Postpartum Symptoms Women Often Dismiss as Normal

After childbirth, women often enter a mode of «enduring.» The baby—on schedule, formula—by grams, sleep—by minutes. And thinking about oneself can wait. Then two or three months, half a year pass, and suddenly what once seemed impossible becomes habitual: urine leakage, pain during intimacy, constipation, a feeling of heaviness «down there.» Plus, sensitivity decreases, something even embarrassing to admit to a partner.

At Dvizhenie Clinic, they regularly work with such complaints. We spoke with a doctor, obstetrician-gynecologist at Dvizhenie Clinic Anastasia Zolotukhina about symptoms that women wrongly attribute to «everyone having it like this after childbirth.»

Symptoms You Shouldn«t Ignore

Even uncomplicated natural childbirth is a serious test for the female reproductive system. The most common changes are related to stretching of the pelvic floor muscles, deformation of the vaginal walls, and displacement of pelvic organs.

— Physiological changes that occur during childbirth lead to symptoms that women are often too embarrassed to talk about, — said obstetrician-gynecologist at Dvizhenie Clinic Anastasia Zolotukhina. — Moreover, a woman doesn«t always understand that she can see a doctor about this, thinking it always happens after childbirth and nothing can be done.

Here are signals that it«s better to make an appointment with a doctor:

• urine leakage when coughing, sneezing, laughing, jumping, lifting heavy objects, or even when carrying a cradle;

• frequent urges to urinate, a feeling of «I won»t hold it,« especially when away from home;

• constipation, feeling like you can»t go properly, needing to assist yourself, or fear of the toilet;

• incontinence of gas or stool (almost no one talks about this out loud—and in vain);

• dryness and discomfort in the vagina, burning;

• pain during intimacy, fear and avoidance of sexual contact.

It«s important that these are not »shameful little things,« but your quality of life. And the sooner you start working on them, the more likely you can manage with gentle measures.

When to Make an Appointment with a Doctor

The modern approach to postpartum observation is not one visit for a checkmark, but full support in restoring the female body. Many recommendations schedule a control around 6–8 weeks after childbirth (when the body goes through the main recovery stage). International protocols (e.g., ACOG) say that a comprehensive postpartum visit should occur no later than 12 weeks. If there are pronounced complaints (pain, severe dryness, urine leakage, stool problems, feeling of prolapse), you shouldn«t wait.

— When 12 weeks after childbirth the body has sufficiently recovered, we can more objectively identify problems during an appointment. Assess the condition of the pelvic floor muscles, specifically ask questions about urination and defecation, — noted Anastasia Sergeevna. — We can also raise the topic of resuming sexual life and contraception. In this period, we can solve most problems conservatively. For example, at our clinic, we teach women special exercises for training pelvic floor muscles. One problem is that a woman tries, does exercises, but contracts the wrong muscles. In such cases, we use methods with biofeedback (BFB), which help learn to do everything correctly. Moreover, we have equipment that allows us to objectively judge changes in muscle strength.

Most importantly, don«t worry that you»ll be tortured with uncomfortable questions. Prepare for a careful examination as indicated and a trusting conversation about how the childbirth went and current well-being. The doctor may indeed ask about urination and defecation because the pelvic floor and adjacent areas are often connected.

What Happens If Problems Are Ignored

If you postpone a visit to the doctor, a woman may face unpleasant complications. For example, constipation often leads to the development of chronic hemorrhoids, anal fissures, or rectocele (a hernia-like protrusion of the rectal walls). Urinary incontinence also progresses over time.

When disorders can no longer be corrected conservatively, modern surgery comes to the rescue. At Dvizhenie Clinic, such patients always work with a multidisciplinary team. For combined problems (e.g., intimate area + proctological complaints), operating gynecologists act jointly with proctologists—this is one of the clinic«s main advantages. Moreover, its specialists have unique patented methods for pelvic floor plastic surgery, in particular operations on the muscles »Suture according to Solovyov.«

— The condition of the rectum, perineum, reproductive organs—all this is interconnected, — emphasized Anastasia Zolotukhina. — And the surgeons« task is to restore anatomy comprehensively. At our clinic, we have indeed accumulated huge, unique experience in the joint work of gynecologists and proctologists. Such a team approach when identifying combined pathology allows achieving the best result. Our specialists master modern surgical techniques, including practicing minor, gentle operations using modern technologies—ultrasonic, laser. During a consultation, a specialist will definitely select an optimal set of measures.

How to Solve Problems in the Intimate Sphere

Some women after childbirth are bothered not only by discomfort but by appearance, sensations that everything down there has become different. Dvizhenie Clinic separately announces the direction of intimate correction and restoration of pelvic floor muscles.

The key principle is delicacy and absence of pressure. First, a consultation, then a decision on the necessity of intervention.

— A woman after childbirth is very vulnerable, she worries that she has changed externally and is no longer as attractive as before, — believes Anastasia Zolotukhina. — During intimacy, she may experience discomfort due to vaginal dryness or even pain due to tears she had during childbirth. Sexual desire is also affected by fatigue and lack of sleep. Moreover, she may avoid sexual contact due to fear of urinary incontinence. All this often leads to conflicts in the family and to the young mother distancing herself from her partner. Therefore, the moment of restoring harmonious intimate relationships is very important. Unfortunately, women rarely tell doctors about problems in the sexual sphere, so we ourselves delicately try to raise this topic. In our arsenal, there are many possibilities—from massages, exercises, physiotherapy, lifestyle recommendations to surgical practices.

The main thing that every woman after childbirth needs to hear: you are not obliged to get used to it. And you shouldn«t endure in silence.

Dvizhenie Clinic,
Volgograd, ul. Rionskaya, d. 2;
Mon. – Fri.: 08:00–20:00;
Sat.: 09:00–14:00;
+7 (8442) 266-266;
Dvizhenie.com.