Pelvic floor success?

My GP told me that another pregnancy would be disastrous for my pelvic floor, so lo and behold I'm UTD again. I've been practicing my pelvic floor exercises a few times a day most days (I think I may have forgotten a few times) for about 2 weeks I suppose, what results should I expect to see by now?

TMI: When I started, I was unable to stop the flow of urine and now I find that I can, though sometimes not immediately, it gradually slows down before stopping. Is this good progress?

Has anyone had a wimpy pelvic floor before or at the beginning of preg and gotten it into shape before birth? I'd be happy if I just didn't do any extra damage with this preg and birth but to repair damage would be even better.

Thanks in advance.

I have no idea babe! But I just wanted to stop by and say, I didn't realise how important they were. I've been doing my exercises everyday since I was 14 just cause I was told too lol. Then as I got older found it really helped in dtd lol. But once I had dd via emergency csection, I had the phsyio lady come and see me to get me out of bed on day 2 and she asked to feel my pelvic floor muslces and asked if i'd done yoga, to which I replied yes but hadn't done it in a while and she then told me that my muscles were the strongest she'd seen in a long time and that was definately going to work well in my favour. And she was RIGHT if I hadn't of had them to help with getting out of bed and going to the toilet and just general everyday stuff, I would of been up 'you know what creek' I reckon! But I did notice during my pregnancy no one really pushed the issue kwim? So I wasn't really sure how important they were. Im sure any excercise is better than none right? Maybe take up some yoga?

I have to admit that I have had trouble with my PF muscles since DS1's birth (I blame the epidural ;) ) despite doing regular Pilates and PFE when I remember. I really need to see a physio I think - there are some that specialise in PF problems. My best suggestions for you are pregnancy Pilates and/or seeing a physio. GL hun.

Nee, that sounds like pretty good progress so far. Keep it up. I also second MR - definitely get into doing pregnancy pilates and see a physio that specialises in PF.

Definately Pilates....worked for me and I had a terrible time with prolapse after DDs birth. The key is not just strengthening your pelvic floor with squeezes but ALSO strengthening your stomach muscles (they are all connected of course). I managed to get symptom free with lots of core strengthening. I am pregnant again and trying to be preventive by doing pregnancy pilates and yoga.

Keep at it....I think it's worth it!

Thanks for the advice, I was advised to try pregnancy pilates for my back anyway so it's definately something I should get on to ASAP.

My pf is better after dd2 than after dd1! After dd1 I had a prolapse (bladder and bowel tmi) and the best thing I did was see a pelvic floor physiotherapist, all she does is specialise in pf physio. After 6 months I had no symptoms :clap:. I was lucky and didnt get any incontinence.

I saw a private physio but I could have seen a pf physio at the public hospital I gave birth at with a refferal from my gp.

The physio assessed my pf, showed me how to exercise it properley. She also advised me of day to day things to help, when to brace my pf (lifting dd, shopping, exercising etc) and to avoid constipation. Good luck, I hope your hard work pays of and your pf is better after number 2 like mine!

I second the advice to see a physio who specialises in pelvic floor stuff, they will check you are doing them correctly and help you with technique and give you a specialised program, I had a prolapse post birth and seeing a physio has done wonders! :)

Sounds like they are improving well hun!! Mine were rather unreliable early on with my pg with DD3, but by the end of pg I wasn't leaking when I sneezed. I would aim to do them 5 times a day, 10 reps of fast 10 reps of slow. So when you wake up plus each meal and bed time would be good times to do them.

Hi,

I am so glad that I found this thread. I have just had my 8 week check up and was told by older male Dr, that I have a mild prolapse. I asked if I can fix it and he basically said no too late only option is surgery and that I shouldn't both until I have finished having children.

I am interested to hear that some of you appear to have had success with improving a prolapse, was this just through doing pelvic floor exercises, also how do physios check her Pelvic Floor?

I am really wanting to get on top of mine as my mother has very severe problems with a prolapse.

