Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises During Pregnancy Help Prevent Incontinence

Filed in archive Childbirth , Medical Issues , Post-Natal Issues , Pregnancy Fitness on October 11, 2008

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 6755849

I told you, you should be doing your kegels! A new study just published in the Cochrane Library confirms that pelvic floor muscle exercises are effective for preventing and treating incontinence.
According to the study, a third of women are known to leak urine following childbirth, while 1 in 10 leak faeces, although these figures my even be underestimated. I mean, who wants to own up to such an embarassing condition? However, they also found that women who receive one-to-one instruction and supervision from a physiotherapist on how to do the exercises are half as likely to report urinary incontinence in late pregnancy, and a third less likely up to six months after birth, than those who receive usual antenatal and postnatal care.
So go on, do your Kegels, especially if your are at higher risk of urine leakage (anticipating a large baby or forceps delivery). Seek a physiotherapist if necessary, but do it!