A woman says that her menstrual cup caused her uterus to prolapse, or move downward in her body.
In a TikTok posted on Nov. 16, a woman says that after finding a lump inside of her vagina, she went to a gynecologist who told her that her uterus had prolapsed. As explained by the Mayo Clinic, a uterus can prolapse when the pelvic floor muscles and ligaments that hold it in place “stretch and weaken until they no longer provide enough support,” making the uterus fall into, or out of, the vagina.
Prolapsed uteruses commonly occur in people who have birthed children vaginally, which the TikToker says her doctor asked about. The woman says she hasn’t had children, which she claimed her doctor was “shocked” by. The TikToker says that she realized the suction from her menstrual cup, which hurts her to remove, more than likely caused her uterus to prolapse.
“Just checking in on [people] who use menstrual cups,” she says in her TikTok, which had over 300,000 views on Monday. “Check on your uterus.”
The TikToker isn’t the only person who says she is experiencing uterine issues because of her menstrual cup. In March 2020, the BBC spoke with a handful of people whose menstrual cups had caused or contributed to uterine prolapses.
“I was scared and I was worried,” a woman named Jenny told the BBC after she believes that her menstrual cup caused her minor pelvic organ prolapse. “I didn’t know what it might mean in the long term.”
The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, a U.K.-based trade organization for physiotherapists, told the BBC that it would like manufacturers of menstrual cups to “include better safety advice” about the products as well.
In a follow-up video, the TikToker says that she thinks that information on menstrual cups—and menstrual products at large—is lacking because “women aren’t a priority.”
Many commenters on the TikToker’s viral video said that their menstrual cup removed their intra-uterine device (IUD), a contraceptive structure that is placed in the uterus. Others said that they’ll be getting rid of their menstrual cup after hearing about the woman’s experience, or are thankful they’ve never used one.
The Daily Dot reached out to the TikToker via email.
Update 1:23pm CT, Nov. 23: This article has been updated to reflect that the woman’s TikTok has since been deleted. The TikToker’s name has been removed to protect her privacy.
