaginal prolapse, which usually happens as a result of childbirth, and occasionally requires reconstructive surgery.

Fitzgerald says it makes her “angry” that so many people are blindsided by the pelvic floor injuries and complications that can happen during and after childbirth. “We portray motherhood as this beautiful calling, and for some women it is,” Fitzgerald says. “But that doesn’t change the fact that the calling comes with some real costs.”

Discussion on Ovarit.
Edited Feb 11 2025, 9:05 PM by Clover.
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Clover
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Feb 11 2025, 9:05 PM #1

The Guardian, February 10 2025.

https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2025/feb/10/urogynecologist-childbirth-interview

Quote:Dr Jocelyn Fitzgerald, who specializes in disorders of the pelvic floor, is ‘begging women to learn’ the physical risks and changes that accompany childbirth

Quote:I like to joke, but actually I’m very serious, that the reason more women don’t know about urogynecology is because we would have to admit that we need urogynecologists,” Fitzgerald says.

Urogynecologists specialize in disorders of the pelvic floor and all of the organs contained within the pelvis of people assigned female at birth: the vagina, the uterus, the bladder, the rectum and all of the pelvic muscles and nerves. One of the most common conditions they treat is vaginal prolapse, which usually happens as a result of childbirth, and occasionally requires reconstructive surgery.

Fitzgerald says it makes her “angry” that so many people are blindsided by the pelvic floor injuries and complications that can happen during and after childbirth. “We portray motherhood as this beautiful calling, and for some women it is,” Fitzgerald says. “But that doesn’t change the fact that the calling comes with some real costs.”

Discussion on Ovarit.

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Persephone
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Feb 12 2025, 4:47 AM
#2
First comment I see is "There is no point resenting it."

Forces, I hate seeing this "it is what it is" attitude so prevalent among women. We hold back our own healthcare and technological progress by bending over and accepting our suffering and sacrifice as part of "what it's about" or whatever.
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Persephone
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Feb 12 2025, 4:47 AM #2

First comment I see is "There is no point resenting it."

Forces, I hate seeing this "it is what it is" attitude so prevalent among women. We hold back our own healthcare and technological progress by bending over and accepting our suffering and sacrifice as part of "what it's about" or whatever.

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komorebi
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” – Audre Lorde
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Feb 13 2025, 12:32 PM
#3
Low key this is what drives me crazy about people who are like "but the female body was DESIGNED to give birth!" Like first of all, I don't believe there's a designer, but if there WAS one, they did a fucking awful job.

(Feb 12 2025, 4:47 AM)Persephone First comment I see is "There is no point resenting it."

Forces, I hate seeing this "it is what it is" attitude so prevalent among women. We hold back our own healthcare and technological progress by bending over and accepting our suffering and sacrifice as part of "what it's about" or whatever.

Lmao, I just saw that comment. Might as well just come out and say that we women should accept our lot in life and not ask for more, eh? 🙄
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komorebi
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” – Audre Lorde
Feb 13 2025, 12:32 PM #3

Low key this is what drives me crazy about people who are like "but the female body was DESIGNED to give birth!" Like first of all, I don't believe there's a designer, but if there WAS one, they did a fucking awful job.

(Feb 12 2025, 4:47 AM)Persephone First comment I see is "There is no point resenting it."

Forces, I hate seeing this "it is what it is" attitude so prevalent among women. We hold back our own healthcare and technological progress by bending over and accepting our suffering and sacrifice as part of "what it's about" or whatever.

Lmao, I just saw that comment. Might as well just come out and say that we women should accept our lot in life and not ask for more, eh? 🙄

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Feb 13 2025, 9:31 PM
#4
Yep. The dismissal of women's health concerns regarding giving birth in some comments is disappointing. The comment about "I'm glad I didn't know about this when I was young" was especially telling. So... if a woman had more knowledge about the health risks involved with pregnancy, she might have possibly made different choices, because she care about her well-being? And that's bad somehow? "Ignorance is bliss" mentality, mixed with "women are destined to create life" biological essentialism/appeals to nature, mixed with "being a mother is a woman's greatest calling" bullshit.

