Should You Do Pelvic Floor Exercises When Pregnant

Pelvic floor exercises help to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor.

Should you do pelvic floor exercises when pregnant.

Kegels can also help to relieve discomfort caused through pelvic pain. Photograph courtesy of getty images. Why pelvic floor exercises are important. There are many tools out there to help you keep track.

Do this throughout pregnancy as long as you don t have pelvic floor symptoms such as painful intercourse or urinary urgency. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground about. While pregnant it is a good idea to do pelvic floor exercises three times a day. Basic pelvic floor exercises maintain muscle tone in the pelvis and promote recovery after pregnancy and delivery.

How to do pelvic floor exercises. Week 36 38 kegels as you can tell practicing your pelvic floor exercises are vital in your third trimester. These muscles come under great strain in pregnancy and childbirth. Performing kegel exercises during pregnancy is an effective way to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and help prevent incontinence pelvic organ prolapse and assist with labor and delivery.

This helps to reduce or avoid stress incontinence after pregnancy. At the same time draw in your vagina as if you re gripping a tampon and your urethra as if to stop the flow of urine. During your pregnancy your pelvic floor muscles will loosen due to hormonal changes in your body. The pelvic floor consists of layers of muscles that stretch like a supportive hammock from the pubic bone in front to the end of the backbone.

All pregnant women should do pelvic floor exercises even if you re young and not suffering from stress incontinence now. Pelvic floor exercises can also prevent prolapse which is where the pelvic organs drop down into the vagina hay smith and dumoulin 2006. Close up your bottom as if you re trying to stop yourself going to the toilet. Doing pelvic floor exercises will strengthen these muscles and help you control any accidents.

Make sure you keep track of them and this will aid in a healthy delivery and post partum experience. Pelvic floor exercises aren t limited to just kegels and they can be helpful even if you re not pregnant yet. Elvie is a great app that helps you train your pelvic floor daily and helps you record your progress. Pelaez et al 2013.

Practicing your pelvic floor exercises can help strengthen the pelvic muscles and prevent or correct most cases of pregnancy induced incontinence. In fact there is even an app for that. This loosening along with your growing baby pressing on your bladder may cause you to leak urine when you cough laugh sneeze or exercise. Doing pelvic floor muscle exercises kegels from early pregnancy onwards can stop those accidental wees in late pregnancy and within six months of childbirth.