Supporting Your Pelvic Floor during Pregnancy, Delivery, and Postpartum Recovery
Pregnancy is a time of immense change for your body, and one area that often needs extra attention is your pelvic floor. It plays a crucial role in supporting your body during pregnancy and delivery. Let’s explore how you can better understand and care for this important area as you prepare for childbirth and postpartum recovery.
At Foundations Pelvic Health, we are a team of perinatal and pelvic floor therapy specialists in Boston. We are dedicated to helping women feel empowered throughout their pregnancy and feel prepared for labor and delivery, as well as postpartum recovery!
Understanding the Pelvic Floor’s Role During Pregnancy
Your pelvic floor muscles are responsible for important functions of your body, especially during pregnancy. As your baby grows, the weight and pressure increase, which places increased strain on the pelvic floor. If your pelvic floor is too weak or too tight, it may struggle to handle this additional load, which can lead to issues like:
Low back and hip pain
If you're experiencing any of these symptoms, it may be time to consider pelvic floor therapy to help manage these challenges.
How our Pelvic Floor Physical Therapists Can Help You
A pelvic floor PT can help you identify the areas that need attention during pregnancy and prepare for delivery:
1. Finding optimal pelvic floor connection, relaxation and strength
If your pelvic floor muscles are tense and causing issues such as pain or pressure, relaxation is key. If your pelvic floor muscles are too weak, that may also cause unwanted symptoms! After an examination of your pelvic floor, your pelvic floor PTs will give you instruction on appropriate stretches, movements and exercises to help with pelvic floor relaxation, strengthening, or coordination.
2. Breathing Techniques
Your pelvic floor, core and breathing are closely connected. Understanding this connection can be helpful to activate your deep abdominals and pelvic floor muscles. Deep breathing exercises can help release tension throughout your entire body, including the pelvic floor. This is especially helpful as you prepare for delivery, as breathing can help with pain management during perineal stretching and pushing techniques.
3. Exercises for Strength and Mobility
A pelvic floor therapist will guide you through exercises designed to increase both strength and mobility. Emphasis is often placed on:
Hip opening
Spinal mobility
Hip and glute strengthening
These areas are particularly important because the muscles in your hips and abdomen share connection points with the pelvic floor, and keeping them strong helps provide support during pregnancy. Towards the end of pregnancy, mobility in these areas is key for labor and delivery.
4. Adjusting Activities and Exercises During Pregnancy
We help many mamas maintain their pelvic health and exercise goals throughout their pregnancy. We often hear from patients that they’ve been told to stop walking, moving or exercising during their pregnancy when they experience pains or symptoms and that all their issues will disappear after delivery - however, there are many ways we can modify and adjust your exercise so that you can continue during your pregnancy! Our pelvic floor therapists can help modify activities or exercises to reduce strain on your pelvic floor.
5. Preparing Your Pelvic Floor for Delivery
Contrary to popular belief, your pelvic floor does not push out your baby - your uterus does! The pelvic floor muscles need to relax for a vaginal delivery. Our pelvic floor therapists can teach you breathing techniques for pushing, pain management and positions to encourage the relaxation of your pelvic floor and support a smoother delivery process.
6. Postpartum Care: Supporting Your Pelvic Floor After Delivery
After delivery, whether vaginal or cesarean, your pelvic floor will need time to recover. It’s crucial to ensure that your body can handle the demands of caring for a newborn, returning to everyday activities and getting back to your favorite workout. A pelvic floor therapist will help you address postpartum challenges and strategies for optimal pelvic health.
Signs of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Postpartum
Common signs that your pelvic floor may need attention include:
Leaking urine with actions like coughing, sneezing, jumping, or running
Pressure while lifting the baby or pushing a stroller
Discomfort or incomplete bowel emptying
If you notice any of these symptoms, our pelvic floor therapists can help!
Support through the Trimesters
Taking care of your pelvic floor during pregnancy and postpartum can be so helpful! Working with one of our pelvic floor therapists can provide you with the tools and techniques needed to support your pelvic floor muscles, ensuring a smoother pregnancy, delivery, and recovery process. Reach out for support and guidance — we’ll answer all of your questions!