# using tampons after birth. TMI maybe.



## Emily's Mama (Apr 22, 2007)

Sorry if this is TMI, but I figure you awesome mamas are the perfect ones to ask here at MCD....

So, I've just been having my first true PP period (I"m 3 months PP after a vag birth with 2nd degree perineal tear). I feel I have recovered ok from the tear, etc in the sense that I haven't had any obvious pelvic floor problems or prolapse, but I've tried using tampons again today and yesterday, and they seem to practically be falling out!! They do go in (I was relieved about this), maybe not quite as far comfortably as before, but they seem to start coming down after an hour or two. I;m too nervous to really check out yet what's going on "down there", but I was just wondering if this happened to anyone else and if so, did it get better?


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## MommaLauraRN (May 14, 2007)

A couple of the nurses I work with and myself have this little problem...sort of. It's like a tampon can completely turn upside down...it's a weak pelvic floor. Kegel, kegel, kegel!!! Plus I started using OB tampons instead of tampax and that has really helped. They seem to expand better and secure themselves better. Gotta love what passing two 9+pound kids through there does to ya!


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## jennert (Oct 22, 2008)

2nd degree tear here too with my first. my period came back later and i don't use tampons, but couldn't use my menstrual cup successfully for quite a while until i started to kegel religiously. it's obnoxious, but it really does work! once i kegeled daily the problems with keeping my cup in disappeared, though if i don't keep kegeling, i will notice some slippage as time goes on.


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## donutmolly (Jun 9, 2005)

I was soooooooo frustrated with tampons after my 2nd birth. I was 10 months PP when AF arrived, so plenty of time to "tighten up". No tears or trauma during the birth, but those darn things didn't work. Leaking all over and yeah, expelling themselves after an hour or so. I use OB too, so not sure if that will solve your problem OP... Ugh, pads make me crazy!


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## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

Maybe try using a menstrual cup? They have the "before birth" and "mama sized" cups, so there shouldn't be any problems with them staying in place or leakage (once you're past the initial learning stage.)


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## cherimoya (Mar 23, 2008)

ah good, I'm not the only one. I use OB tampons, got my first period last month (11 months after dd born). After a day I realized that I needed a bigger tampon. I go up one size OB tampon after every baby!!! lol


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## 2sweetboysmom (Aug 1, 2006)

I researched and then bought myself a set of jade eggs after the birth of my third son. I found rapid and noticable improvement in my vaginal tone using them. They worked way better than just kegels for me. I was actually having difficulty with my cup slipping around, but it all improved very quickly.


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## dayiscoming2006 (Jun 12, 2007)

If you decide to try a cup I recommend mooncupUK or the Lunette.

I used the "after vaginal birth" sized mooncup and it worked fine for me. I was 11 months PP when I got my period back. I have never been able to use tampons.


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## mom2tristan04 (Mar 1, 2006)

I got my period back at 23 months PP, and haven't been able to use a tampon since. They're painful and don't fit properly...and they didn't stop my flow at all -- constant heavy leaks.

I went and bought a Diva a few months back, which works much better (though I still have minor leaking).


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## heidirk (Oct 19, 2007)

i had the same problem, after my first birth. tampons didn't go in, went in sideways, hurt like crazy, and came right back out! it prompted the switch to Sea Sponge tampons, which are _amazing_! i'll never go back to hard wads of cotton!

http://www.jadeandpearl.com/catalog/...products_id=18

nak

*2sweetboysmom*- where do you get those jade eggs? I think that'd help me this time around. TMI warning- I have what the midwives called a 'rectocele' which sounds much wose than it is, but it's made it difficult to kegel effectively.


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## TzippityDoulah (Jun 29, 2005)

your still very soon PPto be using a tampon. most people's muscle don't "recover" that quickly. give it time. do some kegels and give it time. in a few months it will be different.

have you considered washable pads? very gentle!


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## nannymom (Jan 23, 2004)

I am 4 yrs pp and have not returned to my future self enough to use tampons for more than an hour or so before they stop functioning or slide out. I bought a Diva cup and I love it. It really changed my periods.


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## PPK (Feb 15, 2007)

I had issues for a short while with this too. I got my cycle back around 1yr.pp and the first few tries of wearing a tampon were like what you described until I increased my focus on getting my pc muscles and lower pelvic floor toned again.

BeFit Mom's Exercise After Pregnancy book (and some Kegals) helped get my pelvic floor (and abs!) back to pre-pregnancy size and strength. It works with contracting your entire lower pelvis in a way that ordinary Kegals didn't do for me. I found it very effective and not very time consuming at all.
Also, the first two menstrual cycles I didn't wear tampons; I felt it was a good idea to really let my body cleanse itself and not be contained in my body by a tampon...just my unscientifically founded opinion though


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## Emily's Mama (Apr 22, 2007)

Thank you all so much for your replies! They have helped a lot


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