Pregnancy Exercises for Strengthening Pelvic Floor Muscles

Pelvic floor muscles (PFM) stretches from the back to the front of your body. These maintain your bowel and bladder control, and bear the weight of your uterus and body. During pregnancy, increased weight can cause these muscles to become weak and over-burdened. Thus, the PFM should be exercised (also known as kegels) to strengthen the muscles. kegels also increase blood circulation to your rectal and vaginal area. This relaxes and controls the muscles, which in-turn prepares you for easy labour and delivery.Kegels should be done even after delivery as it helps in healing the perineal tissues, strengthens the PFM to return to a healthy state, and regain bladder control. Pelvic floor exercises or kegel exercises should be done during pregnancy only after consulting your doctor and under the supervision of a certified trainer. In this articleWhat Are the Benefits of Pelvic Floor Muscles Exercise or Kegels?How to do Pelvic Floor Muscles Exercise or Kegels?How many Pelvic Floor Muscles Exercise or Kegels Should be Done?Precautions to Be taken While Doing Pelvic Floor Muscles Exercise or KegelsHow Long the Pelvic Floor Muscles Exercise or Kegels Should be Done?What Are the Benefits of Pelvic Floor Muscles Exercise or Kegels?PFM exercises provide you numerous benefits, especially when you are in the third trimester of your pregnancy.Strengthens your musclesReduces back painImproves your postureReduces the pressure of increasing weight on your pelvisPrepares you for easy labour and birthGets you proper sleepHow to do Pelvic Floor Muscles Exercise or Kegels?You must do pelvic floor or kegel exercises only after consulting your doctor and under the supervision of a professional trainer.For practising pelvic floor or kegel exercise, sit upright on a hard chair, breathe and find your pelvic muscles. Now, sense as if you are squeezing and lifting (or pulling up and then in) your front and back passages off the chair. As you inhale, let the muscles relax and as you exhale, squeeze and lift your muscles. But make sure that you do not pull it too hard to avoid any complication.To do kegels, you can also imagine as if you are trying to stop yourself from urinating or farting. Do not try this while urinating as it increases your chance of getting “Urinary Tract Infection”.Before you start doing kegels, consult with your doctor about the process and number of kegels you can do.How many Pelvic Floor Muscles Exercise or Kegels Should be Done?Start doing one kegel and then increase to two in a row throughout the day. As you feel the muscles are getting stronger, gradually increase it to 3-4 kegels in a row three times a day, and then to 10 kegels in a row three times a day.Initially, do it for a slow count of 5 seconds and then relax for 10 seconds and gradually increase the hold period to 10 seconds followed by 10 seconds rest.You can also try doing quick flick kegal, short intermittent contractions (around 10 times) where you need to squeeze and lift the pelvic floor muscles very quickly.Precautions to Be taken While Doing Pelvic Floor Muscles Exercise or KegelsDo not pull in your belly, press your legs together, stiffen your buttocks, or hold your breath while doing the kegels.Most websites ask you to do kegels while watching TV, drinking tea or coffee, chatting with friends, etc. Remember not to overdo it as it may make your PFM too strong and tight preventing you from pushing the baby effectively for birth. It is good to make kegels a part of your daily routine, but follow your doctor’s advice on the number of kegels you should be doing.How Long the Pelvic Floor Muscles Exercise or Kegels Should be Done?Kegels help in relaxing and controlling the PFM, which in-turn prepare you for easy labour and delivery. You can do Kegels till your third trimester. Make it a part of your daily exercising regimen but do remember not to overdo it.Kegels strengthen your PFM and help you in pushing the baby easily for birth. It helps you not only during and after pregnancy but also in later stages as you age. It keeps the PFM strong and prevents you from getting urinary incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse.