The Pelvic Floor: Dispelling The Myths

Pregnancy and childbirth can take a huge toll on the female body. Post-natal problems including bladder and bowel issues and diastasis recti (separation of the abdominal muscles) are commonplace, uncomfortable and often embarrassing, affecting at least two in three new mums to some degree.

However, with the right rehabilitation course, post-partum mums can get back on track and back to fitness so that the effects of childbirth don’t cause long-term problems.

In France, post-natal physio is commonplace, however in the UK women are often discharged after childbirth without follow up care beyond screening for depression at their six week post-natal visit – often there’s no check on their pelvic health, their abdominal muscles and little (or sometimes no) advice is given on restoring the pelvic floor muscles or the problems that can occur if this is not done properly.

Women’s Wellness Expert Michelle Lyons has been specialising in women’s health physiotherapy for more than 25 years and wants every woman to have access to the right aftercare once they’ve had a child. She is the clinical consultant for  Holistic Core Restore programme, which has helped hundreds of women get their bodies, and their lives, back. Here, she separates the fact from the fiction when it comes to the pelvic floor health:

• Pelvic Floor exercises can be learned from a leaflet:

Wrong! Michelle says: Take everything you thought you knew, and wipe it. The pelvic floor is a complex and hard-working part of a woman’s body. A few squeezes now and then is not going to make the blindest bit of difference. Women need proper training in how to find their pelvic floor, and then detailed advice on how to strengthen it. Michelle adds: ‘We have research showing that a significant number of women do their exercises incorrectly when depending on a leaflet for instruction – the gold standard is to go and see a women’s health physio who can provide an individualised programme that will work for you’

• Stopping a wee halfway through is a good start:

No! This is an exercise that’s sometimes used to enable women to identify where their pelvic floor is but it is not a good thing to do frequently. When you stop and start during urination, your brain can send mixed messages to both your bladder and pelvic floor muscles, possibly leading to incomplete emptying or possibly even infection.

• Once it’s gone, it’s gone:

Wrong! Just because you’ve had your baby that doesn’t mean your pelvic floor has had it for good. It’s certainly challenged by pregnancy, labour and delivery but by exercising the pelvic floor correctly you can rebuild strength and control over your bladder and bowel, as well as improving your sexual function!

• ‘I’m fine, I don’t need to strengthen my pelvic floor…’

You might feel okay now, but if you’ve had a baby your body has been through a lot and will have been stressed by that. But help is available – no matter how long its been since you’ve had your baby.Did you know that incontinence is one of main reasons women end up in care homes? When you’ve lost control of your bladder or bowel, you can lose a huge part of your life and your confidence. By exercising your pelvic floor correctly now, you are starting good habits for the rest of your life, and limiting the chances of incontinence as you get older.

• The gap in my abdomen can’t be reversed

Wrong! Diastasis recti varies from woman to woman, but almost every woman has a gap by the end of her pregnancy. With the right exercises the gap can be reduced, or even eliminated reducing your risk of back problems and core weakness in later life.