Pelvic Floor Therapy During Pregnancy
For the duration of a pregnancy, a woman’s body is changing, expanding, and working tirelessly to accommodate a growing baby and preparing to give birth. We spend so much of the prenatal period checking on baby and trying to make sure we’re providing the healthiest start possible for this new life to come into the world but how much are we focusing on the well-being of Mom amidst the extraordinary physical changes that she is experiencing?
Pelvic floor physical therapists put Mom at the center, providing care to maximize ease and comfort during a time of incredible transformation.
How Does My Pelvic Floor Change Throughout Pregnancy?
The pelvic floor is made up of layers of muscles, ligaments, and fascia that wraps around your pelvis to provide support and functionality to a number of your internal organs including the vagina, uterus, bladder, and rectum. During pregnancy, your pelvic floor shifts and changes as baby grows. For example:
Hormones are released during pregnancy to relax your ligaments as your pelvic expands and prepares for childbirth. This can cause pain in your hips and pelvic region.
You may experience urinary leakage because of weakness in your pelvic floor due to hormonal changes and increased pregnancy weight.
Your posture and gait are affected by your growing abdomen.
Baby can put pressure on your bladder causing more frequent urination.
You’re more prone to constipation due to hormonal fluctuations.
What Can Pelvic Floor Therapy Do For Me During Pregnancy?
There are 3 main areas that PFPT typically focuses on during pregnancy:
Prevention of pelvic floor dysfunction
Pain management
Preparing the body for birth and postpartum recovery
Prevention of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
Lack of coordination of the pelvic floor muscles can lead to general pelvic floor dysfunction which may result in problems having a bowel movement, urinary leakage, lower back and pelvic pain, among others. Prevention of pelvic floor dysfunction during and after pregnancy requires strengthening and increasing the coordination of the pelvic floor muscles, posture support, awareness of your breath and its connection to the pelvic floor. Pelvic floor therapists can help bring awareness to your pelvic floor through certain exercises to help improve your connection to your pelvic floor. This may involve an internal pelvic exam to test your pelvic floor muscle coordination and then training your pelvic floor muscles based on your pelvic floor therapist’s findings. If your pelvic floor muscles have increased tension, this may involve diaphragmatic breathing, pelvic floor relaxation or manual therapy to help release the tension in those muscles. If your pelvic floor muscles have decreased strength, this may involve pelvic floor muscle training or strengthening the other muscles that help the pelvic floor.
Pain Management
Discomfort during pregnancy is often normalized but the truth is that your pelvic floor physical therapist can help minimize any aches and pains associated with your growing belly such as lower back pain, hip pain, and postural pain. Your therapist can help guide you through exercises and modifications to help decrease stress put on your joints, relieve tension in muscles, and find deeper comfort during pregnancy. Your therapist may take a look at your hip alignment and adjust your pelvis, release tension in the areas that may be contributing to the pain, offer exercise and posture modifications and prescribe exercises to help alleviate the discomfort.
Birth & Postpartum Preparation
Pelvic floor therapy can help train your body for the labor and birth experience in a number of ways. Pelvic floor PTs can teach you how to connect with your breath for an easier birth experience, guide you through different birthing positions, teach you how to coordinate your pelvic floor muscles for more effective pushing during labor, and advise you on perineal stretching to prevent vaginal tears during the birth process. Pelvic floor PT can also help prepare you for the postpartum period by guiding you in reentry to gentle exercise, modifications for daily living activities after a c-section, and general physical recovery after childbirth.
Should I See a Pelvic Floor Therapist During Pregnancy?
If you’re experiencing any of the following, we absolutely recommend setting up an evaluation to learn more about how pelvic floor therapy can help:
Urinary incontinence
Fecal incontinence
Painful sex
Low back or Sciatic pain
Hip or Pelvic Pain
Pelvic Organ Prolapse (heaviness and/or pressure in the vagina)
But even if you’re not currently experiencing pain, pelvic floor therapy during pregnancy is truly the gift that keeps on giving–it can help to prevent future dysfunction in the postpartum period and beyond as well as help you create a comfortable and connected childbirth experience.
