Exercise your pelvic floor and prepare for childbirth

During pregnancy, a woman’s body experiences a series of notable changes, from head to toe. One of them, important to take into account because of what it implies, is the care of the pelvic floor.

This set of muscles and tissues supports the pelvic organs, controls the bladder and rectum, and it is important to take care of them during childbirth and postpartum recovery.

Keeping your pelvic floor in shape during pregnancy can help prevent problems such as urinary incontinence and prepare the body for childbirth.

It is important that, before any exercise you want to do, you take into account several important aspects.

Decreases weight gain

“The first thing you have to consider is that during childbirth you tend to gain a lot of weight and exercise helps to ensure that at least this weight gain is not so excessive and therefore, we do not have great risks of having gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension or fetal macrosomia. All these risks are associated with excessive weight gain during pregnancy,” explains gynecologist and obstetrician, Diana Álvarez.

Helps dispel pain

Many women complain of back pain, pain in the waist, joints and sciatica, however, all of these muscle and joint pain are due to greatly increased fluid retention during pregnancy.

“Exercise helps us to mobilize liquids more and then all these pains that occur during this stage no longer occur.or at least they are not as severe as they can be when we do not do any exercise,” says Álvarez.

ALSO READ This is the time you should sleep to avoid aging, according to Stanford

Poor sleep is associated with poor mental health and poor overall health

Prepare your muscles for childbirth

Kegel exercises are probably the best known for strengthening the pelvic floor. They involve contracting and relaxing the pelvic muscles, as if you were trying to stop the flow of urine.

During pregnancy, these exercises can help improve blood circulation in the pelvic area and prepare the muscles for childbirth.

To do them correctly, Contract your pelvic muscles for about five seconds and then relax them for another five seconds.Repeat this process 10 to 15 times, several times a day.

Strengthen your lower body

Squats are excellent for strengthening the muscles of the legs, glutes and also the pelvic floor. During pregnancy, you can modify this exercise by using a chair for greater stability.

Place your feet shoulder-width apart, lower yourself slowly as if you were going to sit in the chair, and then return to the starting position. Make sure you keep your back straight and your weight in your heels. Perform 10 to 15 repetitions, depending on your comfort level.

Essentials in your routine

Hip lifts are recommendedLie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.

Slowly lift your hips up toward the ceiling, squeezing your glute and pelvic floor muscles as you do so. Hold this position for a few seconds, then lower your hips back to the floor.

Repeat 10 to 15 times, making sure to breathe steadily throughout the exercise.

Yoga Bridges

Similar to hip raises, the yoga bridge is another great way to strengthen your pelvic floor and the muscles in your glutes and thighs.

Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart.

Slowly raise your hips toward the ceiling, keeping your shoulders and head on the floor. Hold this position for a few seconds and then lower your hips back to the ground.

Repeat 10 to 15 times, maintaining a constant flow of breathing.

ALSO READ 8 Myths and truths about breastfeeding

It has benefits for the baby and the mother

combine them

“Exercise also helps us release a series of endorphins and chemicals that help us with our mood. During pregnancy, our anxiety and risk of depression increases.so exercise helps us to reduce this type of anxiety, irritability, bad mood and all this.

“Furthermore, it has already been shown thatLabor and postpartum are managed much better in women who exercise during pregnancy than those that don’t.

So if you want to dilate faster and have a better labor, it is probably better for you to exercise,” the gynecologist shares.

Breathe

Although it is not an exercise in the traditional sense, practicing Diaphragmatic breathing can help strengthen the pelvic floor and prepare the body for childbirth.

Sit comfortably with your back straight and your hands on your belly. Inhale deeply through your nose, feeling your belly expand and your diaphragm move downward. Then exhale slowly through your mouth, feeling your pelvic muscles contract slightly. Repeat this process for a few minutes every day.

Benefits of exercise

Specialist Diana Álvarez also shares that “exercise helps reduce risks It is very important that they do not occur during pregnancy, such as venous thrombosisbecause these platelets that form in the legs can even travel to the lungs, and can cause complications in both the extremities and the lungs.

“In addition, those varicose veins which sometimes form during pregnancy may be decreased If we exercise and Reduces the risk of diabetes, hypertension, premature birth, depression, anxiety, muscle and joint pain”, he pointed out.