Pre & postnatal pelvic floor tips

It’s common for expecting and new mums to experience light bladder leakage. Training your pelvic floor can help prevent and improve the situation, to help you get squeezing MSc Physiotherapist and expert ‘down there’ Paula Igualada-Martinez, shared her knowledge for new and expecting mums.

What to expect when expecting

The urge to wee goes hand in hand with being a new mum. This happens for numerous reasons; your body moves around organs to accommodate your new mini me, as well as releasing the muscle relaxing hormone, progesterone, to get you ready for child birth. This means that it’s often harder to hold the pelvic floor organs in place, resulting in little leaks and the urgency to wee. Pelvic Floor exercises are an easy, effective and excellent way to strengthen your muscles.

Pelvic floor pro-tips during pregnancy

The best way to relax and get maximum effect while training your PC muscles while pregnant is to lie on your side. This allows you to really concentrate on strengthening the muscles whilst avoiding the extra degree of difficulty that gravity adds, if sitting or standing. You can read more about Pelvic Floor exercises here.

What happens after birth?

During the first 1-2 weeks after birth, you’ll find that you’re weeing much more frequently as you’re getting rid of the excess fluid you retained during your pregnancy. While you can be super diligent with your Pelvic Floor training while pregnant, not every part of us bounces-back immediately. Try doing the exercises while you’re sitting down and feeding your baby. Start with gentle pelvic floor contractions as it is normal to feel a bit sore down below following the birth of your baby. Stop if you are in discomfort. You can even start of by simply practicing the squeeze when you pick your baby up.

The main thing is to keep training – it can take up to 3 months to see a little improvement. If you feel like the exercises aren’t working after 3 months, or if you have any questions, have a chat with your doctor and/or your physiotherapist. Download our Free My Pelvic Floor Fitness App to start squeezing.

Little leaks in pregnancy and after birth. Read here

Let’s talk about it

Little leaks, or oooops moments, can happen without much warning and this can be frustrating and embarrassing. But be assured its super common and there is a lot you can do to get back control of your bladder. Training is a good start but it can also help to talk to your midwife or GP at your antenatal check-up, and to talk with friends.

And it’s always good to know that lights by TENA are always there to offer you discreet protection and freshness while you need a little extra support.