‘At work, I might choose not to eat or drink some days because I was worried about having a problem with my bowel,’ says Jo Prance, on the long-term impact her life-changing injuries from childbirth have had.
What midwives originally thought was a minor perineal tear from labour in 1998 turned out to be more significant, causing immense repercussions for Jo that would last two decades after having her son.
Now 48, the Surrey-based mum has battled urinary incontinence, faecal incontinence, prolapse and severe pelvic pain.
For more than two decades, her day-to-day has been dictated by access to toilets, which no one, not even medical staff who diagnosed her with an injury after giving birth, would have expected.
‘[After the birth], I was originally told I had a second-degree perineal tear and that it was repaired,’ says Jo, who works as a fitness consultant.
‘But it later transpired that it was more significant, and a year after birth I started having issues with stress urinary incontinence.’
In 2000, Jo had a mesh sling inserted to support her bladder – which helped, for a time, but left her with pelvic pain that became chronic.
On top of this, she started suffering with the aforementioned faecal incontinence.
‘The problems escalated; I tried numerous medications and treatments for the incontinence, and had to irrigate my bowels daily,’ Jo explains.
‘I also had prolapses as a result of the childbirth injury and had a series of operations to try and fix this.
‘My son has pretty much grown up alongside these issues being dealt with, and me needing access to bathrooms.’
From having to stop to use the loo multiple times during the school run to needing a changing kit for herself and her baby, she says: ‘It impacted every area of my life and occupied my every move.’
Jo was even left struggling to walk due to the pain the mesh sling left her in.
‘My body was a mess,’ she recalls. ‘There was a nerve in my leg that was affected by the mesh. I had a couple of episodes of my leg not working properly before I sought private help.
‘16 years after the mesh was inserted, I had it removed privately, which finally resolved the chronic pain.’
Between the leg issue and the prolapses, Jo was in such agony that in 2017 she was forced to leave her fitness job at the NHS.
It wasn’t until she opted to have a colostomy in 2019 – 21 years after giving birth – that she started to get her life back, and dived back into fitness.
Jo says: ‘It was a turning point for me as it gave me back my freedom.
‘I’m a very fit and active person, and each time I’ve had an operation I’ve had to start over again.
‘I feel I have been rebuilt in a way.’
Since the ordeal began, she’s had 19 operations to tackle her symptoms, including having a stoma fitted. Jo has also had to work hard to improve and maintain her pelvic floor health, with the help of training devices like femfit.
The sensor, created by Junofem, is temporarily inserted into the vagina for the duration of the pelvic floor exercising session – typically around 10-15 minutes.
‘I’ve been through two decades of operations, surgeries and treatments, and I still have to constantly keep on top of my pelvic floor.
‘It’s been a gruelling journey – physically challenging and mentally exhausting. The personal toll of the injury has been immense.’
Jo’s health has now improved to the point where she is currently preparing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro next year, alongside 19 other women – nine of whom also have stomas.
The group is fundraising for charity Chameleon Buddies, who work with Kenyan women and girls with stomas following childbirth injuries.
She adds: ‘I spent years keeping myself fit but not being able to put myself in the positions which I now can, because I’d need to go to the toilet.
‘I’m now picking up where my life was on pause for so long.’
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