In information would be greatly appreciated

I also want to recommend going to see a pelvic floor specialist physio. I went to a normal physio at the women's doctor and she wasn't anywhere near as good as the specialist I went to later.
There is also a book called womens waterworks which goes through the excercises really well, you might be able to get it at the library.
From memory, the physio I saw said 15mins exercise routine each day. With fast and slow squeezes, and lift squeeze and holds. Also using a pelvic floor exerciser which gives you resistance.
Good luck. I have gotten really lazy with mine and am just getting back into it.

Thanks Heliana,

I might try and see if I can get my hands on that book. My MHN mentioned a Womens Wellness Centre in Melbourne that is as it sounds specialises in women only, they may have a pelvic floor specialist there. I am really wanting to get onto it now rather than leave it to get worse.

Do physios have the pelvic floor exercisers?

Try looking up physios in the yellow pages, thats how I found mine. Sally obrien in if anyones in brissy. You don't need a referral but Im not sure, you might get more back if you have one.
They have the exercisers, or they are available online, or you can just use fingers. Is this tmi? I think you can get a rebate if you buy it from them.
I can track down exercise routine if anyones interested.

If you've been told that your pelvic floor is in "danger" so to speak, I suggest you find a physio specialising in pelvic floor and see her throughout your pregnancy...an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. You can claim it back on private health insurance if you have it. She would assess your situation individually and tailor a programme for you. I would also start as soon as possible before your baby gets too big and starts putting pressure on an already weakened pelvic floor.

Your maternity hospital should be able to give you some names of physios. I don't know if you are in Melbourne...at Cabrini they had pelvic floor physios come in and visit all the mums after giving birth. This particular clinic was just down the road and they also had another practice in the Hampton area.

megs - i've got a moderate prolapse, and I see a physio who specialises in PF stuff - she's in Ringwood (outer Melbourne). I could ask her if she can recommend anyone in country vic If you want to PM me where you are.

My understanding of prolapse is this (sorry if I'm telling u stuff u know!). This tissue in the vagina gets stretched (either near bladder, uterus, or rear - can't remember right word lol! but there's three different types of prolapse) - can be from straining (constipation, childbirth, lifting, coughing) or genetic weakness. Once it's stretched it will generally stay stretched. But, if you imagine your pelvic floor muscle sitting underneath that tissue helping hold it all up. So if you strengthen your PF, it will hold up the prolapse better. And there may be minimal improvement with the prolapse over time, but the PF being strong minimises how much you feel the symptoms. So the GP is right when he says that only surgery fixes it. But, I know my physio says that most of them are quite manageable and surgery is not required - I've been advised I shouldn't need surgery with a moderate prolapse, I just need to learn the best way to manage it. If you're not getting symptoms, it's not bothering you, I'd be very surprised if you'd need surgery. Symptoms are usually a heavy dragging feeling, or sometimes a chafing/out of place feeling. I find it a complete PITA to be honest! At my worst (half way during my last PG) I've had tissue actually bulging right out. But now it's pretty good. And I have done HEAPS of work on my PF!

The other thing is if your PFM is quite weak, sometimes the exercises won't actually strengthen them, or may not strengthen them properly, so I think being assessed is probably a really good idea for you. In order to check what is going on, the physio does need to feel just inside the entrance to do this, but it's not as bad as a pap smear for e.g.! Just a little finger inside either side to assess the muscle strength, and also to check the prolapse. Certainly my phsyio was always very respectful & polite in the way she did this. I had never realised that physios did that kinda stuff before tho! Then there's a range of treatment options depending on your situation.

Hope this is helpful. PM me if you have questions or wanna give me a rough idea of whereabouts you are. GL!

Cheers,
Belfie

Thanks so much for that explanatin Belfie, you made more sense than the Dr, he just gave me the brush off.

At this stage I'm unsure if I would like another baby, but even if I don't I really want to improve the situation. Like you I didn't realise that physios did that sort of thing.

I will send you a PM and would be very grateful for a possible referral.