Protect your pelvic floor when do resistance and core exercises

Read this on the Pelvic Floor Website: The pelvic floor and resistance exercises.

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Examples of doing weights while protecting the pelvic floor muscles

Post natal mums often are keen to return to their ‘core’ exercises, which they did pre pregnancy, however, considering your pelvic floor with your core is essential. The Pelvic Floor First campaign highlights the need to protect the pelvic floor and choose wisely the level of core exercise that you do, when returning to sport and exercise after having a baby. We are pleased to have been involved in the development of the new factsheets, launched by the Continence Foundation of Australia including 'The pelvic floor and core exercises '.

For core exercises focus first on correctly tightening your pelvic floor muscles with your deep and lower abdominal muscles.

Progress when your body is ready and you are well controlled with your movements before you add more load.

Further progression needs further concentration to do this well, with no breath hold, to prevent pressure downwards on the pelvic floor muscles and to protect the back while abdominal and pelvic floor muscle strength and control is improving.

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To view a video by Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist Michelle Kenway on choosing correct core muscle exercises while protecting and preventing downwards pressure on your pelvic floor, watch “Pelvic Floor Safe Core Exercises”.

This video is also for women who have a prolapse or have had pelvic floor surgery, and this is an important time to protect your pelvic floor, become aware and to prevent the development of longer term pelvic floor problems.

To check and record your own personal postnatal abdominal muscle or 'core' exercise progress use our As Your Shape Changes tests from page 25 to 30.

For your post natal exercise guide use our Post natal Exercises area of this website.