Whether you’re in the process of trying to conceive (TTC), you’re already pregnant or you’re newly postpartum and trying to adjust to the new normal, your pelvic floor is doing way more than you realize to support your body through these changes. And, hey, while your pelvic floor might not be something you think about on a daily basis, it’s plays an essential role in your health and it deserves a little TLC.
So, how do you know how to strengthen your pelvic floor? And why does it matter?
“Pelvic health is important because it supports vital organs such as the bladder, uterus and rectum. It’s essential for maintaining urinary and fecal continence, plays a significant role in sexual function and satisfaction, and contributes to core stability and overall posture. A healthy pelvic floor is essential to an individual’s quality of life and daily functioning,” Dr. Janet Choi, a double-board certified reproductive endocrinologist and OB/GYN and the Chief Medical Officer of Progyny, shared.
Besides helping you with your day-to-day health, the pelvic floor can be the key to a smoother pregnancy and labor—and also help with your recovery after you give birth. By doing pelvic floor exercises throughout the 40 weeks of pregnancy, you will feel like your body is prepared for giving birth, recovering during the postpartum period, and eventually, when you’re ready, having sex.
We’ll help you understand what your pelvic floor is, how to strengthen your pelvic floor, and when you might want to seek help with the topics below:
- Understanding the Pelvic Floor
- How To Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor During TTC
- How To Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor During Pregnancy
- How To Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor Postpartum
Understanding the Pelvic Floor
Sure, you’ve heard of a kegel exercise before, but your downstairs is much more powerful than that! Your pelvic floor is composed of the muscles and connective tissue that support the organs in your pelvis. This included your bladder, large intestine or bowel and your internal reproductive organs, like your uterus. Your pelvic floor is like the glue that holds all these organs in place. It also allows you to be flexible when you’re doing things like using the bathroom or having sexual intercourse.
However, when your pelvic floor isn’t as strong as it should be, you will quickly notice it affecting your daily activities. If you have pelvic floor dysfunction, you won’t be able to effectively relax your muscles to use the bathroom and might even experience unexpected leaking. On the other hand, a weak pelvic floor might also feel like they have more trouble being comfortable while using the restroom and finding themselves constipated or feeling pain when peeing.
If your mom, friend or older sister has ever said she pees a little when she sneezes super hard or jumps—it’s most likely because she has a weak pelvic floor due to bringing babies into the world.
After childbirth, many may find that they have pelvic floor weakness or experience urine leakage. “Pelvic organ prolapse is another concern, where pelvic organs descend, causing a bulging sensation. Sexual dysfunction, including pain during intercourse or reduced sensation, can also occur due to pelvic floor weakness or tightness,” Dr. Choi explained. Having a strong pelvic floor can improve your sexual health and urinary control and can help with one of the most difficult things women go through postpartum. After you give birth, your pelvic floor takes a major hit. The muscles and tissues are weakened and strained as you bring your baby into the world. Knowing how to strengthen your pelvic floor before and after childbirth can make your postpartum journey a little easier.
Strengthening Your Pelvic Floor During TTC
Impact of TTC on Pelvic Floor Health
We know there are so many things that will be running through your mind during TTC, like tracking your ovulation or making sure you’re financially and mentally ready for a baby, but don’t forget about your pelvic floor.
As we’ve mentioned, your pelvic floor is super important when it comes to having sex. When you’re trying to conceive, think about it like your training session for your pelvic floor. If you’re having pain during TTC, it might be linked to your pelvic floor, which can be an issue as you move forward with pregnancy.
One study even found that a stronger pelvic floor is associated with higher rates of sexual activity, which you want if you’re trying for a baby. Focusing on your pelvic health now is like giving yourself the best possible start you can. Kerry Tobin, a pelvic floor therapist, explained that preparing your pelvic floor for pregnancy helps with circulation and blood flow in the pelvis, helping prepare you for a more comfortable pregnancy, a more confident birth and a better postpartum recovery.
Exercises to Try
“Kegel exercises are a very well-known exercise for the pelvic floor. They can be beneficial for some women in strengthening the pelvic floor muscles, which support the bladder, uterus, and bowels,” Stacy Orsborn, CPT, co-founder and president of fitness for VICTRESS MVMT, said.
A step-by-step guide to performing Kegel exercises:
Step 1: Find the correct muscles. One way to do this is by stopping your pee midstream. This can help you understand where your pelvic floor muscles are and what they feel like to “clench” or tighten.
Step 2: Then, use the right technique. One way to practice kegels is to picture yourself sitting on a marble. Try to imagine picking up the marble by tightening those pelvic muscles. Do this in increments of three seconds as you breathe in and out.
Step 3: Focus, focus, focus. Really concentrate on only using your pelvic floor muscles and not engaging your core or thigh muscles.
Step 4: Repeat. Perform these exercises at least three times a day and in sets of 10 to 15.
But Orsborn recommends approaching these exercises with a little dose of caution.
“Only some women need kegels, and in some cases, these exercises can be less effective or even counterproductive if performed incorrectly or unnecessarily. As a fitness professional, I always recommend that women consult a pelvic floor and core specialist before starting Kegels,” she said. “An internal examination by a specialist can determine whether Kegels are appropriate or other exercises or treatments might be more beneficial. The pelvic floor is complex, and ensuring that the right muscles are targeted correctly is crucial because every woman is unique.”
