During the morning clinic, a young mother of two who was 17 weeks pregnant quietly stood next to me after her labor and delivery and whispered with a shy face, “Doctor, lately I have been coughing or sneezing and I have urine coming out, I can’t even hold it in ……” In fact, many pregnant mothers or postpartum mothers have experienced, are experiencing or will experience similar embarrassing situations. This is not a minor problem, let alone one that we are ashamed to talk about, but one that affects our quality of life and even our health! So the following topic is about pelvic floor exercises that are very important to all women. The pelvic floor tissues (muscles and ligaments) are responsible for maintaining the organs in our pelvic cavity (including the bladder, uterus and rectum) in a normal position. However, after pregnancy, especially in the middle and late stages of pregnancy, the enlarged uterus and childbirth can put a lot of pressure on the pelvic floor tissues of pregnant mothers. Once the pelvic floor muscle groups are relaxed and weak, the first thing that will happen is that the pregnant mothers will not be able to exert themselves conveniently during the delivery, and even have a difficult or cesarean delivery. If you don’t recover well after childbirth or do physical labor too early, you will have different degrees of pelvic floor dysfunction. There are different forms of manifestations and degrees of severity, mainly the following categories: 1. decreased quality of sexual life; 2. stress urinary incontinence (coughing, laughing, leakage during exercise); 3. pelvic organ prolapse (vaginal wall prolapse, uterine prolapse). Since the function of the pelvic floor muscle group is so important, how do we exercise it? The most simple, convenient, economical and effective method is Kegel exercise. What is Kegel exercise? In 1948, Arnold Kegel, an American gynecologist, first introduced pelvic floor exercises, hence the name Kegel exercise. Kegel exercises are voluntary, repeated contractions and relaxations of the pelvic floor muscles. Long-term regular Kegel exercises can help us enhance the tone of the pelvic floor muscle groups that support the urethra, bladder, uterus and rectum and prevent pelvic floor problems. For pregnant mothers, the specific benefits are as follows: 1. improve the chances of a normal delivery; 2. improve the quality of sex life after delivery; 3. it is one of the most common and effective non-surgical treatments for stress urinary incontinence. Therefore, we adhere to Kegel exercises before pregnancy, early pregnancy, mid pregnancy, late pregnancy and after delivery, which will effectively improve the tone and elasticity of pelvic floor muscles and bring a series of benefits. Suitable time: Any time, including non-pregnancy, early pregnancy, middle pregnancy, late pregnancy and postpartum Fun: * * * * Physical exertion: * * * * Venue requirements: * Weather requirements: * Safety factor: * * * * * * Operable: * * * * * * * What should I do with Kegel exercises? Step 1: Identify the “Kegel” muscles Before exercising, it is important to find the muscle groups that make up the pelvic floor. When we urinate, if we want to stop the flow of urine (i.e. hold it in), this contraction is the basic Kegel movement, and then relax those muscles to resume urination, so that we can better feel where the Kegel muscles are. If you have trouble finding the Kegel muscles at first, you can place a clean finger in the vagina and press the muscles around it, we can feel the muscles tighten and wrap the finger tighter, then we have found them. Note: Don’t get the wrong muscles to make the force, don’t contract the hips, legs and the abdominal muscles, and don’t make the action of relieving the bowels. Step 2: Precautions before and during practice Make sure you have a clean bowel movement before you start practicing. To get the best results, we have to make sure that we only focus on tightening the pelvic floor muscles and relax all other muscles, such as the buttocks, thighs and abdominal muscles. When practicing, make sure that you breathe in smoothly and do not hold your breath. A smooth whistle will help us relax and help the pelvic floor muscles get the most out of the exercise. Pregnant mothers can choose a comfortable position, whether sitting in a chair or lying down for the exercise, must ensure that the hip and abdominal muscles are relaxed. Note: If, after completing a set of Kegel exercises, the back or abdomen is sore, the exercises are incorrect. Step 3: Practice Kegel exercises in your daily life One set of Kegel exercises: contract the pelvic floor muscles for 10 seconds, then relax for 10 seconds and repeat the exercise 10 times. Appropriate amount: do 3-4 sets of the same exercises in one day. Maybe the first 10 seconds are too long for some pregnant mothers, so you can contract for only 2-3 seconds. But still let the pelvic floor muscles rest for 10 seconds to allow them to fully relax. We can set a goal of “contracting the pelvic floor muscles for 10 seconds at a time”. Add a few seconds each week to the time spent contracting these muscles, rather than doing them for longer periods of time or doing more sets of exercises at a time. Note: Once you have reached your goal, stick to it and practice 3-4 times a day. How can I make sure that practicing Kegel exercises will pay off? To reap the benefits, you must stick to it and make it part of the pregnant mother’s daily life. It is very feasible to do Kegel exercises 3-4 times a day, with each set lasting about 3 and a half minutes. Pregnant mothers can practice purposefully in the morning, afternoon and evening without having to worry about scheduling extra time. One of the biggest advantages of Kegel exercises is that no one knows about them while they are being performed. Once a pregnant mother becomes familiar with it, she can do it in any setting and at any time. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), if Kegel exercises are performed regularly, the results can be felt after about 4-6 weeks at the earliest. What to do if you don’t find the exercises or they don’t work: If a pregnant mother feels that she is not doing Kegel exercises correctly, she can seek the help of her doctor to identify and differentiate the correct muscles to work on. If a pregnant mother has been doing Kegel exercises for a significant period of time, such as several months, but has not seen any results, then she should also seek the help of her doctor. Your doctor can also provide us with biofeedback training (usually in a women’s health unit), but only in the non-pregnant and postpartum period, not during pregnancy. Contraindications to Kegel exercises: Kegel exercises are suitable for all adult and older women, but must be performed after emptying the bladder. Exercises performed when the bladder is full of urine can weaken the pelvic floor muscles and increase the risk of urinary tract infections. However, it is possible to find and locate these muscles during the first time. No exercise or practice will make permanent gains after one or two performances. So what we need to do is practice correctly, regularly and consistently! For the sake of a “happy” life and good health, pregnant mothers, let’s practice!