Stretching and strengthening your pelvic floor muscles during pregnancy can help relieve your aches and pains and alleviate stress and tension too.
Exercise for pelvic floor during pregnancy.
Think of your pelvic floor as a diamond that runs from sits bone to sits bone bony parts of your bum and from the front of your pubic bone to the back of your bum anus.
8 great pelvic floor stretches to do during pregnancy.
Pelaez et al 2013.
More tips for exercise during pregnancy.
Doing pelvic floor muscle exercises kegels from early pregnancy onwards can stop those accidental wees in late pregnancy and within six months of childbirth.
Doing pelvic floor exercises will strengthen these muscles and help you control any accidents.
Exercise should make you feel good gently increase your fitness and be fun.
During pregnancy and after childbirth your pelvic floor muscles are lengthened and weakened.
Hay smith et al 2008.
Kegel exercises are pelvic floor exercises.
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.
If any exercise causes pain stop it immediately or advise the instructor if you are in a class.
This can cause incontinence.
If you strengthen your pelvic floor then you will be helping to prevent or reduce the severity of incontinence.
What does my pelvic floor do during pregnancy.
Pelvic floor stretches will also help you have an easier delivery and decrease your risk of urinary incontinence later on.
During your pregnancy your pelvic floor muscles will loosen due to hormonal changes in your body.
Prolonged bouncing as this can overstretch the pelvic floor muscles.
This loosening along with your growing baby pressing on your bladder may cause you to leak urine when you cough laugh sneeze or exercise.
Pelvic floor exercises can also prevent prolapse which is where the pelvic organs drop down into the vagina hay smith and dumoulin 2006.
The best pelvic floor exercises during pregnancy strengthen your abs and pelvic floor now for an easier delivery and a lower risk of incontinence later.
