The pelvic floor after childbirth
Pregnancy and childbirth put the pelvic floor to the test. It is normal for your body to feel different afterwards. Here is what happens and when you can start training.
What happens during pregnancy
For nine months the pelvic floor carries a growing weight. At the same time, hormones make the tissue softer and more elastic so the body can prepare for the birth.
During a vaginal birth the muscles stretch a great deal, and sometimes tears occur. Even after a caesarean, the pelvic floor has carried the pregnancy for months and may need training.
Common in the first months
- You leak when you cough, sneeze or lift.
- It feels heavy, or as if something is pressing down.
- You find it harder to hold in wind.
- Sex feels unfamiliar or tender.
- You struggle to feel the muscles when you try to squeeze.
Much of this improves with time and with training. Your body needs to heal, and that is allowed to take time.
When can you start?
Most women can start gentle Kegel exercises in the first days after the birth, if it feels right. The aim is to find contact with the muscles again. Light squeezes, short sessions and proper rest between each one.
If you had a larger tear or a caesarean, ask your midwife how to approach it. If it hurts to squeeze, wait and ask.
At your postnatal check-up the midwife checks how you have healed. Take the chance to ask about your pelvic floor. You can ask for help to check whether you are squeezing correctly.
Tips for everyday life with a baby
- Squeeze when you lift the pram, the car seat or the baby.
- Breathe out as you lift and don't hold your breath.
- Avoid straining on the toilet. Eat fibre and drink plenty, especially if you are breastfeeding.
- Wait with running and jumping until your pelvic floor feels stable. Start with walks.
- Squeeze a few times every time you breastfeed or feed. Then it becomes a habit.
Train sitting down once you are cleared
Once you have been cleared, you can complement your own exercises with INSCULPT Chair. You sit fully clothed for about 30 minutes while an electromagnetic field activates the pelvic floor with around 12,000 contractions. The chair has its own programme for the time after childbirth.
It does not hurt. It tingles and you feel clear contractions. The intensity starts low and is increased step by step. No recovery time is needed, so you go straight back to your day afterwards.
A course is usually 10 treatments, 2 times a week. Tell the clinic that you have recently given birth, and they will adapt the plan to you.
When to seek care
Contact a midwife or doctor if the leakage is heavy, if you cannot hold in stool or wind, if it feels as though something is bulging into the vagina, or if you have pain, fever or foul-smelling discharge.
You have the right to get help, even long after the birth. It is never too late to bring it up.
Ready when your body is
Find a clinic near you in Sweden or Norway with INSCULPT Chair and book your first treatment after your postnatal check-up.
