Pregnancy & Birth

Essential Tips for Maintaining Pelvic Floor Health for Expectant and New Moms

Author by Raazi
Reviewed By Raazi
Last Edited : January 1, 1970

Pregnancy is a life-changing event for women. They prepare to welcome a new life into the world where they must pay attention to their health. One of the most critical aspects of a healthy pregnancy is pelvic floor health. Pelvic floor muscles play a vital role in supporting the bladder, uterus, and bowel.

The care of pelvic floor health becomes very critical during conception. So, women need to understand the importance of pelvic floor health exercises during pregnancy.

They should also learn ways to improve their pelvic floor health to ensure a healthy conception and postpartum recovery.

Strengthening the pelvic floor may improve sexual satisfaction and recovery postpartum.
Proper pelvic floor care can help minimize the risk of perineal tearing during vaginal delivery.
Pelvic floor exercises can positively impact overall posture, alleviating upper back and neck strain.
Early pelvic floor strengthening may reduce the likelihood of developing chronic pelvic pain conditions.
Regular pelvic floor engagement helps maintain pelvic organ alignment, reducing prolapse risks long-term.
Consistent exercises can enhance balance and stability, vital for managing a shifting center of gravity during pregnancy.

This article addresses aspects including lifestyle behaviors to manage incontinence during pregnancy and after delivery and the functions of pelvic floor muscles. It will elaborate where to go for help if you have sexual pain, pelvic organ rupture, or bladder issues.

So, read it once for a better understanding of every aspect.

Identifying Pelvic Health Issues: What to Look For

Every woman experiences some sort of incontinence after the first delivery. Some women may not have any symptoms during their first pregnancy. But the number of children she has increases her risk of bladder, and bowel control as well as pelvic floor health issues.

There are certain signs which can help you detect pelvic or bowel problems. Some of those are:

Urine leakage while sneezing, coughing, or doing any kind of exercise
The desire to urinate or bowel yourself immediately
Leakage of urine till traveling to the toilet
Facing trouble getting up to urinate
The feeling of protrusion, pressure, or a heaviness feeling in your vagina

The Continence Foundation of Australia advises that if you suffer any of these symptoms, seek help right away.

You can treat pelvic health problems like prolapse, poor bladder, and bowel movement only with correct and timely care.

Functions of Pelvic Floor Muscles

The base or floor of the pelvis, the pelvic floor, is made up of many muscles and other tissues. These layers extend from the pubic bone to the tailbone and from side to side, like a hammock.

Some major functions of pelvic floor muscles are;

They assist the bladder, uterus (womb), and bowel
They regulate bowel and bladder movements
They effectively connect with your back and abdominal muscles to assist and stabilize the spine while you lift, move, or bear weight
Helps with conception, labor, delivery, as well as sexual function

How to Improve Pelvic Floor Health?

Pregnancy is a remarkable experience in the life of a woman. During this stage, her body undergoes daily changes to accommodate the developing fetus. In this context, there is a strong need to address the significance of maintaining pelvic floor health during pregnancy.

These are some basic activities you may do to avoid bladder problems and improve pelvic floor health.

Drink More Water

Try to have more fluid intake if you are facing bladder issues. Many things come under the term fluids, like milk, and fruit juices, but you are supposed to maintain an adequate intake of water. You can also take some foods containing some fluid content in them, such as fruit, yogurt, custard, and soup. Drink fluids daily and throughout the day. Do it particularly when it is hot outside and you are working out.

Reduce your intake of coffee, tea, and sugary and fizzy drinks as their intake can irritate the bladder and disrupt its functioning. Lastly, stay away from alcohol.

If you struggle with bladder control, don’t cut back on your fluid intake. The reason is that limiting fluid intake can make urine concentrate and increase the urgency to go to the bathroom.

Eat Well

Consume a lot of fiber to maintain the regularity of bowel movements. Plant foods like fruit, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds are rich in fiber. Try to have fiber from a range of such sources.

When you are taking more fiber, try to combine it with more fluid intake to prevent constipation. To help your body adapt, slowly increase your fiber intake.

Try to take 2 to 3 servings of fresh fruits, 5 servings of vegetables, and 5 servings of cereals and bread each day.

Exercise Regularly

Try to exercise every day for a minimum of thirty minutes after getting approval from the physician. Physical exercise, like brisk walking, stimulates bowel motility. So, it is advised to have moderate physical activity every day.

