Association for Pelvic Organ Prolapse Support - APOPS

06/26/2026

It's so hard to understand how in this time of advanced medical practice, there are conditions that are extremely common but have no standardized screening practice established.

By the time women are initially diagnosed with pelvic organ prolapse, whether it occurs in a gynecologic or primary care visit, they've been navigating symptoms for quite a while. At that point, POP has most typically progressed considerably. Delays in diagnosis and long waits to see subspecialists can get pretty frustrating.

Antenatal and postpartum care lack consistent pelvic floor screening at the pivotal level necessary considering childbirth is the leading POP causal factor. Early stage prolapse is often missed entirely. Awareness seeds toward patient POP education are minimal if occur at all.

I can't begin to express how commonly patients express their frustration at the current system.

Pelvic organ prolapse is a major women's public health challenge.

~Change is coming~

06/24/2026

I know I wax on a lot about how pelvic organ prolapse impacts intimacy. That is because regardless the age of a woman (APOPS following is teens through end-of-life), s*xuality is almost always a piece of the POP conversational equation. Society all too often assumes that women don't like s*x, or that mature women over 65 don't like s*x, and the info shared in our closed patient support forum clarify that both intimacy and s*x are a big deal in general to the majority of women.

Happened upon a quote provided by one of our forum members years ago, and it is equally valid today.

Also including below a link to a presentation I provided virtually during covid at the Mediterranean Incontinence and Pelvic Floor Society meeting that was supposed to take place in Greece. Impact to Intimacy: The Cryptic Consequences of Pelvic Organ Prolapse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajg06lQqRHE

06/24/2026

Medical inaccuracies can contribute to delayed diagnosis, inappropriate treatment choices, unnecessary suffering, and patient distrust.

In the pelvic organ prolapse space, addressing misconceptions is as important as confirming accuracies. Google can be inaccurate. AI can be inaccurate. Sometimes even patient and practitioner voices are inaccurate due to thousands of years of assumptions being shared that land a tad south of current reality.

Every Voice Matters.....but medical accuracy is critical to advancing women's health into the 21st century.

06/22/2026

I contributed a chapter about the POP/EDS comorbid intersect to the Springer Volume Insights Into Incontinence and the Pelvic Floor published in 2022, editors Fulya Dökmeci and Diaa Rizk. I am updating Screening for Ehlers Danlos Syndrome in the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Patient for the upcoming 2nd edition. I'd like to share a whisper of patient voice from the 1st edition chapter to validate how impactful this rarely screened for comorbidity is to the POP journey.

Age 47

“It isn’t just ONE QOL impact that is ‘the worst’”. The key is for doctors to really understand how devastating this is because it severely affects ALL areas of our lives. I had light stress urine leakage my whole life and could never wear tampons, and my periods were agonizingly painful. I noticed the actual organs falling down was when I was 34 or 35. Full on rapid prolapse at 35. The unrelenting pain which impacts emotional wellbeing, s*xual interactions, the inability to maintain physical fitness, also made it impossible for me to continue working. Having a BM is now a constant source of distress... painful, embarrassing, constantly worrying about f***l incontinence so I basically stay home all the time and of course worrying about leaking stool during s*x is a total intimacy destroyer. The depression over the loss of myself, over the frequent doctor appointments and failed surgeries, the anger at my spouse for not making any effort to understand... all destroyed my life and my husband of 23 yrs left me. Can’t say I blame him... I’d leave myself behind too if I could. I could write an entire chapter on how POP literally invaded every single aspect of my life. EDS was diagnosed based on the failures of my POP repairs, some minor issues I had throughput childhood, and my family history. It never caused me serious issues until the POP. And none of that was the worst... the worst is NOW at 47... dealing with horrific problems for over 10 yrs now with absolutely no hope for improvement in sight and I have had severe emotional and physical trauma from my experiences with the medical “professionals” that have messed many things up. The ‘trigger stacking’ with POP/EDS is enormous, the cumulative effect of how it impacts every aspect of our lives is overwhelming.”

When advancing women's health ~ Every Voice Matters.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-94174-1_12

06/22/2026

Women with pelvic organ prolapse typically struggle with body image.

They feel their body has failed them.

They feel embarrassment about tissues bulging vaginally.

They feel less feminine.

They experience a loss of self-confidence.

They fear that a partner will feel or see the prolapse.

They fear they may have pain during in*******se.

They fear they will worsen the prolapse during s*x.

They worry about being less attractive.

These feelings can be especially pronounced in young women with POP who believe it is an "older woman's condition."

Here's a refresh of an article I wrote a few years back. No need to refresh; issues remain the same.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/impact-intimacy-7-roadblocks-pelvic-organ-prolapse-creates-palm/

With nearly every theme discussed freely these days in media, most health issues land squarely out in the open. Conversations related to s*xual energy are generally considered acceptable topics of conversation.

06/21/2026

Female below-the-waist health is at the most basic level health. Nothing more. Nothing less.

The next significant revolution in and evolution of women's wellness is a whisper away.

06/20/2026

Nothing clarifies the significance of Pelvic Organ Prolapse Awareness Month as well as Patient Voice~

"At 5 weeks, I was wiping after going to the bathroom and was terrified to see a bulge of tissue. I grabbed my “ What to Expect When You Are Expecting” book….nothing, None of my other books had any information. So I carted my newborn off to postpartum emergency. The nurse there said…. “Don’t know, but go to your OB”. So I did. Nothing like this was covered in my pre-natal classes.

The OB did a check and reported, "yes, prolapse, but you are a white woman who has given birth, this is what happens”. I did get a referral to pelvic floor physio and was told I could have surgery at some point and was sent on my way.

I started looking for information in the FB mom’s group I was in and found APOPS as a resource. That was life changing!

I have learned so much from all the women in this group and from Sherrie. Diet, exercise, medications, surgery options. I would not be as well versed in POP if it wasn’t for APOPS.

I am 11 1/2 years out, have had a second child and am generally symptom free. I know my limits and manage accordingly.
~ML

~Every Voice Matters~

06/19/2026

TGIF

06/19/2026

When June POP Awareness Month and World Continence Week intersect, gotta share a whisper. Let's talk overactive bladder (OAB).

It's not rocket science, if an organ is pushing on the bladder, it's likely to misbehave. Nerve compression, organ compression, crimped urethra translate to one ticked off organ. Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go.

06/18/2026

Patient voice clarifies how alone women feel navigating pelvic organ prolapse. APOPS patient forum includes women teens through end-of-life from 184 countries, navigating the same anxiety provoking concerns.

Fear prolapse will get worse.

Fear of surgery.

Poor body self-image and loss of self-esteem.

Intimacy concerns.

Fear of discovery and related embarrassment.

Concerns about daily activities.

Fear of losing independence.

Anxiety about bowel and bladder function.

Feeling dismissed by practitioners being told "it's not that bad".

Uncertainty and lack of information.

APOPS addresses all of these anxieties.

Nothing beats patient to patient lived experience and woman to woman support.

In order to move women's health forward ~Every Voice Matters~