If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve heard of pelvic floor muscles before. The importance of these muscles on not only your reproductive but overall health too can not be overstated. Sure, as a general rule, everyone should consistently work on their pelvic floor muscles. However, the stakes are higher for expectant women.
There are several health benefits of having strong pelvic muscles by pregnant women. And next we take a look at some of the role of these muscles during pregnancy and how to strengthen them.
Simply put, these are workouts that strengthen muscles around your bottom, bladder, penis or vagina- your pelvic floor muscles. These muscles are responsible for supporting your bowel, bladder and uterus. The muscles achieve this through a series of contraction and relaxation movements that elicits different responses from the muscles.
The main components of these muscles include (2):
When these muscles are weak, health and reproductive issues may arise. These include: Incontinence, painful sex and uncontrollable passing of wind. Pregnancy and childbirth are bound to naturally weaken your pelvic floor muscles. That’s why it’s particularly important for expectant women to constantly work on strengthening these muscles.
That being said, what are some of some of the exercises you can safely perform when pregnant? Let’s find out.
Read More: How To Relax Pelvic Floor Muscles: 5 Ways To Beat Incontinence And Improve Muscle Strength
The importance of working out during pregnancy should never be downplayed. Exercising will help you adapt to physical changes like weight gain and changing shape during this period. Also, you’ll be able to handle labor better and get back in shape faster after child birth.
The logic is simple. Keep up your usual daily physical activities or exercise. It could be yoga, dancing, walking or jogging, if you’re comfortable with it, do it. Working out is not dangerous for your baby.
In fact there’s some evidence suggesting active women are far less likely to experience complications in pregnancy and labor. However, always follow your doctor’s instructions where such has been issued.
Before getting into details of the pelvic floor muscles exercises for pregnancy, here are some things you should watch out for:
Other tips for exercising during pregnancy include:
Have you been wondering how to strengthen pelvic floor muscles during pregnancy? Well, here are some of the best workouts you can use to achieve this.
This exercise will work on your abs and pelvic floor muscles. In turn, you’ll have an easier delivery and reduced risks of incontinence later (1).
Here’s how you do it:
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This exercise will help strengthen your abs and transverse muscles. Here’s how you do it:
This exercise will help you strengthen your legs, pelvic floor and abs. Here’s how you do it:
This exercise helps in supporting the organs in your pelvis together with your growing baby. It may not always be possible to hold this squeeze for so long at the first try. Rather, you should consistently build up the time and ensure you always release it slowly.
Here’s how you do it:
Steadily increase the length of the hold. You should ensure that at the end of the exercise you still have some squeeze left to release slowly.
This exercise will help you strengthen your back, abdominals and upper body muscles. Here’s how you do it:
Read More: Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Exercise: 5 Ways To Improve Your Muscle Strength
Have you been wondering “can you do kegel exercises while pregnant?” Well, yes you can. For most women, it’s a safe and effective way of keeping their pelvic floor muscles strong during pregnancy.
Kegels are also some of the best exercises for pelvic floor pain pregnancy. Additionally, they are also effective pelvic floor exercises for post pregnancy recovery.
Here’s how to do kegel exercises:
There are some exercises, however, that you should avoid during pregnancy.
First off, don’t lie on your back for long periods. This is especially true if your pregnancy is over 16 weeks along. That’s because the weight from your bump can press on your main blood vessels. This brings back blood to your heart, resulting in faintness.
Stay away from contact sports like boxing. We don’t want you risking getting hit, now do we?
Avoid exercising at heights above 2500m above sea level. Doing this puts you and your baby at risk of altitude sickness.
Avoid doing situps. Intense core exercises like situps will only do more harm than good to your pelvic muscles. So, in the case of pelvic floor exercises and situps for pregnancy, always go for the former.
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This is very common during and after pregnancy with about a third of women experiencing it. Stress incontinence refers to the leaking of urine when you cough, sneeze or attempt a jog. This is usually as a result of the extra pressure on the muscles that support the bladder. Pelvic floor exercises help strengthen these muscles and prevent leakage of urine.
Pelvic muscle exercises strengthen the pelvic floor. Pelvic and abdominal muscles are involved during delivery. During pushing you draw in the transverse abdominis and relax the pelvic floor muscles to push out the baby.
Some women also experience fecal incontinence especially among those who have major episiotomies or third degrees tears. Doing pelvic exercises such as kegels helps prevent this.
Pregnancy is no doubt one of the most emotional and life-changing periods in a woman’s life. This can be a challenging period but several things such as proper diet and exercise can help. One important type of workout are pelvic floor exercises that help strengthen your muscles.
By working your pelvic muscles, you are also able to gain more control over them making childbirth smoother. Be sure to remain cautious by not overexerting yourself. Keep in mind that you are delicate during pregnancy.
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on to make decisions of any kind. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is strictly at your own risk and responsibility!