Changes In Pelvic Floor During Pregnancy

Pregnancy and childbirth are well known risk factors for the development of pelvic floor disorders such as pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence 1 3 hormonal and mechanical changes during pregnancy might contribute to impairment of normal pelvic floor function.
Changes in pelvic floor during pregnancy. Maintaining core strength during pregnancy helps you recover easier and quicker postpartum. Changes to your core and pelvic floor in pregnancy an enlarging uterus and growing fetus add another element of pressure inside your abdomen. The stronger the pelvic floor muscles during and after pregnancy and the better the pelvic floor muscles are working the less the risk of stress incontinence which is leakage of urine during a cough sneeze laugh movement lifting sport or exercise. While various studies have addressed pelvic floor changes during pregnancy few have focused on primiparous women exclusively addressed pelvic floor function comprehensively and gathered data across all three trimesters.
At around 36 weeks your baby starts to drop lower into your pelvis. It is important to understand pelvic floor changes associated with childbearing and their possible temporal nature. Much like the rest of a woman s body her pelvic floor changes during pregnancy losing strength and elasticity as the strain of supporting a developing baby greatly increases the workload of the muscles in the pelvic floor the abdomen and the spine simply put the weight distribution of a woman s body shifts dramatically resulting in pelvic floor changes during pregnancy as the muscles. This is called lightening and it s a sign that your body is getting ready for labor.
Focusing on the core and pelvic floor during pregnancy is beneficial for a few reasons.