Keep Your Pelvic Floor Muscles Active

Examine your pelvic floor muscles and make sure you’re activating them properly
Routinely work these muscles
Exhale when you carry heavy objects. Don’t hold your breath
Elevate your pelvic floor whenever you cough or sneeze

Implement Proper Toilet Tips

You may need to use the bathroom more often during gestation. This is a normal thing because the baby grows and takes up more space in the pelvis.

Pregnancy hormones also affect this frequent urge. Here are certain measures you can follow to maintain bowel movement.

Just use the bathroom when needed 4-6 times every day
Avoid developing the habit of visiting the bathroom “just in case”. The supporting fact is that it will cause you to use the bathroom more frequently and lower the capacity of your bladder.
When you first have the urge to go to the bathroom, do not resist it
Feel relaxed, lean forward, and rest your forearms on your thighs while sitting on the toilet seat
Place your feet up on a footstool so that your knees are higher than your hips

The Importance of Pelvic Floor Exercise

Hormones are distributed across the entire body during conception. With the growth of the baby, these hormones cause the muscles to become stretched and stiff. The increasing size and weight of the baby exert extra pressure on the pelvic floor muscles.

It prevents muscles from maintaining the appropriate positioning of the pelvic floor organs.

These pelvic floor muscles play an important role in the delivery process. They extend and open to allow the baby’s birth during a vaginal delivery by aiding toward the baby along the birth canal. Effective pelvic floor muscles enable people to maintain their balance.

They also improve pelvic organ support and speed up postpartum recovery. Strengthening the pelvic floor muscles can reduce the risk of incontinence, particularly during pregnancy, and promote quicker recovery after giving birth.

This strength can be achieved by moving pelvic floor muscles and keeping them active.

So, perform pelvic floor health exercises to gain maximum benefits during pregnancy and after giving birth.

The Strategies to Perform Pelvic Floor Exercises

These exercises give maximum benefits only when performed in the right ways. So, always go with the right approach.

Find Pelvic Floor Muscles

Relax your shoulders when you sit up straight. Relax your abdomen, thighs, and buttocks. By moving the muscles, you can sense the different areas of your pelvic floor.

Try to halt the flow of urine by contracting your urethra from the front side and then relax.

Pull your vagina up into your pelvis and then relax.

Then, simultaneously elevate the muscles in your pelvic floor surrounding your urethra, vagina, and anus. Retain your buttocks and legs relax.

It produces a strong sensation of lift every time these muscles are squeezed. Then relax them and do this twice to ensure that you have picked up the right muscles.

Exercise Pelvic Floor Muscles

When you lift and squeeze your urethra, vagina, and anus, do the same with your pelvic floor muscles. Hold your lift and squeeze while inhaling.

Try to hold them for three seconds before releasing them. With time, work up to holding for 5-8 seconds.

Before performing the exercise again, give your pelvic floor muscles the same amount of rest as you did the first time.

Your hands, feet, thighs, bottom, and shoulders should all be kept relaxed.

If you’re unable to feel your muscles contract, alter your position and attempt again. You can perform the exercises while lying down, standing up, or sitting up. However, if you are in the 16th week of conception, lay on your side.

Repeat these steps three to five times in one set, at the start. And, when you become efficient enough to perform appropriately, make 8 to 12 repetitions in one set.

Try to perform three sets daily, in multiple postures.

You can also perform a minimum of 8 to 12 short lifts of the pelvic floor before or after your pelvic floor holds.

So, perform these exercises during conception to enjoy optimal pelvic floor health postpartum.

Pelvic Floor Health Complications After Birth

Several things increase the probability of pelvic floor problems after pregnancy. A few of them are:

Utilization of forceps or a vacuum device to get assistance with the birth
Presence of big tears with stitches around the vagina
Baby having a birth weight of more than 4kg
Long pushing stage of labor

If you are facing any of these symptoms, pay extra effort to the recovery of the pelvic floor. Here are some ways to ensure pelvic floor recovery;

Get a start with mild pelvic floor muscle contraction by lying down. Hold the position for three seconds, then fifteen seconds, and repeat it thrice. When you get comfortable with the process, lengthen the duration and frequency of holds.
Take rest or lie down to relax the pelvic floor muscles.
Try to do icing in the perineum area. This area is between the vulva and the anus. When you ice it, it decreases the probability of pain and swelling at the vaginal surface.

