Water works – having a baby can cause you to wet yourself!

After having a baby, you are nearly more than three times more likely to become incontinent or to have leaking urine. And without assistance, this problem can increase as you age.

When you give birth, the act of baby moving down through the birth canal and out the vagina means stretching the canal. The birth canal is controlled by a series of nerves and muscles that assist the bladder in closing which are called pelvic floor muscles. During birth, this network can be damaged, stretched and weakened.

In hospital, you should have been given information or exercises that retrain the pelvic floor after baby but for a large number of women, knowing what to do and which muscles to recruit can be an exercise in frustration that leads nowhere. So where is the pelvic floor and what exercises can you do?

Post natal exercises can start as early as 2-3 days after the birth of your baby. Pelvic floor exercises: Should not cause any pain Should be started out slowly – over training them can cause them to be strained.

The Pelvic Floor is a sling of muscle and fibrous tissue which supports the contents of the pelvis and helps control continence. Recovery of this muscle is important for continence and to support the pelvic organs. It is recommended that all women exercise their pelvic floor throughout life, not just after baby.

Here are two ways of exercising the pelvic floor. Begin by lying on your back with your knees bent and legs slightly apart.

Squeeze and draw up the muscles around your anus, vagina and urethra as strongly as possible. Try to hold this squeeze and lift for 2-3 seconds then relax completely. Repeat this exercise 3-5 times more at least 5 or 6 times throughout the day.

Gradually increase your pelvic floor muscle strength by holding the squeeze and lift for longer period. To progress your exercises, hold each contraction as strongly for as long as you can, slowly increasing to 10 seconds.

Rest between each contraction and repeat as many times as you can – aiming for 10 contractions.

Always stop exercising when the muscles fatigues. Remember: these exercises can be done when sitting or standing as well as lying down.

Fast, strong pelvic floor contractions holding each exercise for only one second. This action is necessary for retraining the muscle to contract quickly when you cough, laugh or sneeze.

To progress, try doing 5-10 quick strong contractions. Do not forget to rest between each exercise. Try to do at least 4 sets of exercises each day at home.

TIPS:
Breathe your way through the contractions
Keep your buttocks and thighs relaxed and only gently contract your lower abdominals

Another few important reminders: don’t get constipated. Pain relief and lack of fibre can cause constipation which puts undue pressure on the weakened muscles. Increase your water and fibre intake – if necessary, take a laxative to temporarily relieve the bowel. Decrease your consumption of diuretics including tea, coffee and any fizzy drinks containing caffeine.

For a certain number of women, learning to recruit these muscles requires further intervention. We recommend going to a physiotherapist who works with a real time ultrasound machine. This will enable you to learn to retrain the correct muscles in a short amount of time.

We use and recommend Ellen at MTM Physiotherapy – (08) 9227 6334‎ for further advice and treatment but there are certainly a large number of physiotherapists available who can also assist. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance as incontinence is something that can be fixed and you don’t have to put up with it.