Interview with Teri Maciejewski, PT | Segment Length - 0:59
Video Transcript
Importance of Strengthening Pelvic Floor Muscles During and After Pregnancy
The pelvic floor muscles have two main functions. One is to act as a sphincter around the openings to close them off. So if they're weak, that can cause urinary incontinence urinary leakage. One of the other functions is to support the pelvic organs. Those pelvic floor muscles are like a bowl full of muscles, a hammock that goes from the front to the back of your pelvis. And if that hammock is weak, it allows the pelvis, the uterus, to drop down a little lower in the pelvis. And that can cause increased pressure down below. So during pregnancy, it's important to keep these muscles strong to prevent leakage and to support the uterus, and then postpartum it's important to strengthen them because again, they've been under a lot of strain during pregnancy and there is further damage to the muscles during childbirth.
