Pregnancy & Child Birth Fitness - Pelvic Floor Exercises - Huggies Guide

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A fit and healthy pregnancy - Your pelvic floor

Pelvic Floor Muscles and Childbirth

As each week passes during your pregnancy your baby and uterus grow and place more pressure on your bladder. Your baby’s sudden movements, especially in the latter stages of pregnancy, can exacerbate this pressure on the bladder. If this is not your first pregnancy you may notice your weakened pelvic floor more.

Why do I need to strengthen my pelvic floor muscles during pregnancy?

Having strong pelvic floor muscles reduces the risk of urine leakage when you sneeze, cough, laugh, exercise or lift heavy objects.
If your pelvic floor muscles are strong before you give birth it will make it easier to regain control of these muscles after delivery.

It’s a fact of life that one in three women who have a baby will experience bladder control problems. Weakened pelvic floor muscles resulting from childbirth are a common cause. This means that everyday actions, such as exercise or even just laughing coughing or sneezing, may trigger some leakage.

Pelvic floor exercises are very effective in strengthening these muscles and therefore reducing the problem.

Exercise Your Pelvic Floor Muscles

Pelvic floor exercises can be done anywhere and at any time…

Simply sit, stand or lie with your legs slightly apart.
Tighten the ring of muscles around your front and back passages, drawing the muscle up inside.
Hold this position for as many seconds as you can and then slowly let go.
Try this exercise up to ten repeats, three times a day.
Each week try to increase the number of contractions and the time they are held.

Remember try not to use your stomach, bottom or leg muscles and don’t hold your breath. Also don’t go overboard on your first attempt, gradually increase your exercises.

Finding the Correct Muscles

You can identify the correct muscles to exercise by imagining you are trying to stop yourself passing wind. Another way is to start and stop the flow of your urine stream.

(Note: Stopping the flow of urine is only a way to identify the correct muscles. It is not advisable to perform pelvic floor exercises while urinating).

It may take several tries to locate these muscles. See your doctor if you continue to have difficulty.

Other Things You Can Do

In addition to pelvic floor exercises, there are several ways you can manage occasional bladder control problems:

Watch your weight.
Avoid constipation.
Drink sufficient amounts of liquids.
Eliminate or reduce alcohol intake and avoid beverages that contain caffeine.
Avoid citrus fruits and juices, tomato based and spicy foods.

Have a positive attitude about yourself. Don’t allow a minor bladder control problem change your lifestyle.

Pantyliners and Pads

While your condition is being improved, try Poise^® pantyliners which are 3 times more absorbent than the average ‘girlie’ liner to keep you feeling confident and in control. POISE® Pantyliners and Pads are small and discreet and have been specifically designed for women with light bladder control problems.