These days there is definitely more awareness about the pelvic floor than our Mothers generations. We know that focusing on its proper function is essential for pregnancy, postpartum, and overall quality of life. We no longer accept that peeing ourselves or pain with sex are just part of the experience of having a uterus, having children or going through menopause. We know that there is something we can do about it.

Regardless of what stage of pregnancy you are, how you birthed your child(ren), or how many months or years postpartum you are, you will always find pelvic floor exercises (strengthening and releasing) in my workout programs. Here are 3 reasons why:

Use It or Lose It - The Mantra for Muscle Strength

Just like any other muscle in our body, the pelvic floor muscles need regular exercise to stay strong. These muscles play a pivotal role in your core stability, breathing mechanics, and overall health, supporting your bladder, bowels, and uterus. Ignoring them can lead to weaknesses which can snowball into bigger complications, especially during and after pregnancy.

Even if you are not experiencing symptoms or symptoms have lessened, you still have to keep up with the exercises. That would be like you only brushing your teeth when you have cavities.The tooth sensitivity, toothaches, and cavities would just keep coming back.

A study published in the Canadian Urological Association Journal (Marques. et. al 2010) highlights, "It is, therefore, important that the patient maintain a regular exercise routine to sustain the SUI [stress urinary incontinence] improvements achieved through PFM [pelvic floor muscle] training." This echoes my belief that maintaining a regular exercise routine, inclusive of pelvic floor muscle strengthening and release, is not just beneficial but essential for long-term health and comfort.

2. I Believe in Prehab and I Want to Help You Be Proactive

“Just as a Mother instinctively anticipates and prepares for her child’s needs, I will help you adopt a proactive stance for our own health”

We wouldn't run a marathon without preparing for it, that is why I think we should be approaching pregnancy, birth, and postpartum with the a similar athlete's mentality. Being serious about preparing our body and mind, as best as we can, for the transition into Motherhood. It is the greatest marathon, the greatest athletic event. I say this a lot because I strongly believe it is!

If you wanted to perform your best in a marathon, you would focus on building endurance in your cardiovascular system, muscular endurance in your lower body, and improving your running mechanics. If you wanted to perform your best in the marathon of Motherhood (have a strong pregnancy, feel connected to your body during labor and birth, and regain strength and confidence postnatally), then I would help you connect to your pelvic floor, create a stable core, safely build muscular strength and endurance, and maintain overall mobility. Just as a Mother instinctively anticipates and prepares for her child's needs, I will help you adopt a proactive stance for our own health. It's always better to prepare and strengthen ourselves in advance than to react to challenges after they arise.

3. I Know There Are Activities You Love and You Want to Keep Doing

Maybe you want to be able to attend your favourite group fitness classes during your pregnancy.

Maybe you want to strap in to a snowboard again or summit mountain tops with your baby in a carrier.

Maybe you are like me and it's a combination of these.

Whatever your desires and goals are pre and postnatally, there is work that has to be done in order to support our pelvic floor function, so that we can confidently get after the activities that put a smile on our face.

During pregnancy, the weight of the baby, extra blood volume, the placenta and pregnancy hormones can weaken the pelvic floor muscles.

Obviously, vaginal and c-section births have an affect our pelvic floor muscles in our postnatal recovery.

Hormonal changes during perimenopause and menopause also affect pelvic floor muscle function. That is why, doing pelvic floor exercises on the regular and not in one phase of our life or as a reaction to something happening, is going to set us up for better pelvic floor function for the long term.

We don’t want to just prepare for now, we want to safeguard our future selves right?

If you have worked with me or been here for a while, you also know that I think it is beneficial to create a support team for ourselves for our perinatal journey. One of those members should be a Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist and you should work with them if:

you are pregnant but do not have symptoms
you are pregnant and do have symptoms
you are in early postpartum, are past 6 weeks, and do not have symptoms
you are in early postpartum, are past 6 weeks, and do have symptoms
you are 3 years postpartum, do not have symptoms with exercises, but do when you catch your kids cold and the intense coughing makes you pee yourself (Hi, it’s me🙋‍♀️)
you are 30 years postpartum and are waking up often at night because you feel like you have to go pee, but you don't actually.

A Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist is going to help you figure out exactly what you need to work on, they will help you ensure you are doing the exercises correctly, and help you overcome struggles. As your Pre and Postnatal Fitness Trainer, I'm here to seamlessly integrate these exercises into your program and busy schedule. I will help you stay on top of the exercises, stay motivated, and help you safely keep up with a strength training program that supports your pelvic floor health and your comfort.

Ready to take charge of your pelvic floor health for the long term?

Are you pregnant? Then I invite you to download my 3rd Trimester Strength and Early Postpartum Prep Guide to help you finish strong in the final stages of the pregnancy marathon and create a soft landing place in early postpartum for your recovery.

If you are pregnant or postpartum and looking for more guidance and support, check out my VIP Online Training Membership or The Strong Mom Collective which is specific to postnatal training.

If you're like a Mom who is unsure of what to do with an hour of free time, and you are feel lost on your perinatal fitness journey, then let's schedule a Sanity Saver Consult. We can discuss your specific needs and goals.

Remember, every step you take is a step towards a stronger, healthier you - in pregnancy and beyond.

Marques, Andrea et al. “The status of pelvic floor muscle training for women.” Canadian Urological Association journal = Journal de l'Association des urologues du Canada vol. 4,6 (2010): 419-24. doi:10.5489/cuaj.10026