After childbirth, the pelvic floor muscles require some time to recover. Some women take three to six months while others take longer duration. So, early pelvic floor exercises are advised to prevent long-term complications.

Pelvic Floor Prolapse: A Major Pelvic Floor Complication

When your uterus, bladder, or bowel becomes down into the vagina rather than resting in its normal position, it is known as a pelvic organ prolapse. Many women feel as if everything is going to fall out.

If you experience a heavy, pulling, or painful sensation in the vaginal area, you may have pelvic organ prolapse. These symptoms often get worse at night and better in the morning.

How does Pelvic Organ Prolapse Occur?

Pelvic organs are supported by ligaments from above and pelvic floor muscles from, and below respectively. S, pelvic organs may begin to sink if these supporting structures become weak. There are multiple causes of their weakness. Some of them are:

Weakened pelvic floor muscles
Conception and childbirth
Obesity
Strenuous exercise
Lifting a heavy weight
Straining to use your bowel
Resuming physical activities or workouts too early after giving birth

Safe Ways for the Condition

Do pelvic floor exercises frequently in shorter sessions. Your muscles may become fatigued and the prolapse may get worse if you perform too many workouts at once.
Lying down can be better than sitting or standing. Perform activities even while lying for 10 minutes for a whole day. For example, practice breastfeeding in a sleeping position. It takes the weight of the pelvic organs away from the pelvic floor.
Leave some intervals between the workouts, to relax muscles. Take more fluids and keep your fiber intake proper.
Avoid heavy weight lifting. Try not to lift anything carrying more weight than your baby. If you do so, try lifting your pelvic floor muscles too.
Avoid high-impact exercises like squatting or walking for long distances. Start any workout mildly, and when you feel that your pelvic floor muscles are getting stronger, shift to more intensity and longer durations.
Learn the ways to perform abdominal bracing without putting any downward pressure on your pelvic floor.

Association between Pelvic Floor Dysfunctioning with Hemorrhoids

There is an association between pelvic floor issues and hemorrhoids, as both conditions can be caused or exacerbated by similar factors.

Veins in the anal cushions that protrude from the anus are known as hemorrhoids. These can be seen outside of your anus and are typically observed as lumps. They cause severe stress and pain. When the surface of veins is injured, hemorrhoids can bleed and produce itching.

Pelvic floor dysfunction can contribute to hemorrhoids in several ways. For example, weak pelvic floor muscles can make it harder to empty the bowels, leading to constipation and straining during bowel movements. This can increase the risk of developing hemorrhoids.

Additionally, if the pelvic floor muscles are too tense or tight, this can make it difficult for a stool to pass through the rectum, also leading to straining and increased pressure on the veins.

The Treatment Ways of Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids during pregnancy and after childbirth are just temporary. They usually shrink or disappear entirely without therapy. Pelvic floor exercise helps prevent hemorrhoids from getting worse. If this condition does not go away on its own, bleed, or appear unpleasant, consult a physician immediately.

To help with the condition, you should take certain measures. Such as;

Perform pelvic floor exercises.
Ensure a good intake of water and fiber in your diet. It makes stool soft and easier to pass.
Avoid straining when going to the toilet. It exerts more pressure on hemorrhoids and makes them swell more.
Use ointments prescribed by the physician. It helps to relieve pain and swelling. Contact a healthcare expert, in case of any complications.

What to do for Pelvic Health Problems?

Consult with a physiotherapist if you feel:

No change in bladder control or pelvic muscle contraction despite performing exercise for at least three weeks.
Pain in the back or vaginal soreness.
No change in muscle movement like holding or relaxing them properly.

A pelvic health physiotherapist or nurse continence specialist can help you if you are experiencing discomfort, finding it difficult to contract your pelvic floor muscles, having issues with bladder or bowel control, or experiencing a bulge in your vagina.

Takeaway

Pelvic floor health is a crucial aspect of a healthy pregnancy and postpartum recovery. Pelvic floor muscles support bladder and bowel function and play a significant role in sexual function.

During pregnancy and childbirth, these muscles can become weakened, leading to problems such as urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. However, pelvic floor exercises, maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding constipation, and practicing good posture can all help improve pelvic floor health during pregnancy.

By taking care of their pelvic floor health, women can ensure a smoother pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum recovery.

Raazi

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