No, your menstrual cup is most likely not the cause of your prolapse.

Squatting in the shower with blood on my hands, I cursed my menstrual cup for its sealed suction, which, although great at preventing leaks as it said on the box, won the battle I fought to get this slippery little bug out of me. For over an hour I twisted and squirmed, trying unsuccessfully to grab onto this two-inch piece of silicone. This was my first time using a cup, and the first time I spent such a long period of time digging around inside my cup. vaginal canal. Somewhere along the way, I was horrified to feel something warm and soft and round bulge out much lower than I had ever felt before.

Feeling a new urge to get out of here, I cried with joy when I finally managed to get my finger under the lid of the cup and pull it out. I then turned to the internet to find out if what I was experiencing was normal. I found several women online. reporting similar experience and BBC article which stated that “improper use of a menstrual cup may cause pelvic organ prolapse.”

Prolapse, most commonly caused by childbirth, occurs when the pelvic organs that serve as the walls that support the vagina, such as the cervix or uterus, break down. WITH toxic metals recently discovered in tampons And ‘Forever chemicals’ found in menstrual pads(although these studies should be interpreted with caution), I wasn’t ready to give up my menstrual cup yet. I didn’t have children, but I wondered: Could this tiny cup exert the same amount of force as it would take to push another person out of my vagina?

According to the pelvic floor and prolapse specialists I spoke with for this article, the chances are slim or nonexistent. No studies have shown that menstrual cups may increase the risk of prolapse. study even demonstrating that menstrual cups can potentially help strengthen the pelvic floor muscles.

Dr. Christine Vaccaro, a urogynecologist in private practice and an assistant professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, has to lower the uterus during surgeries to manipulate it, which requires a significant amount of force. She says when she thinks about how that compares to the suction a menstrual cup is capable of, the two don’t match up.

“I really don’t understand how the suction can be so strong that it can pull out an organ,” Vaccaro told Salon in a phone interview. “I don’t think the menstrual cup causes prolapse.”

Prolapse occurs when the ligaments and muscles of the pelvic floor weaken and can no longer support the pelvic floor organs. It affects almost every third woman by age 60 and can be caused by things like repeated severe straining and chronic constipation. People who have had a hysterectomy and people with medical conditions such as obesity or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which affect collagen and make tissues more elastic, with higher risk.

It would be helpful to know how menstrual cup use affects people with these conditions, but there isn’t enough research on menstrual products and women’s health issues in general, says Lauren Keller, a Texas-based pelvic floor specialist.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have the research to back this up because research on women is woefully underfunded and underperformed,” Keller told Salon in a phone interview.

Estimates vary, but approx. 50% of people who have had children experience some degree of prolapse and use forceps or vacuum during childbirth increases the risk. The likelihood of prolapse also generally increases with ageas estrogen levels reduce the strength of connective tissue in this area during perimenopause.

Many mild cases do not require treatment, but more severe cases may cause problems with urinary or bowel function and can be treated with physical therapy or surgery, depending on the judgment of the patient and their doctor.

“If someone notices a bulge when they put in a menstrual cup and it’s never bothered them before, it’s probably nothing to worry about,” said Dr. Rachel Sussman, a urogynecologist in private practice at MedStar Georgetown. “If they have a problem they should get tested, but if it’s just a small prolapse then it’s probably been there all along.”

---

Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to the salon’s weekly newsletter Lab notes.

---

A common treatment for prolapse is a device called a pessary, which actually resembles a menstrual cup. It is inserted into the vaginal canal just like a cup and strengthens the tissues that support the pelvic floor organs, preventing them from collapsing, Vacarro says. It is possible that some women who already have prolapse unknowingly choose a menstrual cup as their product of choice because it seems more comfortable and then experience prolapse when they have to get up close and personal to their vaginal canal to remove the cup . menstrual cup, Sussman said.

“I suspect that for many women, a menstrual cup may actually help with prolapse rather than cause it,” Sussman told Salon in a phone interview. “They may be more aware of prolapse when using a menstrual cup rather than a tampon.”

Vaccaro acknowledged the possibility that improper removal of a menstrual cup could cause some damage over the years. It is recommended that you always break the seal of the menstrual cup that causes suction before pulling it down, otherwise this may cause additional stress on the muscles used to support the pelvic floor organs. Pressure and tension can also cause problems.

“Tensing and pushing downward, as if you’re having a bowel movement, can contribute to pelvic floor disorders such as prolapse over time,” Vaccaro said. “If they were to strain hard, frequently, and for a long period of time, they could cause microtrauma to the pelvic floor every time, especially if you don’t break the seal or anything like that.”

Other women may think they have a prolapse when in fact they are simply noticing parts of their anatomy that have always been there but that they have not become familiar with. For example, the uterus naturally moves throughout the ovulation cycle and may descend during ovulation.

Therefore, before using a menstrual cup, it is recommended to study the location of the vaginal canal at various points in the cycle to become familiar with the body and its changes and determine if any abnormalities occur when using the menstrual cup. – said Keller.

“The more knowledge we have before we get into this, the better, because you know where your cervix is ​​during menstruation, you know where your cervix is ​​during ovulation, and you know those natural fluctuations that are happening,” Keller said.

Menstrual cups are now available in a variety of shapes and sizes, and even menstrual discs designed to collect blood without suction. In my experience, the cup I chose was too small for my body and I had to spend hours searching for it.

Shortly after my panicked internet search, the bulge I had felt while removing my menstrual cup receded upward again, along with all my prolapse-related fears. However, it would have been nice if the information I was looking for was a little more accessible.

“I don’t think we’ll ever be in the business of educating women about their anatomy, especially when it comes to anything related to the vagina, pelvic floor health and genitals,” Vaccaro said. “I think we need a lot more information.”