01 Feb Pelvic Floor in Your pregnancy
Pelvic floor muscles in pregnancy
If I had only a few minutes every day to exercise during pregnancy, I would devote them to practice strengthening and loosening pelvic floor muscles.
What are pelvic floor muscles?
It is a set of muscles that works as a hammock for internal organs: bladder, vagina, uterus and anus. These muscles are attached to the inner parts of pelvis, tail bone and pubic bone.
Why do we need pelvic floor muscles?
Pelvic floor muscles support our internal organs and ensure adequate control of urinating. When they are trained regularly, they improve sexual sensations and stabilise hip joints.
What happens with pelvic floor muscles during pregnancy?
Hormones excreted in pregnancy weaken pelvic floor muscles; in addition, growing baby, uterus and increasing volume of amniotic fluid are a burden to them. No wonder that the “pelvic hammock” is not able to stand up to this load and is not performing its function properly.
Why strengthening pelvic floor muscles is so important in pregnancy?
Doing systematic exercises for pelvic floor muscles strengthens them and makes them more flexible. It’s very important to practice not only activating, but also loosening them.
6 reasons to exercise pelvic floor muscles during pregnancy:
– Keeping pelvic floor muscles in good shape during pregnancy and postpartum, when the woman’s body regenerates.
– Controlling urine retention.
– By strengthening pelvic floor muscles we will contribute to a general strengthening of internal muscles that provide us with a sense of being strong, in control and in shape before and after birth.
– Systematic activation and loosening of pelvic floor muscles can have an effect on a quicker labour and lowering the risk of complications. It has been noticed that women who exercised their pelvic floor muscles in pregnancy often avoid episiotomy.
– Awareness of these muscles, their activation and loosening teaches control over one’s body in pregnancy, labour and postpartum.
– Regular exercise of pelvic floor muscles ensure their quicker recovery after birth.
How to check whether your pelvic floor muscles are weakened?
– Weaker control during urinating.
– Urine incontinence by sneezing, laughing or coughing.
– Waking up in the night with an overwhelming need to urinate.
– Inability to stop urinating once you’ve started (remember not to do this on purpose, stopping the stream of urine is not recommended especially in pregnancy, because it can cause bladder inflammation).
How to feel your pelvic floor muscles?
Position: You can sit, stand, lie on your back, however you’re comfortable
Preparation: Concentrate and become aware of your pelvic floor muscles.
– Tighten their front parts a little, as if you wanted to stop peeing (don’t actually do thiswhen you really have to pee).
– Concentrate on their back parts, around the anus, as if you wanted to avoid passing gas.
Actually, pelvic floor muscles are between those two areas and with practice, you will be able to isolate them (don’t worry if you can’t feel much at first, that’s normal).
Strengthening pelvic floor muscles:
At least once every day, do a couple of pelvic floor exercises: tighten the urine outlet (remember: don’t try to actually stop the stream, only imagine it) and the anus, keep for a few seconds and slowly release. Create a habit of it: a couple of times when you’re at work, when you’re in public transport or when you’re watching TV. You can be sure that no
one will even notice.
Additionally, you can combine it with breathing. Anatomically, pelvic floor muscles are synchronised with our breathing. When we inhale, the diaphragm and pelvic floor muscles lower and relax, when we exhale – they go up and activate.
Relaxing pelvic floor muscles, an exercise preparing for labour
When you’re preparing for labour, remember to practice releasing your pelvic floor muscles. It’s very important in the second phase of labour.
In this case, we can again practise relaxing pelvic floor muscles with breathing. Try doing it the other way around this time: activate with in-breath and release with out-breath to create a habit of relaxing, releasing and excreting with exhalation.
Position: Sit comfortably, lie down or do the exercise in a standing position.
Preparation: Concentrate and become aware of your pelvic floor muscles.
– Tighten their front parts a little, as if you wanted to stop peeing (don’t actually do this
when you really have to pee).
– Concentrate on their back parts, around the anus, as if you wanted to avoid passing gas.
Actually, pelvic floor muscles are between those two areas and with practice, you will be
able to isolate them (don’t worry if you can’t feel much at first, that’s normal).
Exercise:
First, breathe a few times, still concentrating on pelvic floor muscles. With the next in -breath, begin to activate the muscles by tightening and drawing them up while repeating in your mind a mantra: SA TA NA MA (or simply count 1, 2, 3, 4); when exhaling, keep repeating SA TA NA MA and releasing muscles with each syllable (or counting to 4).
Concentrate especially on the out-breath and on calm and steady (not instant) muscle release.
This exercise aims to create a habit for the woman, that with exhaling she relaxes, excretes, releases and births her baby.
A habit of activating pelvic floor muscles everyday
Be aware of your pelvic floor muscles and activate them when you walk, stand, sit. When you lift something from the floor, get up or carry something heavy (remember that in pregnancy you shouldn’t carry very heavy things).
As often as you activate pelvic floor muscles, release and relax them, too.
Pelvic floor muscles after birth
The first exercise that you can do after birth is also relaxing pelvic floor muscles. When you’re still bleeding, relax them, allow yourself to let go. When you feel ready, begin to activate these muscles again, just as you did during labour and birth.
Remember to activate pelvic floor muscles when you lift something and carry your baby.
Every time you put your baby down to sleep or pick it up from the crib, feel the inner support of your pelvic floor muscles.
When you will create a habit of activating and relaxing pelvic floor muscles for the time of labour and birth, it will be much easier for you to continue with it after birth and this will help you get back in shape faster.
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