Pelvic floor exercises for pregnancy
You have probably heard that pregnancy and pelvic floor muscles (also known as your Kegels) go hand in hand but do you know where your pelvic floor muscles are located in your body and what they actually do? Do you also know why it’s important to practice your pelvic floor exercises for pregnancy – and any time in your life for that matter? Well, do not fear because below is all the information you need to make sure you have a super strong pelvic floor by doing your pelvic floor exercise in pregnancy, so you don’t experience any ooops moments.
What is the pelvic floor and how to find your pelvic floor muscles?
Your pelvic floor muscles are the banana hammock style layer of muscles that support your pelvic organ area and span from your pubic bone to your coccyx. The image below from https://www.continence.org.au shows your pelvic floor muscles in red.
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What do your pelvic floor muscles do?
The main reason why Kegel exercises are important is that your pelvic floor muscles help your bladder to retain urine until you can go to the toilet. In essence, your pelvic floor supports your bladder, bowel and uterus.
Why are your pelvic floor muscles important during pregnancy?
It’s important to know why performing Kegel exercises help to strengthen pelvic floor muscles, so you make time to do them every day. When you sneeze your inner ab muscles – or transversus abdominus – contracts involuntarily in a forward and backward motion, which then compresses the abs and helps you to push during labour. The main pelvic floor muscle – the pubococcygeus – lies in a figure of eight around the urethra, vagina and rectum.
Having a weak pelvic floor makes it hard for you to squeeze those muscles and sphincters at the bottom of the bladder and this is when you may accidentally leak urine during a cough, sneeze or exercise (stress incontinence). So learning how to do pelvic floor exercises when pregnant not only reduces the risk of urinary incontinence which is a common side effect of childbirth, but also increases your mental health, which most women who have a weak pelvic floor often say is in decline due to accidental leaks.
Your pelvic floor also affects your sex life because you end up feeling less sensitivity in your vagina. Doing just a few pregnancy pelvic floor exercises every day can keep your pelvic floor strong for the rest of your life, even during menopause when hormonal changes are known to cause a weak pelvic floor too.
Click here for how to do pelvic floor exercises after birth
What are Kegel exercises and how to do your pelvic floor exercises for pregnancy?
You don’t need expensive equipment or gym clothing to exercise your pelvic floor muscles. In fact, the best pelvic floor exercises during pregnancy can be done anywhere and, if done correctly, no one will know that you’re doing them! Here are some pelvic floor and stomach exercises in pregnancy that you can do at home, at work, in the car, or anywhere for that matter!
This pelvic floor exercises for pregnancy video below by HARTMANN Direct shows you how to how to practice Kegel exercises for pregnancy:
- Sit, stand or lie in a comfortable position
- Squeeze and lift your pelvic floor muscles by imagining your are stopping wind from your back passage, then stopping the wee from the front
- Pull these two points in and up together
- Hold the contraction for 10 seconds, then relax for a few seconds
- Do four sets of 10 contractions every day for best results and to create length Strength and balance in your pelvic floor
- Hold your stomach in for stomach muscle exercises without putting strain on the baby
When should I do my pelvic floor exercises for pregnancy?
You will start to see an improvement in your ability to hold urine if you strengthen your pelvic floor muscles every day. Keep them up, and it will be possible to regain complete bladder control the more your pelvic floor muscles get stronger.
You can practice your pelvic floor muscles everywhere, including when you’re in the car. Just remember to do it everyday for maximum results.
FAQ
What happens if you don’t do pelvic floor exercises during pregnancy?
Other questions asked were:
- Are pelvic floor exercises good for pregnancy?
- Why should I do pelvic floor exercises?
- Is pelvic floor exercises good during pregnancy?
- Why do pelvic floor exercises during pregnancy?
If you don’t do your pelvic floor exercise during pregnancy then your pelvic floor muscles are under a lot of strain and become weaker. There is also a chance of pelvic organ collapse where organs in the pelvis bulge into the vagina and cause pain and discomfort. Pelvic floor strength is very important.
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Do you have any pelvic floor exercise tips for pregnancy?
