Articles

Key takeaways

• Your pelvic floor muscles support your organs and baby.
• Strong pelvic floor muscles can help prevent urine leaks.
• Exercises can prepare your body for birth and recovery.
• Seek help from your midwife or a physiotherapist if needed.

Why your pelvic floor matters in pregnancy

Your pelvic floor is a layered muscle. It stretches like a hammock from the front of your pelvis to the bottom of your backbone. These muscles form a broad supportive sling.

They help control your bladder and bowel. They also hold your bladder, womb, and bowel in place.

Your pelvic floor muscles surround and support all the organs in your pelvis. They are also important for your sex life.

How pregnancy affects your pelvic floor

Your pelvic floor muscles support your growing baby during pregnancy. Pregnancy and childbirth put a strain on these muscles.

They stretch during labour. This can make them weaker. Weaker muscles may not work as well as they did before your baby was born.

Benefits of pelvic floor exercises

Exercising these muscles can make them stronger. This can lower the chance of leaking urine when you cough or sneeze (stress incontinence). Doing pelvic floor exercises regularly can also help to reduce the length of labour.

Pelvic floor exercises can also help to:

• Prevent accidental urine leaks – in late pregnancy and after childbirth.
• Help prevent a condition where pelvic organs drop down into your vagina, which can cause a bulge (prolapse).
• Improve sensation during sex – if you experience less sensation due to weaker muscles.
• Support your body – strengthening these muscles now is good for birth and recovery.

You can do these exercises throughout your pregnancy and continue after your baby is born. Everyone can benefit from doing them. This is true even if you have a caesarean section.

Understanding pelvic floor dysfunction

It is common to leak urine when coughing, sneezing, or straining during pregnancy. This happens if you have weak pelvic floor muscles.

Leaking urine is a common issue. This can happen when coughing, sneezing, running or laughing. This is called stress incontinence. As discussed above, weaker pelvic floor muscles can also cause less sensation during sex and vaginal prolapse.

How to identify and contract your pelvic floor muscles

You can find your pelvic floor muscles when you go to the toilet. Try to briefly stop the flow of urine as you pass urine.

The muscles you use to do this are your pelvic floor muscles. Only do this once to help you find the right muscles.

Stopping in the middle of passing urine regularly is not good for your bladder. It may lead to an infection in your bladder or bladder tube (a urinary tract infection, or UTI).

How to perform the exercises

To do pelvic floor exercises:

1. Make yourself comfortable by sitting or lying down with your knees bent.
2. Breathe normally.
3. Squeeze in and tighten the muscles around your back passage. Imagine you are trying to stop yourself from passing wind.
4. Tighten the muscles you would use to stop yourself passing urine.
5. Now, try to squeeze and lift the muscles around your back and front passages upwards inside you. Imagine you are stopping a poo, gripping a tampon in your vagina, or stopping the flow of urine.
6. The contraction should feel like a squeeze and lift. It feels like you are closing and drawing up the back and front passages.
7. Do not clench your buttocks, hold your breath, or squeeze your legs together.

Seeking help for pelvic floor concerns

If you find pelvic floor exercises difficult or need advice, speak to a healthcare professional. You can talk to your midwife.

You can also speak to a physiotherapist who specialises in pregnancy and childbirth (an obstetric physiotherapist). Contact your local maternity hospital for guidance.

Your midwife can explain how to do pelvic floor exercises. They may refer you to a physiotherapist if you are having problems with your pelvic floor.