There are issues that women face for which they simply don’t know where to turn. ACMB advertising partner Cosmetic Gynecology Center of San Antonio offers services for issues of this nature and help for San Antonio women. Today we bring you this sponsored post from Dr. Troy Robbin Hailparn, an OB-GYN at Cosmetic Gynecology Center of San Antonio, to help address some of these issues and the options available.
As much as we love our children, they change us, both emotionally and physically. Through the years, hundreds of San Antonio moms have come to me because of the physical changes brought on by childbirth, including bladder, bowel, and sexual function. It can be the first baby or the fifth baby that finally does it.
Factors like health, nutrition, the size and position of the baby, and how elastic tissues are, cause every woman to be affected differently. And while many women bounce right back after delivery, some don’t ever feel the same.
Unfortunately, many physicians don’t counsel women and their partners at the pre-pregnancy visit about potential postpartum medical problems that can occur. If concerns about any of these functions still exist after a year, seeking medical advice is the right thing to do.
Physical Concerns After Delivery
No woman should live with a body that isn’t working the way she wants it to. Imagine a pair of stockings right out of the package and then how they look after being worn all day long. No matter how much they are washed, they will never look the same as they did when they came out of the package. The same can be true of the birth canal after delivery: the elasticity component forever changes. It is when quality of life is affected that women take notice. For instance:
- Leakage of urine with activities and exercise is called Stress Urinary Incontinence, or SUI. This can occur with sneezing, coughing, or laughing too. It can interfere with an active lifestyle, causing women to limit their activities, wear daily liners, carry extra underwear or a change of clothes, and be anxious about when it might occur.
- Bowel function issues occur because the stretched back vaginal wall no longer supports the rectum, allowing it to bulge into the vagina. This makes constipation and hemorrhoids worse. Sometimes women have to manually press on the back wall or put pressure on the space between the vagina and rectum (called the perineum) to eject stool. Rarely, women will pass stool during intercourse. Understandably, these problems can cause women to not want to be intimate with their partners.
- Sexual sensation for one or both partners can decrease, with some having no sensation. Air moving in and out can cause embarrassing, gas-like noises that may interfere with the intimacy of the moment. Partners can fall out during sex due to weak muscles at the vaginal opening. This is not the way to live. Kegel exercises may be helpful, but for many women they are not because the vaginal support has been over-stretched. As a result, muscles may need to be pulled back together surgically.
- Labia minora/majora issues are usually not caused by childbirth. However, labial tears can occur, and many times obstetricians leave them unrepaired. Aside from looking abnormal, this leaves women with a small flap or “dog-ear” of tissue that can sometimes pull or get in the way. Additionally, trauma during delivery can result in excessive swelling of the vulva and can stretch the labia minora and/or majora to various degrees, leaving them longer, saggier and in the way when they weren’t before. Finally, hormones of pregnancy can stimulate the labia minora to darken in color and may even cause them to grow in size a bit.
Vaginal Rejuvenation and Labiaplasty Solutions
After hearing complaints about these problems, some doctors tell their patients: “This is just something you’ll have to live with.” For many women dealing with the medical issues above, this is simply not true. Vaginal rejuvenation surgeries and non-surgical solutions such as ThermiVA can help improve bladder, bowel, and sexual function. Labiaplasty and ThermiVA can address labial concerns. The important thing to know is that solutions exist and can make a big difference in your quality of life. Visit the Cosmetic Gynecology Center of San Antonio website for more info.
Dr. Troy Robbin Hailparn is a Board-Certified OB-GYN and one of the world’s leading authorities on cosmetic gynecology. Over the last two decades, Dr. Hailparn has performed over 2,000 vaginal surgeries and 700 labiaplasty procedures. She also offers ThermiVA, an in-office, non-surgical solution for specific vaginal or labial concerns. You can visit her website or call her San Antonio office at (210) 615-6646 for more information or to schedule a consultation.
