kegel exercise for normal delivery?

Kegel exercises beneficial during pregnancy?

As your baby grows inside your uterus during pregnancy, your pelvic floor muscles have to support more and more weight, which can be taxing on them. Research has shown that regularly doing Kegels before, during and after pregnancy can help strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and may help decrease the odds of pelvic floor issues such as incontinence.[2]

When you finally go into labor, these muscles will stretch even more to make room for baby to pass through. Doing Kegel exercises while pregnant (and postpartum!) may help avoid future problems.

When to do Kegel exercises during pregnancy and postpartum

It’s never too early to start doing Kegels, but the earlier and more regularly you practice them throughout pregnancy, the greater the benefits.

However, as you enter the third trimester, it becomes more important to focus on learning to relax your pelvic floor as labor nears. Your pelvic floor muscles need to fully relax and stretch so they can make way for your little one to exit. To do this, sit comfortably, take a few breaths and try visualizations such as picturing a flower gently opening.

After you’ve delivered, you can restart your Kegel routine. Make it a habit to do them regularly — while, say, you’re feeding your baby — to stimulate circulation, promote healing and improve muscle tone. Don’t worry if you can’t feel yourself doing them initially — the perineum may be somewhat numb and your muscles have been lengthened and are more difficult to contract early on.

Just remember that it's a good idea to discuss your symptoms with your practitioner and a pelvic floor physical therapist to make sure Kegels are the right exercise for your specific symptoms after giving birth (since some people could benefit from relaxing the pelvic floor instead of contracting it).

How long should you keep doing Kegels? If you want to keep your pelvic muscles in shape, many health care practitioners recommend making them a regular, lifelong habit.