Pelvic Floor Exercise During Pregnancy
Keeping your pelvic floor strong during pregnancy is a great way of keeping you active whilst pregnant.
Try these up until 34 weeks of pregnancy:
1) Long hold of the pelvic floor
Engage pelvic floor by imagining you are stopping passing wind or passing urine. Hold for 5 seconds & release.
Tips:
a) Keep breathing
b) Try not to activate other muscles (e.g tummy, bottom, legs)
c) If you feel strong increase to a 10 second hold
Repeat 10 times, 3 times daily
Try it in different positions:
sitting
standing
four point kneeling
side lying
2) Quick contractions of the pelvic floor
Engage, release, engage, release
Repeat 20 times, 3 times daily
Tip: Ensure you feel the release before you engage again and keep breathing
Try these after 34 weeks of pregnancy :
3) Down training of the pelvic floor
The focus is down training to work on 'relaxing the pelvic floor'
Try this: 1 second contraction, 5 second relaxation.
Repeat 10 times, 3 times daily
Tip: Try doing the contraction on the exhale of your breath
4) Perineal massage
Your perineum is the area between your vaginal opening and the rectum. This area stretches a lot during childbirth and sometimes tears.
It will help you to become familiar with the feeling of pressure or stretching of the perineum that you will feel when your baby is being born.
You can commence perineal massage from 34 weeks of pregnancy until you deliver.
Daily perineal massage for 5 minutes can help:
Get your pelvic floor used to stretching
Soften the perineal area in preparation for delivery
Decrease chances of perineal tears
**see our perineal massage flyer for more details
If you have any of the following concerns please contact our Women's Health Physiotherapists :
Whether you are doing your pelvic floor exercise correctly
What other exercises are best during pregnancy
Perineal massage
Incontinence
Diastasis Recti
These exercises might raise a lot of questions. Get the answers you are looking for by talking to a women's health physiotherapy specialist. Request a free call.
