Should You Do Pelvic Floor Exercises When Pregnant

Why pelvic floor exercises are important.

Should you do pelvic floor exercises when pregnant.

Hay smith et al 2008. These muscles come under great strain in pregnancy and childbirth. There are many tools out there to help you keep track. Pelvic floor exercises can also prevent prolapse which is where the pelvic organs drop down into the vagina hay smith and dumoulin 2006.

Practicing your pelvic floor exercises can help strengthen the pelvic muscles and prevent or correct most cases of pregnancy induced incontinence. This loosening along with your growing baby pressing on your bladder may cause you to leak urine when you cough laugh sneeze or exercise. Pelaez et al 2013. Pelvic floor exercises help to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor.

Basic pelvic floor exercises maintain muscle tone in the pelvis and promote recovery after pregnancy and delivery. Elvie is a great app that helps you train your pelvic floor daily and helps you record your progress. All pregnant women should do pelvic floor exercises even if you re young and not suffering from stress incontinence now. 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. Close up your bottom as if you re trying to stop yourself going to the toilet. 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.

In fact there is even an app for that. How to do pelvic floor exercises. At first do this exercise quickly tightening and releasing the. 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. 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. Week 36 38 kegels as you can tell practicing your pelvic floor exercises are vital in your third trimester. Practicing these exercises will help you feel connected to what happens inside your body as well as increase your strength and resistance to prevent problems related to this area.

During your pregnancy your pelvic floor muscles will loosen due to hormonal changes in your body. Do this throughout pregnancy as long as you don t have pelvic floor symptoms such as painful intercourse or urinary urgency. 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.