Prenatal Classes – Pelvic Floor Exercises
Most pregnant women are probably hearing how important it is to have strong core muscles. If you have never come across core stability exercises, Pilates, Yoga and you are pregnant for the first time, it is not easy to understand and start building muscle. Many pregnant women hear about the pelvic floor muscles and the Kegel exercise, but not many are told where they are, how to find them, and most importantly, how to train them.
So let’s keep it simple!
What is the pelvic floor?
They are a sling of muscles that sits below the bladder and extends from the base of the spine (tailbone) to the pubic bone in the forehead.
What do they do?
The main purpose of the pelvic floor muscles is to support the organs and help improve bladder/bowel control and improve or prevent any leakage.
Your pelvic floor muscles relax when you contract your bladder to let urine out.
Why are they important for pregnant women and women who have children?
The pelvic floor muscles can weaken during pregnancy as they relax from the weight of the baby and a hormone called relaxin that softens the connective tissue of the pelvic structures in preparation for childbirth. During labor, vaginal delivery can further weaken or stretch some of the pelvic support structures.
Can I do anything to help protect my pelvic floor from weakening?
Yes, start your pelvic floor exercises right away!
How do I know that I am really exercising my pelvic floor muscles?
There are two ways to check that you are contracting the pelvic floor correctly:
stop trying
While going to the bathroom you can try to stop the flow of urine, if you can then you are contracting your pelvic floor muscles correctly, but don’t stop the flow of urine every time you go to the bathroom. This is a good way to see if you’re exercising the right muscles, but it can cause bladder problems if you test more than once a fortnight. Remember this is a test and you should not exercise your pelvic floor muscles while urinating!
compression test
You can also feel your pelvic floor muscle contracting by inserting one or two fingers into your vagina while bathing or showering. Squeeze your muscles so they squeeze your fingers.
How often should I do my exercises?
Practice five pelvic floor contraction exercises five times a day
There are two types of pelvic floor exercises; Low shrinkage and fast shrinkage. It is important that you do the slow contraction first and then the fast contraction every time you exercise your pelvic floor muscles.
Get ready to exercise:
Sit on a chair/toilet seat/toilet lid. Make sure your feet are flat on the floor and your legs slightly apart:
To perform slow twitch exercises:
1. Close and contract the muscles around the anus as if you were trying to stop passing gas. Make sure not to contract your gluteal muscles while doing this.
2. Now close and lift the muscles around the vagina, as if you were trying to stop the flow of urine.
3. Hold the position for a count of five, breathing normally and trying not to hold your breath.
4. Slowly relax and let go.
5. Repeat five times in total.
6. When you can repeat five contractions for five seconds, start building up the hold to ten seconds, increasing one or two seconds each time.
To perform fast twitch exercises:
1. Pull up on your pelvic floor muscles as before.
2. Hold the position for a second and relax.
3. Repeat five to ten times or until your muscles feel tired.
If you’re doing slow-twitch exercises and find your muscles “loosen” too quickly and you can’t hold them for a count of five, just hold them down for as long as you can.
When performing pelvic floor exercises it is important NOT to:
1. Squeeze the buttocks together.
2. Bring your knees together.
3. Hold your breath.
4. Raise shoulder/eyebrows/toes up.
5. Do the exercises while urinating.
If you do any of the above, then you are not contracting your muscles properly.
Any other benefits of performing these exercises
Yes! For women, strong pelvic floor muscles can also mean increased sensitivity during intercourse and stronger orgasms.
