Regardless of how you birth, your pelvic floor is impacted because you just spent 40ish week pregnant. Having a general understanding of what the pelvic floor is, it’s role in pregnancy and birth, and what red flag signs you should be looking out for helps you make more informed decisions for your body.

To help you I have compiled a list of 22 things you should know about the pelvic floor before having a baby.

• The pelvic floor are the soft tissues that close the bottom ring of the pelvis

• In females there are three holes that go through the pelvic floor (uretha, vagina, rectum)

• The pelvic floor keeps pee, poop, gas and baby in

• The pelvic floor helps keep the pelvic joints stable

• The pelvic floor supports the position of the pelvic organs (bladder, uterus, rectum)

• The pelvic floor helps manage internal pressures with the diaphragm & abdominals

• During pregnancy the pelvic floor lengthens under the weight of growing baby & uterus

• The increased load on the pelvic floor tends to increase the tension in the muscles

• It can become harder for the pelvic floor to contract on demand in pregnancy to prevent leakage or pelvic pressure

• The pelvic floor is attached to the tailbone and when tight can prevent the tailbone from moving outward during a vaginal birth

• A strong pelvic floor can contract and lengthen

• You can influence the length of your pelvic floor by changing the position of your hips/legs & pelvis

• A tight pelvic floor can make it more difficult for baby to get into ideal birthing positionn

• Constantly holding a pelvic floor contraction makes it hard for the muscles to respond to changes in internal pressure (cough, sneeze, etc) or load placed on the body (lifting, etc)

• Bearing down to poop strains & weakens the pelvic floor

• The pelvic floor needs to learn how to lengthen to let baby pass through, which is the opposite of a kegel

• You might have a pelvic floor problem if you, leak pee, poop or gas

• You might have a pelvic floor problem if you have pain anywhere in the pelvis, hips, abdomen or low back

• You might have a pelvic floor problem if you have pressure, hemorrhoids, or varicose veins

• Constipation can make pelvic floor problems worse

• Learning how to breath into the pelvic floor is a great way to start healing pelvic floor issues

• The pelvic floor DOES NOT push the baby out

Did any of these surprise you? What would you add?

Keep your eye out for the last blog of this series, Understanding Your Postpartum Pelvic Floor: What to Expect

And as always reach out if you have a question or are interested in setting up an appointment!