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During a vaginal birth, it is common for the area between the vagina and your back passage (anus) to be torn or grazed. Here we explain what you can do to protect yourself.
Protecting your pelvic floor
About your pelvic floor
Your pelvic floor is layers of muscles. These stretch, like a hammock, from the pubic bone at the front of the pelvis (hip joint) to the bottom of the backbone.
The pelvic floor:
- helps to hold the bladder, womb (uterus) and bowel in place
- closes the outlets of the bladder and back passage, preventing incontinence – leakage of urine (pee) and faeces (poo).
Pelvic floor exercises
Why the exercises are important
Pregnancy and childbirth can cause pelvic floor muscles to weaken and sag, so they give less support. This can lead to incontinence. After giving birth, around a 1 in 3 women leak urine and up to a 1 in 10 leak faeces.
Like any muscle, the more you use and exercise it, the stronger the pelvic floor will be. Women that do pelvic floor exercises during pregnancy report less urine leakage in late pregnancy and in the first few months after birth.
When to do them
Begin exercising as soon as you can in pregnancy.
Continue them as soon as possible after your baby is born. This is regardless of the type of birth you had. This will aid healing and reduce any swelling, and help guard against or reduce incontinence.
Do not be worried about re-starting the exercises. Most women find it less sore than they expect.
Note: if you have a catheter, wait until this is out and you are passing urine normally before re-starting your pelvic floor exercises.
How to do the exercises
Your pelvic floor is made up of two kinds of muscle. So, it is best to exercise both types to improve strength and stamina.
Go to our page on antenatal exercises for instructions on how to do pelvic floor exercises.
Remember, quality is better than quantity. So, begin with as many as you can hold strongly. Then aim to increase repetitions up to around 10 of each type.
Try to do these three to five times per day as part of your daily routine, perhaps when you use the toilet or feed your baby.
Continuing them for the rest of your life will also help to prevent further problems such as uterine, bladder or bowel prolapses.
Protecting your perineum
The perineum can be damaged during childbirth. This is the area between the opening of your vagina and your back passage (anus).
This trauma can be caused by natural tearing or an episiotomy (a deliberate cut made to the perineum to make space for the baby to come out and to prevent tearing).
We have more information on this, including what you can do to help prevent tearing during birth.
Contact information
Perineal health department
Kingston Hospital
Galsworthy Road
KT2 7QB
For non-urgent advice about pelvic floor exercises, contact your community midwife