Pelvic Floor – Squeeze!
As your bump grows the pressure on your pelvic floor will increase. Mum take note, this is not a gym class you should miss.
As your bump grows the pressure on your pelvic floor will increase. Mum take note, this is not a gym class you should miss. Here comes the science bit… Your pelvic floor is a muscle which goes from the front near your pubic bone to your tail bone at the back and holds your womb, bowels and bladder up like a hammock. Pregnancy hormones loosen the pelvic floor and as bump grows they will add more pressure to your bladder and ummm, well you may notice when you cough, sneeze or do some exercise that you leak a little. Completely normal, as to be honest your pelvic floor is being put under a fair bit of extra pressure, but to help reduce this you need to exercise. Pelvic floor exercises are easy enough to do and the great news is you don’t need to change into your gym kit and can be done anywhere. To lift your pelvic floor imagine you are trying to stop a poo and wee at the same time (although don’t try this when you actually need to go), you should be able to feel the pelvic floor lift up. This is what you need to lift when you are doing your exercises. Slow Squeeze - try lifting and holding for 4 seconds and then slowly releasing and rest for 4, then repeat Quick Squeeze – tighten and release quickly, rest then repeat. Once you have got the hang of it you can literally do it anywhere. It’s a good idea to do it at the same time as something else so you exercise a few times a day, like cleaning your teeth, every time you pop the kettle on, or Lyndsey does hers every time she gets struck at traffic lights. Pelvic floor exercises are for life, not just for pregnancy so get into a good habit now mum, you can thank us later!
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