Protecting Your Pelvic Floor

For Pregnant and Postpartum Women 

Pelvic floor muscles work like a hammock to support the bladder, bowel, and uterus, as well as play an important role in sexual function. The most common risk factor for pelvic floor disfunction is vaginal birth (Urbankova et al., 2019). 1 in 3 women develop symptoms after birth which persisted in many of them until one year postpartum (Urbankova et al., 2019). After childbirth and as you age, these muscles weaken potentially causing the following symptoms:  urinary or fecal incontinence, urgency and frequency in urination, uterine/bladder/rectal prolapse, core weakness, and painful intercourse. The multidimensional consequences of these symptoms may significantly reduce quality of life. These guidelines can help any woman maintain and increase pelvic function and strength! 

“May your coffee, pelvic floor, intuition, and self- appreciation be strong.”

-unknown 

  

Yoga Poses for Your Pelvic Floor

These yoga poses help you relax your pelvic floor in order to lengthen the muscles to build strength.

• CHILDS POSE (BALASANA)
• YOGI SQUAT (MALASANA)
• HAPPY BABY (ANADA BALASANA)

• Hold these poses for a minimum of 60 seconds at a time while practicing diaphragmatic breathing or belly breathing

What is Diaphragmatic Breathing?

This breathing exercise helps strengthen your diaphragm directly influences your pelvic floor muscles. The goal with this breath work is to expand the diaphragm by breathing into the rib cage and belly. 

1. Lay on your back or in a comfortable seated position with shoulders relaxed.

2. Place one hand on your chest and one hand on your belly and try to expand the ribs and belly into your hand as you inhale fully through your nose.

3. Exhale slowly through your nose, making the exhale longer than in the inhale, while letting the rib cage and belly softly fall. Repeat 10 time

BONUS: This breathing exercise also helps reduce stress and anxiety                  

Functional Fitness for Your Pelvic Floor 

How to Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor Muscles beyond the dreaded Kegel Exercises

• BRIDGES
• SQUATS
• DEADLIFTS
• BIRDDOG
• CLAMSHELL

•  All of these exercises can be modified or intensified based on ability 

•  Complete 3 sets of 10 in each exercise 3x a week. 

Why Your Pelvic Floor Matters? 

• The pelvic floor muscle is like any other muscle in the body and will atrophy or weaken if unused. 

• Strengthening your pelvic floor muscles will help you to actively support your bladder and bowel. 

• Engaging the pelvic floor muscles while doing the following dynamic exercises serves not only to integrate the lower regions of the core and provide optimal support of the core, but also as a means of exercising the mind-body connection. 

• It is impossible to use the arm and leg muscles effectively without engaging a solid core as a platform from which to push off. 

Here are the FACTS:  

• Pelvic floor muscle training combined with aerobic exercise is more effective than pelvic floor training alone (Szumilewicz et al., 2020).

• Women are encouraged to start pelvic floor muscle training in the immediate postpartum period according to recommendations by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (Szumilewicz et al., 2020).

"Practice isn't the thing you do once you're good. It's the thing you do that makes you good."

- Malcolm Gladwell 

References 

Szumilewicz, A., Kuchta, A., Kranich, M., Dornowski, M., & Jastrzębski, Z. (2020). Prenatal high-low impact exercise program supported by pelvic floor muscle education and training decreases the life impact of postnatal urinary incontinence. Medicine, 99(6). doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000018874

Urbankova, I., Grohregin, K., Hanacek, J., Krcmar, M., Feyereisl, J., Deprest, J., & Krofta, L. (2019). The effect of the first vaginal birth on pelvic floor anatomy and dysfunction. International Urogynecology Journal, 30(10), 1689-1696. doi:10.1007/s00192-019-04044-2