Never Part with Your Uterus!
September 8, 2025
My book, Saving the Whole Woman, was first published in 2003, and the Whole Woman website went live that same year. Never before had a popular book outlined the anatomical realities of common female pelvic surgeries, the poor quality of studies comparing various surgical techniques and outcomes, nor the devastating effects those operations had on the women themselves.
Fast-forward almost a quarter of a century and nothing has changed. The operations are the same, the studies comparing them are even more abominable, and more women than ever before are undergoing highly destructive and anatomically misconceived surgical procedures.
In a study published last month in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, a group of Brazilian researchers described a combination of outcomes from four randomized controlled and retrospective studies published between 2017 and 2023.*
Their stated purpose was to identify risk factors for the extremely common condition of vaginal vault prolapse following hysterectomy. When the uterus is severed from the top of the vagina, little remains to hold the vagina in place. Loops of small bowel continually bear down against the top of the vagina, eventually turning it inside-out to form an enormous external bulge that must be responded to surgically.
Contemporary studies still cite the same statistic I used back in the early 2000s, that up to 43% of post-hysterectomy women will develop vault prolapse.** In reality, the number is far higher and the reason for the continual parade of studies highlighting the exact same comparisons of old, useless surgeries performed on hundreds of thousands of women every year in the US alone, decade after decade.
Invariably, the conclusions drawn from these studies are the same as well. Some version of the ambiguous statement that, “both procedures are equally effective in supporting the post-hysterectomy vagina” is published again and again, ad nauseam.
The deplorable conditions surrounding “women’s health” are first reflected in just how difficult it is for the common woman to get her hands on such a study. All medical literature is now online, but few studies are downloadable for free. Only two options are available, pay over thirty US$ for the privilege of downloading a single pdf, or travel to a medical center library that subscribes to the journal containing the desired article. As a medical researcher I opt for the second choice, but my point is that the wretched state of the medical system is largely hidden because important medical literature is no longer available to the public.
The Brazilian researchers were looking primarily at sacrocolpopexy, a deep, open surgery where the top of the post-hysterectomy vagina is tethered to the anterior ligament of the spine (usually at the second sacral vertebra) by way of a strip of polypropylene mesh. There are also laparoscopic and robotic versions of the operation. According to the authors, the studies showed that laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy had a “success” rate of 83.8%, while the open sacrocolpopexy was “successful” in 89.2% of the women.
However, the real reason women like you and me are discouraged from reading such studies is because we might tally up all the “complications”, which are often tucked away in a difficult-to-read chart or graph. In doing so we might rightly conclude that scores of women are being gravely harmed, and the rest of the public utterly deceived about these operations.
Although the four studies have nothing in common and are looking at completely different outcomes, the real truth is reflected in the injuries the 497 participants sustained as a result of the operations themselves.
Repeat vault prolapse - 60 women
Mesh erosion - 32% of all women from the mixed cohorts
Cystocele - 13 women
Rectocele - 4 women
Bladder injury - 4 women
Rectum injury - 1 woman
Ureter injury - 2 women
Vagina puncture - 3 women
Vaginal hematoma - 1 woman
Chronic pelvic pain - 8 women
Urinary incontinence - 14 women
Urinary retention - 8 women
Incisional hernia - 1 woman
“Bleeding” - 2 women
Surgical wound infection - 3 women
Suture dehiscence - 2 women
Death - 1 woman
One could conclude that most women involved in these studies experienced a serious complication or poor outcome, and it’s worth noting that none of the participants were followed beyond 12 months. Perhaps most appalling are the conclusions the researchers draw,
“The number of pregnancies, vaginal births, obesity, and menopause were the most prevalent characteristics in women undergoing hysterectomy and which influenced vaginal vault prolapse”.
In reality, women who choose hysterectomy have been failed by a medical system that does not know how to return them to health. Approximately 590,000 hysterectomies are still being performed every year in the United States alone.*** There is no surgical cure for post-hysterectomy vaginal vault prolapse, which studies such as these make painfully clear.
*Silva A Bonfim M Ferreira L Miguel L Hermes T (2025). Surgical approaches to prevent vaginal vault prolapse after hysterectomy, and risk factors for vaginal vault prolapse. European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. 2025 314:114684.
**Kansaria H Chouhan T (2023). Study of Post-hysterectomy Vault Prolapse and Surgical Management. Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology India. 73(Suppl 1):124-129.
***Pickett C Seeratan D Mol B Nieboer T Johnson N Bonestroo T Aarts J (2023). Surgical approach to hysterectomy for benign gynaecological disease. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2023, Issue 8. Art. No.: CD003677. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD003677.pub6. Accessed 06 September 2025.
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Be Sure to Sign Up for Whole Woman Yoga!
In my recent newsletter I commented that Whole Woman Yoga is not traditional male yoga (true), and that it is not related to any religious (true) or cultural (well, not exactly) tradition. What I’ve been calling the “Whole Woman mat program” goes back to the beginning of Whole Woman. It is a series of exercises that were influenced by kundalini yoga, but made far more appropriate for the female body.
As a dancer, I have always had a great appreciation of classical Indian dance. In India, women weren’t allowed to practice male yoga until the 1930s. While men were practicing their triangle and warrior poses, women were developing a beautiful form of dance that is completely supportive of female pelvic anatomy.
In 2019 I was inspired to combine ancient hand gestures, or mudras, with classical Indian dance poses. Each hand gesture carries a positive affirmation (I like to think vibration), such as “generosity” and “prosperity”. I decided to offer the yoga at the 2019 Whole Woman Conference in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. The women loved it, so I presented it again in 2020 and am happy to say it has become part of my life. Maybe this is why Whole Woman is still thriving after the most traumatic of times.
Be sure to bring a kind of “baton” to class. It doesn’t have to be a Whole Woman baton, but can be a large knitting needle, a dowel, or even a handkerchief folded corner to corner. Just something you can hold onto with both hands to create stability and resistance.
WWYoga is done sitting on the floor, but much of the program can be adapted to sitting in a chair. If you are unsteady on your feet, be sure to use a chairback to steady yourself for the standing exercises. If you can sit on the floor but have pain in your spine or extremities, bring pillows and bolsters to cushion painful areas. Practice carefully and mindfully.
Here’s the link to sign up for WWYoga:
https://wholewoman.as.me/schedule/e04d1698/?appointmentTypeIds[]=81621657
And the WW batons are available here:
https://www.wholewoman.com/store
Hope to see you in class!
Heartfully,
Christine