Minor Rant: Postpartum issues

[medawyn]

Can we please stop calling things like bladder incontinence, diastase recti, painful intercourse, etc. normal?  There is nothing normal about leaking when you sneeze.  The word we want is COMMON.  

 

I'm just so tired of a medical model that treats postpartum recovery as a simple thing and women's bodies - especially after birth or menopause - as inconsequential or a necessary sacrifice.  And our language - from doctors and other women - is helping perpetuate that idea.  Yes, give someone a nice, reassuring hug or smile and let them know that their struggle is common, and they are in good company.  But please don't suggest that's it's NORMAL and 100% of women can't do anything about the trauma their body went through during pregnancy and birth (or menopause, I'm guessing, but no personal experience there!).

[Barb_]

You are right. Words are powerful and calling our suffering normal is diminishing.Common is a better word.

[Butter]

The doctor who did my bladder/rectal repair and hysterectomy said it was common for women who had had multiple vaginal births.  She never said it was normal because it is not.  Expected?  Sure.  Not a surprise?  Absolutely.  But you are right.  Totally not normal to pee when you sneeze.  Note she is a specialist in pelvic repairs and hysterectomies and they make up the bulk of her practice.

[Rosika]

I agree! 

 

It's fresh in my mind on the sister side of things because my daughter started her menstrual cycle this year. It seems to be an issue with WOMAN CARE in general, sadly.