Well, that’s a terrifying question, one which might have people rolling their eyes and saying, “no, obviously not.” It sounds like something out of some bad horror film or some ’80s porno. But the truth is, yes, this can and does happen.
For those of you still rolling your eyes: It’s all medical and scientific. The condition is called a uterine prolapse. Which is to say that the muscles and ligaments holding up the uterus actually become weakened to the point that they can literally no longer do their job – holding up your entire uterus.
So, the uterus actually starts slipping out of its location and yes, to the point that it can even start sagging outside the vagina. Yeah, won’t blame you for being horrified.
Now don’t panic because a) it doesn’t happen to everyone and b) it can be corrected through surgery or even otherwise. It usually happens to older women (50 and above) or sometimes in case of traumatic or difficult births, both of which may cause the muscles to either wear out or be damaged.
Often, women in menopause also go through prolapses because these muscles rely on estrogen to keep them going and this supply kinda dries up during menopause.
So how do you know if you’re having a possible prolapse? Well, the easiest way to tell is if you feel a sort of heaviness around your vaginal area, as if you’re sitting on a ball. Often also described as a sort of ‘pulling’ feeling. Other symptoms also include vaginal bleeding and bladder infections.
For those women who are in the ‘danger’ zone, consider avoiding heavy exercises and for those on menopause, can try getting estrogen replacement therapy. Though there is one kind of exercising that is recommended: known as Kegel exercises, it strengthens pelvic muscles.
Great to stop your uterus from falling out and for keeping your muscles strong in general, even for women who are not in the danger zone.
As mentioned above, this condition is totally fixable with surgery and careful exercise. In case of surgery, the uterus is often reattached with ligaments or surgical materials, though this is really not recommended for women who plan on having more children. Because giving birth is, y’know, kinda hard on the uterus and surrounding muscles.
While all of this does sound worrying, it’s not something to wreck your head over. Studies have found that only about 11% of women in the USA have the possibility of uterine prolapse in their lives and in that number, 48% had the prolapse regress naturally.
And, in the UK, only 16 out of 10,000 women needed surgery to correct this. So while it is a condition to watch out for, exercising normally and eating healthily is a big help and the condition by itself can be treated pretty easily.