It’s no secret that nine months of pregnancy and childbirth can take a toll on your body and, more specifically, on your pelvic floor.
In postpartum, you may leak when sneezing, coughing, or laughing. You may also feel heaviness or pressure in the pelvic area and experience pain during sex. These symptoms are a sign that you need to address your pelvic floor health!
As a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist, I regularly see women who think that they should accept leaking, discomfort, and pain as an inevitable part of motherhood. Our society often makes jokes about these symptoms, which normalizes them further.
The truth is, these symptoms don’t have to become your new normal. They are common, but there are postpartum pelvic floor exercises that you can do to eliminate your pelvic floor symptoms and pain.
Understanding Your Pelvic Floor
The pelvic floor is a group of 19 muscles at the bottom of your pelvis. These muscles are divided into two parts: the superficial muscles, which are closer to the surface, and the deep muscles, which are located more on the inside. Together, these muscles play two important roles.
First, they hold up and support all the important organs in your lower abdomen, like the bladder, uterus, and bowels. Your pelvic floor muscles are the bottom of your core and form a supportive base for everything in your body.
Second, your pelvic floor controls crucial functions such as peeing, pooping, and sexual penetration. If you have pelvic floor dysfunction, you may experience issues with one of those functions or all three.
Why Pelvic Floor Strength Is Important
Pelvic floor dysfunction affects three out of four women at 1 year postpartum. Yet, women often don’t have the right resources to support their pelvic health.
In fact, according to a study by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) in the UK, 55% of women with pelvic floor issues don’t currently do or have never done pelvic floor exercises. 23% of them reported not knowing how to do postpartum pelvic floor exercises.
Learning how to coordinate your pelvic floor muscles can help you improve uncomfortable symptoms such as leaking, pressure, and pain. It can also help you eliminate postpartum back and hip pain and promote diastasis recti healing.
As an active mama, I was desperate to get back to high-impact exercises like running, but building a strong foundation first allowed me to do what I love stronger and injury-free. It may feel slow at first, but the long-lasting benefits are so worth it!
Pelvic Floor Issues After a C-Section
Contrary to popular belief, mamas who had C-sections can experience as many pelvic floor issues as those who gave birth vaginally.
People often associate pelvic floor symptoms with the trauma of natural childbirth, but a C-section also impacts your pelvic floor. It cuts through seven layers of tissue, and the healing process can create scar tissue and fascial tension that affects your pelvic floor function.
Moreover, pregnancy puts significant pressure on the pelvic floor muscles and tissues. Your growing uterus, hormonal changes, and the weight of the baby can weaken your pelvic floor muscles leading to leaking, pressure, and pain – regardless of the delivery method.
3 Postpartum Pelvic Floor Exercises for Leaking, Pressure, and Pain
You DESERVE the freedom to move and live your life without the fear of leaking or pain. I’m sharing the 3 best postpartum pelvic floor exercises to strengthen your pelvic muscles in the sections below.
These exercises work for mamas who had a vaginal delivery OR a c-section. Follow along with the video below!
1. Pelvic Floor Exercise for Leaking
The most important thing when it comes to leaking postpartum is learning how to get your brain to communicate with your pelvic floor muscles to contract properly.
This is exactly what this exercise helps you with!
- Lie on your back with your knees bent.
- Inhale through your nose, breathing into your back.
- Squeeze your pelvic floor muscles and “lift up” internally toward the belly button on the exhale.
- Hold for a couple of seconds and relax on the inhale.
The most important thing about this exercise is that you shouldn’t move or rock your pelvis or legs. They should stay stable throughout the exercise. Do 2 sets of 10 reps, going slowly!
2. Pelvic Floor Exercise for Pressure
Think of the pelvic floor as a seltzer can. The top of the can is the diaphragm, the bottom is the pelvic floor, and everything around is the core.
When you feel pressure in the pelvic floor, it means that you’re not managing the pressure in your “seltzer can” well. Our goal is to make the pressure spread evenly throughout your pelvic floor instead of concentrating in just one place! Here’s my favorite exercise to do that.
- Grab something that you can squeeze between your knees, like a small ball.
- Lie on your back with your feet flat and put the ball between your knees.
- Coordinate your breath with your core and your pelvic floor muscles. Inhale through your nose and exhale slowly as you squeeze the ball with your knees bent.
- Squeeze your glutes, push through your heels, and lift your hips to do a bridge. This position is going to help take pressure off your pelvic floor.
- Hold for a couple of breaths and come back down.
- Inhale, then repeat. Exhale, tighten your abdominal muscles, squeeze your glutes, and lift your hips again.
Repeat this exercise for 2 sets of 10 reps, and you should soon feel less pressure and heaviness in your pelvic floor!
3. Pelvic Floor Exercise for Pain
One of the biggest reasons why women experience pelvic pain and tightness is because they don’t know how to relax their pelvic floor. A lot of the time we talk about contracting your pelvic floor muscles, but we don’t talk about relaxing and lengthening them!
Imagine if you always had your arm or leg muscles engaged. Eventually, they’d give out! The same concept applies to your pelvic floor.
If your pelvic muscles are tight all the time, you need to start relaxing them to eliminate discomfort and pain.
Many women are not aware that their pelvic floor is tight. Symptoms of a tight pelvic floor include pain during sex, tailbone pain, constipation, and any other type of discomfort in your pelvic floor during the postpartum recovery.
- Get into a child’s pose. Put your knees together and bring your elbows up against your knees.
