Guest Post: Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy During Pregnancy- Erin Wright

March was a very exciting time around our household. My husband and I talked about having another baby and being 34, we decided to try for another baby relatively quickly after Arlo turned 1. So when I couldn’t quite catch my breath while climbing stairs and teaching Mom & Me Fit classes at Fit Your Life in March, I figured I might be pregnant. It took 4 pregnancy tests, but my suspicious were confirmed towards the end of March – we were expecting baby number 2.

Photo Credit: Roughley Originals

If you read my previous blog post, you’ll know that I sustained fourth degree tears during my vaginal birth with Arlo. Recovery was long, slow, and at times, really frustrating. But I did recover well with the help of several pelvic floor physiotherapists and some patience. Would I want to or be able to deliver vaginally with a second baby? Could my pelvic floor sustain trauma during pregnancy? What was the best way to preserve the function and strength of my pelvic floor during pregnancy to avoid dysfunction (including incontinence)?

The moment I found out I was pregnant with baby number two, I called Bounce Back Physical Therapy. I knew that my pelvic floor would need to be protected throughout my pregnancy and that my chances of sustaining a prolapse, weakening of the pelvic floor muscles or perhaps trauma was high during pregnancy given my previous history. As baby grows and the uterus becomes heavier throughout pregnancy, there is increased pressure on the pelvic floor and the muscles surrounding that area. Learning to contract the pelvic floor properly, recruit assisting muscles during movement and how to relax the pelvic floor appropriately are extremely important during pregnancy. I have now seen a physiotherapist once during my first and once during my second trimester this pregnancy at Bounce Back Physical Therapy and plan to return two or three more times before this little nugget is born.

During my visits, the physiotherapist has been working with me to ensure that I am contracting my pelvic floor properly, recruiting and strengthening surrounding musculature appropriately during basic movements and working through any issues that I might be ‘feeling’ or noticing during this pregnancy. She’s keeping me in tune with my body and asking me to recognize when symptoms such as leakage, heaviness in the pelvic floor or dropping sensations are occurring.

The second step I took to preserve my pelvic floor was to stop running, jumping and the high impact movements that I am so used to including in my fitness routine. High impact movements of any kind stopped relatively early for me. Reducing high impact movements also meant I stopped playing basketball at 14 weeks pregnant, much earlier than I did with my pregnancy with Arlo. My pelvic floor still feels ok while demonstrating a jumping jack or squat jump, but I needed to ask myself what the risk of injury is and if it is worth the risk. Any of my personal training clients, fitness class attendees and spin class attendees have been so understanding and encouraging. Since I am so used to high impact movements while training, it was an adjustment and humbling experience to not demonstrate jump squats or burpies (which you know I LOVE!).

Fit Your Life encourages women to seek the services of a pelvic floor physiotherapist both prenatal and postpartum. Prenatal Physiotherapy could be to preserve proper pelvic floor function

throughout pregnancy, treat pelvic or low back pain, and even to prepare for birth. We know the benefits that exercise can have for pregnant women and unborn babies. Being active has been a major part of my life throughout both pregnancies and I wanted to ensure that I could sustain activity during and after pregnancy in a healthy, functional way, especially for my pelvic floor.

Photo Credit: Roughley Originals