Do This Now If You Want to Avoid Pelvic Floor Issues Postpartum

There’s a large variety of symptoms and conditions that you can experience after giving birth; however, a less frequently discussed postpartum issue is pelvic floor dysfunction. 

Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles that support your pelvic organs, including your bladder, rectum, and uterus. These muscles also stabilize your spine, play a role in continence, and allow you to experience sexual arousal and achieve orgasm. 

Because pregnancy and childbirth are both incredibly taxing on your pelvic floor, it's very common for women to experience leaking urine, pressure in the vagina, and pelvic pain during that postpartum period.

Thankfully, there are steps you can take to prevent the onset of pelvic floor dysfunction or at least reduce its severity. There are also things you can do to rehabilitate your pelvic floor if you do experience pelvic issues. 

In this month’s blog, Rachel Speildoch, MD, FACOG, and the rest of our team at McDowell Mountain Gynecology in Scottsdale, Arizona, discuss both what you can do to mitigate your risk of pelvic floor dysfunction and how to treat it should you develop the condition. 

How to prevent pelvic floor dysfunction 

Pelvic floor dysfunction is caused by overstraining your pelvic floor muscles. It can simply be strain from a one time event — such as childbirth — or strain over time — such as strain from pregnancy. During pregnancy, your pelvic floor muscles weaken and childbirth strains them even more. Perineal tears and nerve damage can worsen the issue. 

All of these factors can make it difficult to avoid pelvic floor dysfunction postpartum. However, the best way to reduce your risk of pelvic issues is to simply strengthen your pelvis through exercises called Kegels. 

To strengthen your pelvic floor through Kegel exercises, start by locating your pelvic floor muscles. Once you’ve done that, simply tighten those muscles for three seconds and then relax for three seconds. Aim to do three sets of ten repetitions everyday for a strong pelvic floor.

You can also help reduce your risk of pelvic floor dysfunction by eating a high fiber diet to avoid constipation and straining while having a bowel movement. Any time you can reduce strain on your pelvic floor will help to reduce risk of pelvic issues.

Healing from pelvic floor dysfunction 

Childbirth is a very traumatic experience for your body, and your pelvic floor is no exception. Because of this, it can be difficult to prevent. If you do end up having issues with your pelvic floor, it’s important to keep doing pelvic floor exercises to build the muscles back up. 

In addition to pelvic exercises, at McDowell Mountain Gynecology, we offer vaginal rejuvenation to help address pelvic floor issues such as incontinence, pelvic pain, and painful sex.  

Our vaginal rejuvenation treatments focus on healing and strengthening the tissues in your vaginal canal, helping to improve sexual function and reduce issues with urinary leaks as a result.

To learn more about vaginal rejuvenation or how to strengthen your pelvic floor, schedule an appointment with our team by calling our office or booking online today.