- Breathe into your back as you inhale through your nose as much as you can and then exhale through your mouth. The more you can breathe into your lower back and tailbone, the more relaxed your pelvic floor muscles are going to get.
- Continue to inhale and exhale, breathing through your back and thinking of your pelvic floor lengthening and opening. Keep your shoulders relaxed and legs bent.
This exercise may sound simple, but don’t underestimate the importance of teaching your pelvic floor muscles how to relax before you try it!
Diaphragmatic Breathing for a Stronger Pelvic Floor Postpartum
I know what you’re thinking, breathing sounds boring! But diaphragmatic breathing is the foundation of all pelvic floor exercises postpartum.
During pregnancy, many women change the way they breathe. You may have developed “faulty” breathing habits, and unless you’re conscious of it postpartum, it’s really easy to just stick with bad breathing habits that are contributing to pelvic floor issues!
Diaphragmatic breathing, also known as deep belly breathing, engages the diaphragm (the large muscle at the base of your lungs) and promotes a coordinated movement between the diaphragm and your pelvic floor muscles. I like to refer to it as 360-degree breathing.
When you inhale deeply, your diaphragm contracts and moves downward, allowing your lungs to fill with air while your belly, back, and side rib cage expand. This is why I like to call this 360-degree breathing!
Simultaneously, the pelvic floor muscles gently stretch and relax. On the exhale, the diaphragm moves upward, the deep core contracts, and the pelvic floor muscles naturally squeeze and lift.
(This is what SHOULD be happening, but a lot of the time these movements are not coordinated postpartum!)
Here’s my favorite exercise to practice diaphragmatic breathing. Follow along with this video version!
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and put your hands on your ribs.
- Keeping your body relaxed, inhale through your nose and, as you inhale, think about breathing into your side and back ribcage and expanding it. Keep your hands on your side ribs and feel your back push into the mat as you breathe into your back. You should feel your ribs go out to the side. Make sure that they are not coming straight up toward the ceiling (also known as a “rib flare”)!
- Finish with an exhale through your mouth. Make sure your back stays fully down throughout the exercise.
Include this exercise in your daily routine to start noticing pelvic floor improvements!
As an active mama, I was desperate to get back to high-impact exercises like running, but building a strong foundation first allowed me to do what I love stronger and injury-free. It may feel slow at first, but the long-lasting benefits are so worth it!
FAQs
When Should You Start Pelvic Floor Exercises After Birth?
You can typically start gentle pelvic floor exercises approximately 2 weeks after birth. Starting to do postpartum core and pelvic floor exercises early (at the 2-week mark) can help prevent complications and promote faster recovery! That said, it’s important to listen to your body and recover at your own pace.
In my program Strong Healing Mama, I share education and exercises to help you regain mobility, reduce physical pain and discomfort, and optimize your healing 2-8 weeks postpartum. If you’re beyond the 6-8-week postpartum mark, join the Strong Core Mama program to rebuild your core and improve pelvic floor health at any stage of your postpartum journey!
How Can I Strengthen My Pelvic Floor After Giving Birth?
Make sure you are following an evidence-based exercise program that targets postpartum pelvic floor exercises and proper diaphragmatic breathing. By that, I don’t mean only doing Kegels, which are often recommended as an exercise for women postpartum. Kegels are just a small part of the equation! There are many other exercises that you should include in your routine to have a strong and healthy pelvic floor.
I share 40+ core and pelvic floor exercises that I regularly use with my patients as a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist in my program Strong Core Mama!
How Long After Birth Does Pelvic Floor Recover?
Postpartum pelvic floor recovery doesn’t follow a one-size-fits-all timeline! For some women, pelvic floor issues may resolve on their own shortly after childbirth. However, for most women, pelvic floor issues such as leaking, heaviness/pressure, and pain can persist for months or even years if they don’t actively take action to improve their pelvic function.
You DON’T have to accept pelvic discomfort as a normal part of motherhood! There are postpartum pelvic floor exercises that you can do to eliminate your symptoms and start moving your body without worrying about leaking or pain. I share evidence-based approaches that have worked for hundreds of women in the physical therapy clinic in my program Strong Core Mama.
What Happens If You Don’t Do Pelvic Floor Exercises After Birth?
If you don’t do pelvic floor exercises postpartum, you may experience persistent issues such as leaking, pelvic pressure, and pain. You may also be at a higher risk for pelvic organ prolapse, a condition where your pelvic organs, like the bladder or the uterus, descend into the vaginal area due to weakened pelvic floor muscles. Overall, I highly recommend doing pelvic floor exercises postpartum to rebuild strength and return to activity with confidence!
When Should I See a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist?
First, consider getting support in my program Strong Core Mama. If you continue to experience persistent pelvic pain, leaking, or discomfort during sexual activity after childbirth, consider seeing a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist. A PT can assess your pelvic floor function, identify any weaknesses or dysfunctions, and develop a personalized treatment plan. Most pelvic health issues can be fixed with proper pelvic floor and abdominal exercises and don’t require surgery!
Get More Postpartum Pelvic Floor Exercises in Strong Core Mama
Whether you have a newborn baby in your arms or became a mama years ago, it’s NEVER too late to improve your pelvic floor health! You can rebuild your core and pelvic floor strength and heal uncomfortable symptoms such as leaking, pressure, and pain.
I share evidence-based postpartum pelvic floor exercises and in-depth education in my program Strong Core Mama. Join today to start moving and build lasting confidence!
