Hi friends! Happy holidazzles! I hope you are all feeling cozy and cared for at this time of year.
My schedule has been exploding with sickness + pelvic floor related maladies, and if you’re in that camp, I just want to re-offer this timeless little gem. Also, feel better!
Let’s get into our hot Q+A this month! Please note that this is a paywalled post, and in order to read the entire thing, you’ll need to be a paid subscriber. It’s just $5/month and you get to support this lady-run labor of love!
Here’s what’s on the agenda:
Can you expand on the relationship between oral birth control and the incidence of vulvodynia?
In your article on hinging, it seems like you’re urging people to arch their backs — but my PT constantly tells me to tuck my pelvis! Can you clarify this?
What is more challenging/causes more pelvic floor issues in the LONG TERM, the cut from a belly birth, or an episiotomy? Like years down the road.
What are the effects of chronic sitting on the pelvic floor?
Can you expand on the relationship between oral birth control and the incidence of vulvodynia?
Wooooooof. Okay, let’s start with some disclaimers. Oral contraceptives (OCs) are not inherently bad. I have seen them work wonders for folks with endo, for example, and of course, if they’re what works for you to prevent pregnancy, then that is fantastic.
However, OCs are in fact a medication, and medications have side effects. A standard NIH search will tell you that common side effects include “nausea, headaches, abdominal cramping, breast tenderness, and increased vaginal discharge or decreased libido.”
One of the basic facts about OCs is that they change a person’s hormonal profile: the levels of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone in a person’s blood stream. Those hormones (and their balance!) have distinct impacts on the tissue of the vulva itself.