What to expect when you’re expecting: pelvic floor edition

You’re pregnant, your friends have told you see a pelvic floor physio, so you walk in, but have no idea what to expect! Well, you’re not alone! So many of our clients come in for labour and delivery prep, knowing they are exactly where they should be, but don’t know what’s to come. We got you: here is the 411 on what to expect when you’re expecting, from a pelvic health physiotherapy lens!

Pregnancy is like a running a marathon, and just like athletes would train for the race, expecting mothers should also train and prepare for the big event. Whether you’re delivering by vaginal birth or by cesarian birth, it is important to know your body, prepare it for delivery and have the information to support you during the process and postpartum.

Pelvic floor physiotherapists are trained to assess the external and internal pelvic floor muscles. During an assessment, you will be able understand what your baseline is; where are your pelvic floor muscles, what are their functions, how do they move, are they overactive or underactive?^[1] In addition, if you’re experiencing symptoms like incontinence, pelvic heaviness or pressure, back pain, pelvic pain, pain with intercourse, urinary urgency and frequency (just to name a few), your physio will be able to guide you through a program to ensure you work towards decreasing or eliminating those symptoms^[2] – because let’s be real, pregnancy is hard on its own and no one needs the extra stress!

Now let’s getting down to the nitty gritty – labour and delivery prep:

There are tools and techniques, tip and tricks that can be used during labour and delivery, to support you, baby and your pelvic floor. These things include prep work that can be done in advance like perineal massage,^[3] breathing techniques and pelvic relaxation exercises. Birth prep also goes over what to do during labour, how your birth partner can support you,^[5] positioning during pushing,^[4] how to push, c-section preparation, recovery education, first exercises to do post partum and So. Much. More!

Knowledge is power my friends! And when you’re entering a situation that may feel overwhelming and full of unknowns, this information can give you the confidence to advocate for yourself and to feel more prepared in passing the finish line of the race! You can do it mama’s, and as always, we are here to support you along the way!

By: Rehana Meru, Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist

References

1. Frawley H, Shelly B, Morin M, et al. An International Continence Society (ICS) report on the terminology for pelvic floor muscle assessment. Neurourol Urodyn. 2021;40(5):1217-1260. doi:10.1002/nau.24658
2. Woodley SJ, Lawrenson P, Boyle R, et al. Pelvic floor muscle training for preventing and treating urinary and faecal incontinence in antenatal and postnatal women. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020;5(5):CD007471. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD007471.pub4
3. Beckmann MM, Stock OM. Antenatal perineal massage for reducing perineal trauma. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013;(4):CD005123. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD005123.pub3
4. Gupta JK, Sood A, Hofmeyr GJ, Vogel JP. Position in the second stage of labour for women without epidural anaesthesia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017;5(5):CD002006. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD002006.pub4
5. Bohren MA, Hofmeyr GJ, Sakala C, Fukuzawa RK, Cuthbert A. Continuous support for women during childbirth. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017;7(7):CD003766. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD003766.pub6

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