Health blog

Pregnancy and childbirth are extraordinary experiences that can bring dramatic changes to the body that affect a person in unexpected and sometimes long-lasting ways.

The pelvic floor muscles are key in supporting your bladder, rectum, and uterus. It is especially important to maintain stability during pregnancy and after childbirth while the pelvic floor adapts to significant strain and postural changes. Pelvic floor physical therapy will educate and empower you to keep you feeling physically and mentally resilient during these months of incredible changes to your body.

Benefits of pelvic floor therapy

Strong, flexible, functional pelvic floor muscles provide a range of physical and mental benefits during pregnancy and postpartum. Here’s why prioritizing pelvic floor therapy is essential:

• Strengthen core muscles – Your abdominal core muscles work together with your pelvic floor muscles, so ensuring you know how to properly engage your deep abdominal muscles will help to keep your body safe with pregnancy-related changes.
• Improve muscle resiliency – Your body undergoes immense changes during pregnancy and childbirth. Well-conditioned muscles handle these shifts with greater ease and “bounce back” more quickly than under-developed muscles.
• Learn about your internal muscle groups – Awareness of your pelvic floor can enhance your control over these muscles, helping you manage bodily functions more effectively.
• Boost fitness levels – Strong, resilient muscles are vital for feeling and being active before and after childbirth.
• Enhance emotional wellbeing – Feeling stronger, informed, and in control can significantly reduce stress or anxiety during a time of immense transformation.
• Increase energy levels – Relying on functional muscles alleviates unnecessary strain, allowing your body to move efficiently and conserve energy.
• Learn pressure management techniques – It’s important to ensure proper mechanics when lifting, using the bathroom, and laying down to decrease pressure that can contribute to urinary incontinence, hemorrhoids, or weakening of pelvic floor muscles.

During pregnancy

During pregnancy, the weight and internal displacement of the growing baby creates significant pressure on the pelvis and pelvic floor muscles. This, combined with gradual posture adjustments and sudden hormonal shifts, can overstretch and weaken the muscles. Reduced pelvic floor function can lead to common pregnancy-related symptoms, such as back pain, urinary incontinence, and pelvic discomfort.

Pelvic floor therapy during pregnancy focuses on preparing your body for childbirth while mitigating discomfort. Some reasons to prioritize pelvic floor during pregnancy include:

• Prepares you for delivery – A well-conditioned pelvic floor may reduce your risk of tearing during vaginal delivery and improve the second stage of labor. You can work with your pelvic floor provider to learn breathing strategies and different laboring positions so that you feel empowered for your birth experience.
• Supports your posture – Stronger pelvic floor muscles can help counteract posture-related pregnancy discomfort, such as back or hip pain.
• Improves pregnancy comfort – Applying kinesiology tape to your growing belly can decrease pain and pressure. Your therapist will educate you in ways to make adjustments to daily activities such as sleeping positions to ensure optimal support and comfort.
• Safe and professional guidance – It is important to work with a pelvic floor therapist that can provide you with a personalized treatment plan. While strength and stability are important, it’s also important to be able to relax your pelvic floor and hip muscles to prepare for a smoother delivery. Pelvic floor therapy, when supervised by a trained physical therapist, is entirely safe to do during pregnancy.

After childbirth

After childbirth, many women experience pelvic floor dysfunction due to the strain of delivery. Symptoms such as urinary leakage, organ prolapse, or painful intercourse are common experiences in the weeks and months after birth. Fortunately, pelvic floor therapy can work wonders in helping you rebuild muscle strength and recover comfortably. Postpartum recovery benefits from pelvic floor therapy include:

• Helps restore strength to overstretched muscles in a safe way
• Improves symptoms like incontinence or prolapse- without only focusing on Kegels. Kegels aren’t safe for everyone to start with right away and in some cases can exacerbate symptoms. A pelvic floor muscle assessment can determine a tailored treatment just for you.
• Supports overall recovery from the challenges of labor (or surgery, in the case of C-sections)
• Helps manage lower back or neck pain
• Address pelvic pain and tension
• Learn proper body mechanics of breastfeeding and holding your baby to decrease pressure on pelvic floor muscles

It’s never too late—whether you delivered months ago or just last week, pelvic floor therapy can have a meaningful influence on your health. Working with a certified physical therapist postpartum allows you to explore non-surgical treatment options for any lingering symptoms, paving the way for a more confident, comfortable recovery.

Personalized pregnancy pelvic floor physical therapy in New Orleans

Pelvic floor therapy during and after pregnancy is about more than your physical health—it’s about reclaiming your confidence and comfort as your body undergoes a physically strenuous time.

At our New Orleans clinic, we offer customized pregnancy, and postpartum therapy plans to meet your specific needs. Learn more about our pelvic floor specialists and what a treatment plan might look like for you by calling one of our clinics or requesting your appointment online today.