Why Pelvic Floor Health Matters During Pregnancy

Ladies - ever heard of your pelvic floor? Are you familiar with Kegels exercises? The pelvic floor is the band of muscles you are targeting when doing these exercises.

Ever struggle with controlling your bladder or bowel movements? That’s your pelvic floor. A new study analyzing 25,000 medical records of adult women found that 32% had a least one pelvic floor diagnosis.

Additionally, during pregnancy your pelvic floor stretches to make room for your growing baby. The muscles become weak over time from being weighted down.

But first…

What is my pelvic floor?

If this is a new term for you, your pelvic floor is the group of muscles that stretch from the bottom of your abdomen, to your tailbone, to your pubic bone. They support the organs in your pelvis including your bladder, bowel, and uterus.

The pelvic floor muscles are what you use to stop from peeing, pooping, or gassing when you don’t want to. Your vaginal muscles are also included in your pelvic floor and are using during sex and when giving birth vaginally.

Why is pelvic floor health so important during pregnancy?

Most women are not educated on the importance of keeping their pelvic floor strong before, during, and after pregnancy.

Your pelvic floor muscles work extra hard during pregnancy - supporting the weight of your baby. A healthy and strong pelvic floor will make you better prepared for labor, meaning less stress to your baby.

Whether your give birth vaginally or by c-section, you’re pelvic floor muscles will be impacted.

During a vaginal birth, the pelvic floor muscles experience considerable stretching and strain. During a c-section, surgery through multiple muscle layers can lead to a slower recovery and a weakened abdominal wall.

While you can exercise your pelvic floor during pregnancy, it’s best to seek out a pelvic floor specialist who can provide guidance and modifications to these exercises.

What can I do to improve my pelvic floor?

If you are currently pregnant, find a pelvic floor specialist in your area. Most are licensed physical therapists who will show you the proper techniques to get you started.

Other ways to improve your pelvic floor health include:

• Maintaining a healthy weight before, during, and after pregnancy.

• Avoid certain abdominal exercises during pregnancy that put too much pressure on your abdomen (check out my pregnancy e-book which goes into detail about these exercises).

• Allow time for rest and recovery after exercise.

• Engage in daily pelvic floor exercises to strengthen your muscles. i.e. Kegels

One of the first things I did postpartum was research a pelvic floor specialist through my insurance. It only took me one visit working with a specialist to show me how to target my pelvic floor muscles and provide me with exercises.

I can say that within about a month postpartum, my lower abdomen pouch from pregnancy had significantly gone down and strengthened.

This can be a big area of concern for most women postpartum, and traditional crunches and abdominal exercises will not target these deep tissue muscles.

For more helpful prenatal information on all things health and nutrition, check out “My Fruitful Pregnancy: A Complete & Easy Guide to Pregnancy Nutrition” available on Amazon.