A doctor maximised the reach of her Twitter account to educate netizens. especially women and mums, about vaginal prolapse.
In this article you’ll read:
- Doctor Uses Twitter to Educate Netizens on Vaginal Prolapse
- The Viral Twitter Thread on Vaginal Prolapse
- What is Vaginal Prolapse?
Doctor Uses Twitter to Educate Netizens on Vaginal Prolapse
Nowadays, the majority of people across the globe have the access to the internet. Netizens can simply log in to their social media account and learn something. When it comes to your own body, you can easily learn something when you have access to the internet.
Recently, a doctor from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania maximised the use of Twitter to educate mums and women. Dr Jocelyn J. Fitzgerald specializes in urogynecology; she is a urogynecologist and pelvic reconstructive surgeon.
She recently opened the discussion about vaginal prolapse on Twitter. Dr Jocelyn Fitzgerald addresses women who are “understandably enraged” that nobody told them what could happen to their vagina after giving birth.
According to her, it is normal for the vaginas to fall out from having babies. “I am so sorry that for so long the patriarchy was scared of what you would do with that information,” she wrote.
The Viral Twitter Thread on Vaginal Prolapse
Dr Jocelyn Fitzgerald created a full thread explaining a few things about vaginal prolapse. She aims to spread information and educate women on social media about the things they should know about.
According to her, vaginal prolapse happens when the “vagina falls inside and sometimes outside of the body.” It is because the internal support structures can no longer hold it in place. Additionally, Dr Fitzgerald described the condition in five stages.
“Stage 0 is no prolapse at all, and stage 4 is the entire vagina turned inside out. Most women don’t really feel prolapse until it is stage 2 outside of the vaginal opening or hymen.”
The first stage starts when your uterus drops from its usual placement. It also falls into your vagina’s upper half area.
During the second stage, the uterus descends nearly to the opening of the vagina before slightly protruding out at stage 3. In the 4th stage, the uterus hangs out of the vaginal canal.
What is Vaginal Prolapse?
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Vaginal prolapse happens when the vagina slips out of position. This happens because of the weakening of the pelvic floor. Mums may experience this when the tissues, ligaments, and pelvic floor drops on the top of the vagina.
Though this may sound alarming, vaginal prolapse is common. It usually happens to women who have had multiple vaginal deliveries during childbirth. Aside from that, it could also happen to women who have gone through menopause, are smokers and are overweight.
About 1 in 3 women will experience vaginal prolapse at some point in their lives. Additionally, 50% of those women who give birth vaginally will prolapse.
Symptoms and Causes of Vaginal Prolapse
A woman experiencing vaginal prolapse could notice the following symptoms:
- Bladder infection
- Backache
- Vaginal bleeding
- Difficulty with inserting tampons, having sex, or pooping.
When someone experiences the 4th stage of vaginal prolapse, the protrusion may make it difficult to walk.
According to Dr Jocelyn Fitzgerald, there are some risk factors which cause vaginal prolapse in women. She said that the biggest risk factor is vaginal delivery. It happens particularly when a woman undergoes an operative one with vacuum or forceps.
However, it is still possible for women who have no pregnancies at all to experience vaginal prolapse. Aside from that, she emphasises that C-section is not necessarily protective. It is because C-sections also have a lot of risks.
Other causes include the following:
- Connective tissue disorders like EDS (Ehlers-Danlos syndrome)
- Pelvic floor pressure from obesity
- Chronic constipation
- Chronic cough
- Ageing
- Hysterectomy
Addressing the Need to Educate Women About Their Bodies
Image Source: iStock
In her Twitter thread, Dr Jocelyn Fitzgerald also addresses that most doctors fail to properly educate women about their bodies. Because of this, not a lot of mums know of the likeliness of experiencing vaginal prolapse.
Several women keep it to themselves when experiencing vaginal prolapse because they are afraid of embarrassment. After she created a thread about this topic, many women reflected and replied to it.
One mother said that no one ever brought up to her the possibility of prolapse in either her prenatal or postpartum care. Aside from that, they also said that this matter is also not taught in school or health class.
Some women wished to know more about the condition before giving birth. In relation to this, Dr Fitzgerald responded,
“We must ALWAYS always be on the side of trusting women with the full spectrum of information—good, bad, ugly—and allowing them to make informed choices.”
ALSO READ:
Vaginal Discharge In Pregnancy: What’s Normal and What’s Not
Pregnant Mums, Here’s How to Increase Your Chances of Having a Normal Delivery