Pelvic floor exercises

Exercise your pelvic floor! It’s quick, easy, free, AND is so important for your body! Let me explain…

Pelvic floor muscles are the layers of muscles that support the bladder and bowel. These can sometimes be left weak after having a baby as labour and delivery stretches the nerves and muscles. If left weakened, this can lead to urinary and faecal incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse and sexual dysfunction.

So it is important to give your pelvic floor muscles a good workout!

Pelvic floor muscle exercises (PFME) are important during pregnancy and especially after delivery. PFME are easy, quick and can fit into your daily life routine – so there’s no excuses!

The first step is finding and identifying these muscles. Sit or lie down with your thigh, buttock and stomach relaxed. Now try and squeeze the ring of muscle around your back passage, as if you are trying to stop passing wind. Now relax this muscle. Squeeze and let go a few more times until you’re sure you have found the right muscles. You should feel a sense of ‘lifting up’ each time you squeeze your pelvic floor muscles. Do not tighten your buttocks or thighs, only squeeze and lift. Each squeeze should be done as strongly and tightly as you can. Try and hold the squeeze for 5 seconds, then relax.
Aim to do 3 sets of 5 second squeezes, 3 times a day. To help you remember, get yourself some red sticker dots from your local newsagent and stick them around the house to remind you to do your PFME. For example stick a dot on the phone, in the kitchen, on the fridge, in the bathroom, on the computer.

Now’s the perfect opportunity – get those muscles moving!