Kiddipedia
According to Physiotherapist and Pilates Instructor, Chloe de Winter from Go Chlo Pilates
I’m sure you’ve heard the words “pelvic floor” mentioned here and there. Perhaps, you’ve been told to “do your kegels at the traffic lights” at some stage in your life. But the truth is, there is a lot to know and understand about the pelvic floor and it becomes incredibly important in pregnancy and postpartum. This is one of the reasons I developed a dedicated prenatal and postnatal Pilates section on my Pilates on-demand website Go Chlo Pilates and included different educational and strengthening videos specifically for the pelvic floor. So, allow me to break it down for you!
What is the pelvic floor?
The pelvic floor is a group of muscles in the pubic region that support the abdominal and pelvic organs. Think of the pelvic floor like a hammock of muscles that provide support for everything on top of it which for women, includes the vagina and the uterus. An important function of the pelvic floor muscles is controlling continence, the ability to control the release of urine, faeces and wind. These muscles work especially hard when under stress for example when we cough, sneeze, jump or run. In addition, these muscles assist in sexual function for both men and women.
The pelvic floor, being a group of muscles, can be strengthened like any other part of the body. If you want strong biceps, you can grab a weight and do a bicep curl. If you want a strong pelvic floor, you can practice pelvic floor strengthening exercises. The pelvic floor is complex though and we should think about it’s strength as being the ability to both contract and relax these muscles. We are all different and so are our pelvic floors! Some are strong, some weak, some overactive and some tight!
The importance of the pelvic floor muscles in pregnancy
During pregnancy, a lot of changes occur in the body and many of these can affect the function of the pelvic floor. One such change is the increase in the load bearing down on the pelvic floor. This is due to the increase of weight caused by the growing baby and increase in fluid. As well as this, the pressure within that cavity also increases and with more pressure, comes increased load. The pelvic floor, our hammock of support, has to work harder to counteract this load as it is therefore important to strengthen the muscles to manage this. When we don’t adequately strengthen the pelvic floor, we can be left vulnerable to experiencing incontinence or a prolapse, where the pelvic organs bulge into the vagina.
As a result, it’s recommended that pelvic floor strengthening exercises should be performed daily throughout pregnancy! I’ll take you through that soon.
Pelvic floor in the postnatal period
After birth, you can resume pelvic floor exercises immediately. For some, it can be difficult to feel muscle activation at first but it’s still important to do as it increases blood flow to the area and stimulates the nerves to fire. Many people experience some incontinence after birth but it’s important to remember that while it’s common, it is something that can be treated with appropriate intervention and pelvic floor rehabilitation.
Time for us to do some pelvic floor exercises!
- Begin by finding a comfortable position either sitting with legs crossed, on a chair or laying down. Make sure you are in a calm environment where you can tune into what your body is feeling.
- Take 3 deep breaths into the belly, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. Allow your body to soften and relax.
- Then , inhale fully, and as you exhale, engage your pelvic floor like you are holding on both wee and wind and feel a drawing in sensation through the muscles.
- Exhale and allow those muscles to fully soften and release.
- Continue this, with the breath another 15 times.
- Make sure the rest of your body is soft and try and isolate the contraction to the pelvic floor muscles only.
- Repeat daily.
If you want me to talk you through this process, make sure you check out this Pelvic Floor and Breathing video on Go Chlo Pilates which guides you through the practice.
An important addition
While these exercises are so important, I still recommend that every person has an individualised pelvic floor assessment with a pelvic floor physiotherapist after birth or if they feel they are experiencing symptoms of incontinence or prolapse. The advice I am providing you with is general and often, people require individualised assessment and management.
Good luck with your pelvic floor exercises! I’m off to do mine now!
Chloe de Winter is the founder of online Pilates studio, Go Chlo Pilates.
After many years working as a physiotherapist and master Pilates instructor, she decided to bring her knowledge to the online community.
With a dedicated prenatal and postnatal Pilates section, the platform includes over 200 videos of different lengths, levels and styles to suit every body!
Sign up for a two week free trial today.
Website: www.gochlopilates.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gochlo_pilates/
