During pregnancy your body goes through many changes to help you grow, carry and birth your baby. It can sometimes be difficult to know what are normal changes, and when you should seek help. Changes can happen to your bladder, bowel and vaginal and sexual health as your pelvic floor muscles come under more pressure.
The information below will give you self help tips to manage these changes. It will also provide advice on when, where and why to seek help if anything worries you or does not resolve. Your pelvic floor muscles are a group of muscles that span the outlet of your pelvis. They attach from the pubic bone at the front, to the coccyx bone at the back, forming the floor of your pelvis.
Pelvic floor muscles have the following uses:. Anyone who is pregnant can be affected by pelvic floor dysfunction. This is when the pelvic floor muscles are not working correctly. It is important to be aware of how pelvic floor problems occur and what you can do to reduce them. During pregnancy, the pelvic floor muscles come under pressure from the extra weight of your growing baby, amniotic fluid, placenta and the enlargement of the womb. This extra downward pressure and effect from pregnancy hormones chemicals in the blood stream causes stretching and tiring of the pelvic floor muscles.
The stretching means your muscles do not do their jobs as well. During a vaginal birth, your pelvic floor muscles will stretch for you to deliver your baby. Some women may sustain tearing of the perineum and pelvic floor muscles which will take time to heal. This can affect how well the muscle works. After birth the nerves that make the pelvic floor muscles work may not be doing this so well and mean that your muscles feel weak.
It is common to be embarrassed or to think that pelvic floor problems are normal while you are pregnant and after childbirth. Please read the "Who can help? There are lots of reasons women tell us why they may not seek help with pelvic floor problems. This includes:. Remember - help is available. This page contains advice, self care tips and information on when, where and why to seek help.
