pelvic floor exercise

I remember from my first pregnancy and labour in Australia, it was a special and precious experience ever in my life.

*our precious caliph..few hrs after birth*

Giving birth in the most comfortable room ever with Queen size bed and attached toilet with tub for water birth or for relaxation in the warm bath.

*could not find the Monash Medical Center (MMC), Melbourne birth suite. This one is the most similar I could find but the tub in MMC is in the bathroom*

The Queen size bed is provided for the father to have some rest while accompanying the wife. Birth process may take hours (theoretically every hr 1cm dilatation of the cervix) therefore fair enough for the father to have some rest while supporting the wife.

Just a brief overview of Australian birth facilities;)

One of the point emphasis during antenatal and post natal check up was pelvic floor exercise. The pregnancy and other associated condition such as constipation may weaken the muscle that holds the bladder, bowel and uterus in place.

But where is the muscle actually? Refer the picture below: (the muscles surrounding te three openings, urethra-opening from bladder, vagina-opening from the womb, rectum-opening from the bowel)

I've found that in Malaysia the midwife or the doctor rarely talk about this. Maybe in private setting is different and it is not a surprise if many Malaysian mother do not know what is it, the importance of it and how to do it.

This is an important exercise that can be done anwhere. It helps preventing incontinence (unable to control the urine flow) before giving birth and after labour. It also helps in the labour process and later in future in sexual relation with husband and prevent prolapse (uterus/womb dropped out from the vagina). All these sounds alarming but the good news is we can do something.

The youngest patient (in Malaysia) I have met to experience prolapse was a 30 years old lady. This poor lady need an equipment called 'pessaries' to be put in the vagina to help with her sexual relation and to get pregnant again.

*a diagram showing the uterus has prolapsed out of the wagina..it is very uncomfortable*

*the pessary ring was put in place, need to change every 3 months..very uncomfortable*

The exercise is quite difficult (because we are not sure that we apply to the right muscle) but by practice it can be done easily anywhere at anytime.

The simplest thing I practiced was by trying to hold during urination/ 'weeing' (some people hold the wind) and identify which muscle is contracted. Then I redo it and feels the same muscle contracted:)

From my personal experience, i feel like 'squeeze and lift' sensation. Initial trial I found that I actually hold my breath or pulling up my tummy which is not right. Other mistakes that may happen are tightening buttock or squeezing legs together.

A beginner may try this exercise while laying down then later in any position. Try to hold the muscle in 10 seconds and try 10 times in a row.

A good strong pelvic floor muscles helps during labour by shortening second stage of labour (this stage starts from full dilatation and expulsion of the baby), help to heal the wound caused by labour because of good circulation and more likely to have satisfying sex life.

Small things may make a big different..lets try the pelvic exercise for better future, biiznillah..!:)