Other questions asked were:
- How do I do my pelvic floor exercises for a fitter pregnancy?
- How do I do pelvic floor exercises for pregnant women?
- What are the best exercises to lengthen and strengthen your pelvic floor?
- How and when should I do pelvic floor exercises?
- How to perform pelvic floor exercises for pregnancy?
- Can you do pelvic floor exercises while pregnant?
- Do you need to do pelvic floor exercises when pregnant?
- Should you do pelvic floor exercises while pregnant?
- How to do pelvic floor exercises for pregnancy?
- Should you do pelvic floor exercises when pregnant?
- What are pelvic floor exercises during pregnancy?
To do your pelvic floor exercises for pregnancy, you close up your bottom as if you’re trying to stop yourself from peeing and at the same tie draw in your vagina as if you’re gripping your tampon or period cup to stop the flow of urine. Do this exercises quickly at first, by tightening and releasing the muscles immediately and then do slow squeeze pelvic floor exercises and imagine pelvic floor like an elevator.
When is the best time to do pelvic floor exercises?
Other questions asked were:
- When should you start doing pelvic floor exercises in pregnancy?
- How many pelvic floor exercises during pregnancy should I do?
- When to start pelvic floor exercises during pregnancy?
- How do you prepare a pelvic floor for pregnancy?
- Should I do pelvic floor exercises during pregnancy 3rd trimester?
The best time to do your pelvic floor pregnancy exercises is as soon as possible to prepare for labour. The sooner you do it the stronger your pelvic floor will be during labour, the less likely you will have leaky moments after birth.
You can also use a pelvic floor exercises pregnancy app which offers timed reminders to complete a Kegel exercise for pregnant women.
Have you got a list of exercises to avoid in pregnancy?
Avoid exercises exercises which carry a high risk of falling and causing injury to you and/or your baby, like gymnastics, skating, horse riding and cycling.
Stick to gentle exercises like walking which is a favoured pregnancy exercise to stay fit and healthy.
How does pregnancy affect the pelvic floor?
Other questions asked were:
- Do pelvic floor exercises help with pregnancy?
- What are the symptoms of weak pelvic floor during pregnancy?
- What do pelvic floor exercises do for pregnancy?
- Can pelvic floor exercises affect pregnancy?
- How can I strengthen my pelvic floor muscles?
- What is pelvic floor muscle training?
- Can I do pelvic floor exercises?
- Are pelvic floor exercises safe during pregnancy?
Your pelvic floor muscles work harder during pregnancy which is why it’s important to do pelvic exercises for pregnancy. To strengthen the pelvic floor during pregnancy follow the tips above and start ASAP to prevent a weakened pelvic floor.
What are pelvic tilt exercises?
Pelvic tilts in pregnancy strengthen your abdominal muscles. You lie on your back on the floor and bend your knees. Flatten your back against the floor by tightening your abdominal muscles and bending your pelvis slightly. Hold for 10 seconds and then repeat.
I’ve heard that a tight pelvic floor can cause incontinence and diastasis recti. Is this true?
Tight muscles can cause too much tension in the pelvic floor which increases pressure on the bladder. This increase can lead to urge incontinence which is when you feel a sudden and very intense urge to go to the toilet and you can’t delay or urine will come out.
Does a strong pelvic floor help with labour?
Your pelvic floor should be strong to support the weight of the uterus during pregnancy. But it also needs to relax to let the baby through during delivery.
To relax the pelvic floor in preparation for labour deep squats can help to relax and lengthen the pelvic for muscles and stretch the perineum. Slowly squat down as far as you can go with your hands pressed together in front of you. Speak to your doctor about doing deep squats during pregnancy and before labour.
What is pelvic floor physical therapy like?
If your pelvic floor is very weak or damaged then physical therapy can help to restore or improve your pelvic floor through a series of exercises to stretch the muscles and improve coordination and mobility.
What is pelvic floor exercise after pregnancy?
If you’d like to learn more about postpartum pelvic floor exercises, check out this article here.
Do you have any exercises to widen pelvis for birth?
Look at deep squats which are designed to lengthen and relax the pelvic floor for birth.
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