3 things about pelvic health in pregnancy that I wish I'd known
Amongst all the chat about baby development, eating for baby, how you’ll care for baby when baby is here, what colour you are painting the nursery, which pram you’re buying etc etc there isn’t always much chat about a pregnant woman’s body (outside of being the vessel to grow and birth baby). Therefore it is no wonder that birth, post-natal recovery and adjusting to a post-natal body does not get talked about much.
So, here are 3 things I wish I’d known about pelvic health during pregnancy.
Pelvic floor relaxation should be part of pregnancy exercise programming
One thing I hear is that “athletic women find it hard to give birth”. And without digging into the research, I don’t know if this is true and backed by evidence. But I do think that women get scared off exercise during pregnancy because someone may have told them “It’ll make it harder to give birth”
This means, women may get weaker and more deconditioned during pregnancy…
In actual fact, it’s more of a programming issue than a pelvic floor/exercise issue. Coaches should be able to educate pregnant clients on their changing body and the role of the pelvic floor during birth. Part of pregnancy exercise programming should be pelvic floor relaxation and birth prep – in the same way that pelvic floor and core training is also important. Both need to be covered in pregnancy exercise.
Education about what the pelvic floor does and what it needs
I know I thought that as long as my pelvic floor was strong, all would be ok. My pelvic floor was more on the “tight” side (see above about pelvic floor relaxation) and my post natal leaking was down to its inability to let go and some issues wth coordination. I had to teach it how to work with the rest of the core and combine relaxation and strength-based work. Plus continue to do the work even after I was no longer leaking or considered myself early post natal.
Pregnancy (not just birth) can be a challenge for the pelvic floor
Just before I got pregnant with my son, I saw a pelvic health physio. It had been 3 months since I’d had a missed miscarriage and was holding tons of tension (making it feel heavy and uncomfortable). After some seriously good manual therapy and release work, my pelvic floor was given a 10/10. Fast forward to my first post natal appointment after giving birth and the strength and coordination was seriously lacking. The load of pregnancy (and even though I’d had a C-section) had indeed done a number on my pelvic floor muscles….
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Beth Davies is a highly experienced personal trainer and coach with over 10 years experience in coaching pregnant, post-natal, or female pelvic health clients. Her programmes educate, empower and support women back to training or their active life, eliminating symptoms and building strength and confidence. She has been featured in women’s lifestyle magazines and websites, including Stylist, Metro, Woman & Home and Marie Claire UK
Beth’s training and coaching for women with pelvic organ prolapse or who are pregnant or post-natal, provides face-to-face personal training in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, and online across the UK and Europe.