Ferne McCann, 29, gave birth to her daughter, Sunday Skye, in November 2017, and decided to share her experience of being first time mum on her ITVBE documentary series Ferne McCann: First Time Mum. While having a baby came with lots of excitement for the star, she admitted on ITV’s This Morning there was something she didn’t do during her pregnancy to prepare her for life after the birth. Ferne revealed she’s been experiencing incontinence, which has occurred as a result of a prolapsed bladder. The former Only Way Is Essex star said while incontinence started out as a “joke between friends”, progressively it got worse.
She said: “I feel very much in my prime. With incontinence I would associate that with the elderly.
“For me it was really embarrassing.”
Ferne explained when her incontinence really started to affect her day-to-day life: “I couldn’t do cardio any more which was something I really loved.
“I feared going on long journeys for work as I wanted to be professional.”
Ferne went to see a women’s physiologist, who confirmed the star has a stage one prolapsed bladder.
A prolapsed bladder is an example of pelvic organ prolapse, a condition recognised by the NHS.
It’s where one or more of the organs in the pelvis slip down from their normal position and bulge into the vagina.
The health body explained: “A prolapse is not life threatening, but it can cause pain and discomfort.
“Symptoms can usually be improved with pelvic floor exercises and lifestyle changes, but sometimes medical treatment is needed.”
And that’s exactly what Ferne does now – pelvic floor exercises.
Ferne added: “For me, when I was pregnant, of course you go see your community midwives, they encourage you to do your pelvic floors.
“Because I was pregnant and excited about that I just didn’t do them.”
Symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse can include:
- A feeling of heaviness around your lower tummy genitals
- A dragging discomfort inside your vagina
- Feeling like there’s something coming down into your vagina – it may feel like sitting on a small ball
- Discomfort or numbness during sex
- Problems peeing – such as feeling like your bladder is not emptying fully, needing to go to the toilet more often, or leaking a small amount of pee when you cough, sneeze or exercise (stress incontinence)
Pelvic organ prolapse doesn’t usually require medical treatment, and going pelvic floor exercises is the recommended form of treatment.
There are also a range of products currently on the market that can help strengthen pelvic floors.
If you experience the symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse, see your GP, who will then recommended the best form of treatment for you.
Another star who’s opened up about experiencing issues after giving birth is Kym Marsh.
