I had a feeling that something wasn’t quite right. It was subtle at first, just a sense that things felt different in my body. After three vaginal births, I told myself it was probably normal, that of course things would feel a bit looser, a bit changed. I didn’t think too much of it, but it stayed with me.
Prolapse after vaginal birth isn’t something anyone prepares you for, and yet it’s far more common than the silence around it would suggest.
The Moment Everything Shifted
At the time, I was already working closely with a pelvic floor and women’s health physiotherapist. I referred my own Pilates clients to her and we had a really trusting relationship, so it felt like the obvious thing to do to go and get it checked. And if I’m really honest, there was a part of me that thought I would be fine. I’d been a dancer, I’d been a Pilates teacher for decades, I understood the body… surely I would be somehow immune to something like this. I can see now that I was kidding myself, but at the time I held onto that hope.
I can still remember walking out of that clinic after being told I had a prolapse. It felt like something shifted instantly. It was as if I had left the confident version of myself back on the treatment couch, and the person walking down that corridor was a shadow of her. I felt heavy, almost like I couldn’t properly lift my feet. I was devastated.
The Thoughts That Came With the Diagnosis
The thoughts came quickly and they were loud. Why me? I shouldn’t have this. I’m a Pilates teacher, what does that say about me? What kind of teacher am I if I have a prolapse? I remember feeling like I must be weak, like I had somehow failed, like I didn’t know what I was doing after all these years. And then it spiralled into thinking that I wouldn’t be able to do the things I loved anymore, that my life was going to have to change in ways I wasn’t ready for.
It was such a stark contrast. I had gone into that appointment with a quiet curiosity, a sense that maybe something wasn’t quite right, and I walked out feeling like my insides were falling out. Everything felt heightened. My body was tense, my mind was racing, and I was completely overwhelmed by it.
Looking back now, I can see that so much of what I was feeling in that moment was being intensified by my thoughts, my beliefs, and the stress I was holding. But at the time, I didn’t have that awareness. It took me a long time to understand that piece.
In that moment, what I felt most strongly was shame. I felt like I had let my body down, or maybe that it had let me down, and I didn’t quite know where to place that feeling. I just knew I felt stuck between those two things, and I didn’t know how to move forward from there.
And yet, somewhere underneath all of that, there was also a quieter voice. One that didn’t quite believe that this was the end of the story.
What I Understood That the Standard Advice Didn’t Account For
Because this is what I do.
I’ve spent over 25 years studying the body. I’m a second-generation Pilates teacher. I’ve worked with movement, anatomy, fascia, and the way the body adapts and responds. And even in that moment, when everything felt overwhelming, something in me knew that what I was being told didn’t fully add up.
What I was experiencing, prolapse after vaginal birth, was being treated as inevitable. Something to manage, not something to understand.
I couldn’t accept that this was simply about weakness. I couldn’t accept that the answer was just to squeeze harder and hope for the best. It didn’t fit with what I understood about the body, and it certainly didn’t fit with how I was feeling.
So slowly, gently, I began to explore.
Not from a place of pushing or forcing, but from a place of trying to understand.
The Turning Point: Breath, Tension, and a Different Way In
What I started to notice was how much tension I was holding. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. I was bracing, gripping, holding everything in… and at the same time, I wasn’t really breathing.
My breath was shallow. Restricted. Almost as if my whole system was on high alert.
And it was through beginning to change that, through allowing my breath to soften and deepen, that things started to shift.
It wasn’t dramatic at first. There was no sudden fix.
But there was a sense of space. A sense of connection. A feeling that my body was starting to respond differently.
And that was the turning point.
Not because everything changed overnight, but because I realised that my pelvic floor wasn’t the problem in isolation. It was part of a whole system that needed to be understood and supported in a different way.
When Symptoms Returned: Perimenopause and Starting Again (But Not Really)
A couple of years ago, as I moved into perimenopause, my symptoms flared again. For a moment, it felt like I was right back at square one. But I wasn’t. This time, I understood what was happening. I didn’t panic, and I didn’t push. I went back to my Whole Body Pelvic Health method, to my breath, to release, to working with my body instead of against it, and things shifted again.
Not because I was starting over, but because I knew what to do.
What I Want For You
Whether you’re newly diagnosed with prolapse after vaginal birth, or you’re years down the line and still searching for answers, I want you to know: this is not the end of your story.
Not just to feel better for a while, but to understand your body well enough that when things change, and they will, you feel confident in how to respond.
Because this isn’t about managing symptoms.
It’s about understanding your body and knowing what to do, so your pelvic floor no longer dictates your life, and you can get back to fully participating in it.
Ready to take the next step?
Comment “FREE CLASS” below and I’ll send you my free introductory class — your first step to symptom-free living. Or comment “TRIAL” to try the Whole Body Pelvic Health Membership free for 7 days.
Because there is always hope.
Claire x
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