There is nothing wrong with women having more knowledge about possible adverse effects of giving birth. If that stops a woman from wanting to have children... so?! Is that not her right? It also then implies not having children is somehow "bad."
Edited Feb 13 2025, 9:32 PM by Clover.
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Clover
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Feb 13 2025, 9:31 PM #4

Yep. The dismissal of women's health concerns regarding giving birth in some comments is disappointing. The comment about "I'm glad I didn't know about this when I was young" was especially telling. So... if a woman had more knowledge about the health risks involved with pregnancy, she might have possibly made different choices, because she care about her well-being? And that's bad somehow? "Ignorance is bliss" mentality, mixed with "women are destined to create life" biological essentialism/appeals to nature, mixed with "being a mother is a woman's greatest calling" bullshit.

There is nothing wrong with women having more knowledge about possible adverse effects of giving birth. If that stops a woman from wanting to have children... so?! Is that not her right? It also then implies not having children is somehow "bad."

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wormwood
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Feb 13 2025, 10:43 PM
#5
don’t want to read the piece for, um, reasons, but does she say if there’s anything a pregnant woman can do to help prevent injury? I know childbirth is a traumatic and unpredictable event, and nothing can be ruled out, but to improve the odds?
When I was pregnant the advice was to avoid pelvic floor exercises in case the triggered labour prematurely.
Edited Feb 13 2025, 10:44 PM by wormwood.
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wormwood
Feb 13 2025, 10:43 PM #5

don’t want to read the piece for, um, reasons, but does she say if there’s anything a pregnant woman can do to help prevent injury? I know childbirth is a traumatic and unpredictable event, and nothing can be ruled out, but to improve the odds?
When I was pregnant the advice was to avoid pelvic floor exercises in case the triggered labour prematurely.

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Feb 14 2025, 12:32 AM
#6
(Feb 13 2025, 10:43 PM)wormwood don’t want to read the piece for, um, reasons, but does she say if there’s anything a pregnant woman can do to help prevent injury? I know childbirth is a traumatic and unpredictable event, and nothing can be ruled out, but to improve the odds?
When I was pregnant the advice was to avoid pelvic floor exercises in case the triggered labour prematurely.

Here's the section relating to that:
Dr Jocelyn Fitzgerald How can women prepare themselves for some of these potential injuries and complications?
There are definitely more resources than there used to be. Just knowing that urogynecology is a specialty in medicine that is dedicated to these issues is a huge part of the battle. It’s rare, but I’ve had patients come to me before they get pregnant to ask for counseling about pelvic floor disorders related to birth. I’m not saying everyone needs to do that.
There are a lot of patient-facing resources on the American Urogynecology Society (AUGS) website. [Fitzgerald is a member of AUGS.] There’s an inexpensive AUGS book – I don’t make any money from it – that is all about pregnancy and postpartum and your pelvic floor. It’s really easy to read, and has information about how to hold your baby so that you protect your back, and other postural and hormonal changes that happen.
And just know that pelvic floor therapy is out there. There are a lot of reputable pelvic floor therapists that have a lot of good information about pelvic floor rehabilitation. And talk to your obstetrician, of course.
The AUGS book is called Pelvic Floor Health: Your Guide to Pregnancy and Postpartum Care so that seems promising.
Chapter 2 is "Pelvic Floor Health During Pregnancy" and Chapter 3 is "Preparing for Delivery" and the rest are about postpartum care.
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Clover
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Feb 14 2025, 12:32 AM #6

(Feb 13 2025, 10:43 PM)wormwood don’t want to read the piece for, um, reasons, but does she say if there’s anything a pregnant woman can do to help prevent injury? I know childbirth is a traumatic and unpredictable event, and nothing can be ruled out, but to improve the odds?
When I was pregnant the advice was to avoid pelvic floor exercises in case the triggered labour prematurely.

Here's the section relating to that:
Dr Jocelyn Fitzgerald How can women prepare themselves for some of these potential injuries and complications?
There are definitely more resources than there used to be. Just knowing that urogynecology is a specialty in medicine that is dedicated to these issues is a huge part of the battle. It’s rare, but I’ve had patients come to me before they get pregnant to ask for counseling about pelvic floor disorders related to birth. I’m not saying everyone needs to do that.
There are a lot of patient-facing resources on the American Urogynecology Society (AUGS) website. [Fitzgerald is a member of AUGS.] There’s an inexpensive AUGS book – I don’t make any money from it – that is all about pregnancy and postpartum and your pelvic floor. It’s really easy to read, and has information about how to hold your baby so that you protect your back, and other postural and hormonal changes that happen.
And just know that pelvic floor therapy is out there. There are a lot of reputable pelvic floor therapists that have a lot of good information about pelvic floor rehabilitation. And talk to your obstetrician, of course.
The AUGS book is called Pelvic Floor Health: Your Guide to Pregnancy and Postpartum Care so that seems promising.
Chapter 2 is "Pelvic Floor Health During Pregnancy" and Chapter 3 is "Preparing for Delivery" and the rest are about postpartum care.

