Pelvic floor in Pregnancy
During pregnancy, your pelvic floor muscles (the muscles that support your bladder, bowel, and womb) go through a lot of change. This happens no matter how you give birth.
Hormone and posture changes can affect how effective and resilient the muscles and tissues are. Your baby also gets heavier as they grow. These changes put extra pressure on the pelvic floor muscles.
Because of this, it is common for the pelvic floor muscles to become stretched, overloaded and tired more quickly. Taking care of these muscles during and after pregnancy can help them recover.
Benefits
Pelvic floor muscle exercises are helpful during pregnancy and after your baby is born. In fact, they are useful at any stage of life. Doing these exercises regularly can help to:
- Improve bladder and bowel control, helping prevent leaks and helping you get to the toilet in time.
- Lower the risk of pelvic organ prolapse. This is when the walls of the vagina, or top of the vagina drop down and cause a bulging or heavy feeling in the vaginal area. The bulge may stay inside the vagina or come down to the vaginal opening.
- Support your growing bump and pelvic organs as your baby gets bigger.
- Help your body recover after childbirth.
- Improve or maintain sexual sensation.
- Support your spine and pelvis, along with your deep tummy and back muscles. This can help you keep doing, or return to, normal daily activities and exercise.
You can safely start pelvic exercises during pregnancy. You can also start soon after birth to help with healing, reduce swelling and improve blood flow.
It is never too late to start – these exercises can help even if you begin later in life.
How to do pelvic floor exercises:
Pelvic floor exercises during and after pregnancy
Start by doing your pelvic floor exercises while staying still, such as sitting, lying down or standing.
When this feels easy, you can make the exercises a bit more challenging by adding simple movements. You could try them while walking, bending or lifting.
This helps train your pelvic floor muscles to work during everyday activities, so they can better support as your return to your normal daily tasks.
Take a look at information on pelvic floor exercises Pelvic Floor :: Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care System
Next level pelvic floor exercises:
Pelvic floor exercises with basic movements:
Further Pelvic Floor Challenges:
Once you are able to complete all exercises, return to your usual exercise slowly.
How to seek help in your Pregnancy or up to One Year Postnatal
If you are finding it hard to do your pelvic floor exercises, or if you have symptoms of pelvic floor problems, help is available.
You can refer yourself if you have pregnancy-related pelvic health problems, such as:
- Accidental loss of urine
- Being unable to make it to the toilet on time
- Feelings of increased pelvic pressure or sensation of your pelvic organs slipping down or falling out
- Pain with sex
- Accidental loss of wind or poo
- Separation of the tummy muscles (called rectus abdominis diastasis)
- Pelvic girdle pain (pain around your hips or pelvis)
If you have any other symptoms not related to the above, please speak to your GP or healthcare professional.
Self-refer to Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust: Self Refer Worcester
Self-refer to Herefordshire Wye Valley NHS: Self Refer Hereford
