Disclaimer: This article is for general information only. It is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you are pregnant or have concerns about your health, consult a qualified healthcare professional. Bodyotics products are wellness products and are not medical devices.

Finding out you are pregnant is exciting, emotional and sometimes overwhelming. With so much attention on the baby, your own body tends to come second — and preparing for childbirth and the months after it deserves as much thought as the nursery does.

Why the pelvic floor matters

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles running from the tailbone to the pubic bone, forming a supportive hammock under the pelvic organs — uterus, bladder and bowel. They also do everyday work:

• Sphincter muscles control when you urinate, open your bowels or pass wind.
• Vaginal muscles are involved in intimacy and in vaginal birth.

What changes during pregnancy

Hormones affect muscle tone, and as the uterus grows it puts extra pressure on the pelvic floor. Many people notice new sensations — needing to urinate more often, or light leaks when sneezing or laughing. That is common and nothing to be embarrassed about; it is the body responding to pregnancy. It is still worth mentioning to your midwife, who can tell you what is ordinary and what is worth looking at.

Pelvic floor awareness

Like any muscle group, the pelvic floor responds to regular use, and awareness of it during pregnancy and afterwards supports body confidence and a clearer sense of what is going on down there. It is not a guarantee of anything — birth is birth — but knowing how to engage and, just as importantly, fully release those muscles is useful either way.

Weighted sets during pregnancy

Kegel weights are small weighted devices held in place by the pelvic floor, which engages the muscles gently as your body works to keep them there. During pregnancy, ask your midwife or provider before using them at all, and do the same before restarting afterwards — that is not a formality, it is the whole gate.

Afterwards

After birth the body keeps adjusting. Whether you had a vaginal delivery or a caesarean, the pelvic floor has been under load for months. Gentle exercises can be part of how you reconnect with your body while it recovers, once you have been cleared to start.

Every postpartum experience is different. Some people work with a pelvic health physiotherapist; others use home practices. If you have ongoing pain, heaviness, bulging or persistent leaks, that is a physiotherapist's job, not an article's.

Final thoughts

Pregnancy and the months after change a great deal, and not only for the baby. Understanding your pelvic floor is one of the more useful things you can take into it.

When you have the go-ahead. The Bodyotics kegel weights are six graduated weights, 50 g to 130 g, starting at the lightest. A wellness product rather than a treatment, and during pregnancy or postpartum your midwife or provider decides whether and when. Explore the kegel weights →