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wormwood
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Feb 14 2025, 1:01 AM
#7
Thank you. That seems promising, though there is still so much to be done.
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wormwood
Feb 14 2025, 1:01 AM #7

Thank you. That seems promising, though there is still so much to be done.

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Wandering_Feminist56
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Feb 14 2025, 3:54 AM
#8
Wow, one commenter on Ovarit says that having children is about courage and sacrifice so these risks and this pain is part of it, others dismiss these risks and experiences and minimize their significance. It's so weird and sad. They're against a Handmaid's Tale-like society but are minimizing concerns about health and pain as part of pregnancy. It reads as very conservative, and even more so when they discourage fully informing women about the possible consequences.

What the heck?
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Wandering_Feminist56
Feb 14 2025, 3:54 AM #8

Wow, one commenter on Ovarit says that having children is about courage and sacrifice so these risks and this pain is part of it, others dismiss these risks and experiences and minimize their significance. It's so weird and sad. They're against a Handmaid's Tale-like society but are minimizing concerns about health and pain as part of pregnancy. It reads as very conservative, and even more so when they discourage fully informing women about the possible consequences.

What the heck?

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Persephone
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Feb 14 2025, 4:13 PM
#9
(Feb 14 2025, 3:54 AM)Wandering_Feminist56 Wow, one commenter on Ovarit says that having children is about courage and sacrifice so these risks and this pain is part of it, others dismiss these risks and experiences and minimize their significance. It's so weird and sad. They're against a Handmaid's Tale-like society but are minimizing concerns about health and pain as part of pregnancy. It reads as very conservative, and even more so when they discourage fully informing women about the possible consequences.

What the heck?

Main reason I left Ovarit. There were hints of it even before the trad takeover - They called themselves pro-women, but were adamant to defend, deny or deflect any suffering caused to us by nature and not the hands of men.
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Persephone
Trapped in the land of the dead 🪷
Feb 14 2025, 4:13 PM #9

(Feb 14 2025, 3:54 AM)Wandering_Feminist56 Wow, one commenter on Ovarit says that having children is about courage and sacrifice so these risks and this pain is part of it, others dismiss these risks and experiences and minimize their significance. It's so weird and sad. They're against a Handmaid's Tale-like society but are minimizing concerns about health and pain as part of pregnancy. It reads as very conservative, and even more so when they discourage fully informing women about the possible consequences.

What the heck?

Main reason I left Ovarit. There were hints of it even before the trad takeover - They called themselves pro-women, but were adamant to defend, deny or deflect any suffering caused to us by nature and not the hands of men.

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Chernobog
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Feb 14 2025, 5:51 PM
#10
Quote:Persephone
They called themselves pro-women, but were adamant to defend, deny or deflect any suffering caused to us by nature and not the hands of men.
REAL. Like, at a bare minimum it seems fairly obvious to me that a cornerstone of opposing misogyny is acknowledging that even under ideal social circumstances, female suffering is guaranteed, or at least highly likely, so it's just excessive cruelty to run whole civilizations by exploiting that suffering. It's also agonizing to see "appeals to nature" that completely ignore what actually goes on in nature, as if "the way" is for females of all species is to suffer in beautiful, noble silence when the reality is that females of all species are clever, resourceful and, when push comes to shove, get real mad and kill stuff.
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Chernobog
Feb 14 2025, 5:51 PM #10

Quote:Persephone
They called themselves pro-women, but were adamant to defend, deny or deflect any suffering caused to us by nature and not the hands of men.
REAL. Like, at a bare minimum it seems fairly obvious to me that a cornerstone of opposing misogyny is acknowledging that even under ideal social circumstances, female suffering is guaranteed, or at least highly likely, so it's just excessive cruelty to run whole civilizations by exploiting that suffering. It's also agonizing to see "appeals to nature" that completely ignore what actually goes on in nature, as if "the way" is for females of all species is to suffer in beautiful, noble silence when the reality is that females of all species are clever, resourceful and, when push comes to shove, get real mad and kill stuff.

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