Besides kegels, you can try deep breathing exercises, yoga poses for pelvic tilts to help strengthen your pelvic floor health during TTC. Also remember to stay super hydrated, eat a balanced diet and avoid straining your body through exercise or lifting heavy objects.
Strengthening Your Pelvic Floor During Pregnancy
Many women experience pelvic pain during pregnancy. While it’s common, you don’t have to suck it up and “live with it.” And to support your body for labor and recovery, you shouldn’t live with it—you should work to heal and strengthen this all-important part of your body.
Along with understanding the impact of pregnancy on your pelvic floor health and performing exercises that can help, you should seek help from a pelvic floor therapist that can determine exactly what is causing your pain or discomfort. Sometimes the pain can be tied to other areas of your body, like your hips. So it’s important to understand what is the cause of your pain through a professional.
Impact of Pregnancy on Pelvic Floor Health
Along with the changes your body undergoes during pregnancy, your pelvic floor is also affected. First, as you gain weight, which includes your baby’s growing weight and the weight of the placenta, larger blood volume and enlarged uterus can all put strain on your pelvic floor muscles. This can cause incontinence, which is when you leak a little urine after a cough, sneeze or laugh, or cause pelvic floor pain.
Second, the hormone relaxin is released from your placenta, which increases the flexibility of things like your pelvis. Because of this, your pelvic floor bones become looser, which could put you at a greater risk for pelvic floor dysfunction.
Exercises to Try
When it comes to pelvic floor exercises during pregnancy, you want to practice safe and effective moves. Here’s a list of some that you can do while pregnant.
- Kegel exercises: Yes, you can still do them! You can safely perform kegel exercises in all trimesters. Just make sure they’re not painful in any way. Do what feels comfortable but still effective.
- Stretching: Doing stretches or certain yoga poses, like the cat-cow, can help you strengthen your muscles safely.
- Squats: You can engage your pelvic floor muscles with squats. Just make sure you’re not doing too many or feeling weak while performing them. As your pregnancy progresses, it can also help you squat down into a chair, sit briefly, and come back up.
- Pelvic tilts: Perform these while lying on your baby, tightening your belly muscles, and bringing your lower back to the floor. Hold for about six seconds and repeat at least eight times.
All of these can be easily incorporated into your daily routine. You can dedicate ten minutes each morning or right before going to bed to these exercises. You could also practice them while sitting down at work, in traffic or watching TV. The key is to not make them feel like a chore. Incorporate them into your daily life for the most effective results.
Strengthening Your Pelvic Floor Postpartum
Now that you’ve survived pregnancy, birth and entered the postpartum phase, how do you strengthen your pelvic floor health?
Impact of Postpartum on Pelvic Floor Health
Tobin says a big part of how your pelvic floor is impacted in postpartum depends on your birth experience. “What was birth like for you? Did you have a cesarean? That can impact your pelvic floor in many ways such as scar tissue restriction connections or core integration. Did you have a tear?,” she shares. “When there is a tear, that scar tissue can impact the movement of the pelvic floor or cause pain. Did you have a traumatic birth and it’s hard for you to even be present in that area of your body right now? Overall, the biggest thing that I often find is needed postpartum is to re-establish the connection between the pelvic floor and the brain. It’s almost like there is a long distance phone call happening between the brain and pelvic floor and we need to start getting them communicating again,” Tobin said.
Your pelvic floor muscles have worked so hard during pregnancy and childbirth that they deserve recovery just like the rest of your body. During birth, your pelvic floor muscles are stretched way beyond their original length. They may even tear in some cases, but we hope that’s not the case for you. The recovery process varies from mother to mother, but it is common for most women to feel their muscles weaken or in some extreme cases, to even experience pelvic organ prolapse.
This is when one or most of your pelvic organs drop from their regular position, making a bulge in your vagina. This can cause a sense of heaviness, pressure or discomfort in your pelvic area. You could also still or start to experience incontinence as your muscles have weakened. We know all that sounds scary, but with the right approach, you can gradually strengthen your pelvic floor muscles postpartum. But remember, pelvic prolapse is very serious and often scary. Always, always, always talk to your OB/GYN or a physical therapist before performing any sort of exercises.
Exercises to Try
The best thing you can start with is super gentle kegel exercises. Only do these when you feel ready and able. Usually, a few days or weeks after birth would be a good time to start. But it all depends on how you feel! Don’t rush anything. As the weeks go on, try increasing the intensity of your kegels. You can also start to slowly introduce the other exercises you did during TTC and pregnancy, like pelvic tilts, stretching and squats. Stay consistent with these exercises and create a schedule or dedicated times to perform them.
Just remember that you can take all of this at your own pace. While you want to strengthen your pelvic floor, you don’t want to injure yourself further.
Keeping your pelvic floor muscles healthy at every stage of your journey to motherhood is essential. From TTC and pregnancy all the way through postpartum, these muscles are vital to the health of your internal reproductive organs, bladder, and bowel. By incorporating pelvic floor exercises into your daily routine, you will feel your pelvic floor getting stronger. If you want to err on the side of caution, you can even consult with a pelvic floor therapist.
Orsborn explained that pelvic floor therapists can walk you through how to perform exercises that are catered to your body’s needs. “It’s about finding the right balance—strengthening when necessary and knowing when relaxation and release are more beneficial,” Orsborn said. “Listen to your body and your intuition.” Make sure you’re paying attention if your body feels discomfort doing any stretches or exercises as they might hurt you more than benefit you.
Your pelvic health is worth it, and understanding how to strengthen your pelvic floor is a great place to start.
