There are times in our life after having children, after the wear and tear of our existence on earth leaves us uncomfortable in our own bodies that, for a variety of reasons, we begin to grieve the things we once loved to do because of fear that if we do those things, the consequences will be downright embarrassing. A friend recently talked about how she went on a trampoline with her kids, wanting to treasure the moment and laugh and be carefree. Something stopped her with the first jump. She literally couldn’t trust her bladder at this point. With each bounce, she felt like this might be it, a little leak could turn into an entire emptying.
It made me think, what else are we missing out on because of the havoc that was wreaked on our bodies. Even if you haven’t had children, sheer gravity can have a detrimental effect on our pelvic floor and suddenly, you can’t laugh or sneeze or cough without anxiety over what your body is going to do. So, you grieve. You grieve because your back might give out if you lift your child. You grieve because you can’t run without fear of leakage. You can’t get out on the dance floor the way you want or go for a long hike because God forbid you aren’t near a bathroom.
What if we could begin to take control over our lives again? What if we weren’t servants to the muscles we are suddenly so painfully aware of? It’s high time we stop acting like it’s just something we have to accept as we get older. While there are cases where its not an easy fix, there are things you can do to improve the tone and function of your pelvic floor. You can make the bedroom a safe space again without shame or embarrassment but most importantly we need to stop treating the pelvic floor and the issues it can cause as a taboo subject. That way, we don’t have to silently grieve, we can talk amongst each other and try to get those sneezes back, those laughs back because we deserve to take control over our bodies after they have done so much for us. Creating life, carrying us through hard times, our bodies have gotten us this far and just as you would a car, its time for a little tune up. Most importantly, its time we realize all these issues are normal experiences that we don’t have to live with. You can do something about it and take back all those amazing experiences you feel you are missing out on and finally….Get back on that trampoline.
