
The Staff of Femina Physical Therapy Blogs About Vaginismus, Pregnancy and Postpartum Best Practices, Treatments for Incontinence, and More
|
Featured From the Blog:
- Details
- Written by Staff Therapist
- Hits: 188
Pregnancy, labor, and delivery greatly affect the pelvic floor muscles, and our birth prep services using pelvic floor therapy can bring you confidence, strength, and flexibility.
What are the pelvic floor muscles?
The pelvic floor muscles are a group of muscles inside the pelvis that form a hammock connecting the pubic bone to the tailbone. Both men and women have pelvic floor muscles. These muscles play an important part in stabilizing the pelvis and spine, supporting your organs (bowel, bladder and uterus) and toileting.
The Pelvic Floor and Pregnancy
During pregnancy the pelvic floor muscles are working overtime trying to stabilize and support the growing body of the mother and child. Read our previous blog post about preparing the pelvic floor for childbirth. During a vaginal childbirth, these muscles will utilize their strength and flexibility to help the baby be birthed. Whether or not the baby is born via C-Section or vaginally, the pelvic floor is involved.
- Details
- Written by Lisa Weeks, MPT
- Hits: 546
What can a mother do to prepare her pelvic floor for pregnancy and childbirth?
First, you might be asking yourself “what is the pelvic floor”?
The pelvic floor is a group of muscles inside the pelvis that form a hammock from your pubic bone to your tailbone and from sit bone to sit bone on the sides. The function of these muscles are to stabilize your pelvis and spine, support your organs (bowel, bladder and uterus) and maintain continence. In pregnancy and childbirth, these muscles go through a lot of changes. The goal of this article is to try and achieve optimal pelvic floor function throughout pregnancy and after.
- Details
- Written by Staff Therapist
- Hits: 773
Laxity in Pregnancy is what may be causing you those aches and pains
The Role of the Relaxin Hormone
As discussed previously on the blog, pregnant people undergo some major changes in their bodies, including producing different hormones that play various roles during pregnancy. One hormone that affects the musculoskeletal system in a pregnant person’s body is called relaxin.
Relaxin is a hormone produced by the corpus luteum (an endocrine gland made in the ovary when a follicle has matured and released an egg during ovulation) and the placenta (an organ developed in the uterus during pregnancy that provides oxygen and nutrients to your baby). Relaxin inhibits uterine activity and helps relax the pelvic joints so your hips can widen in preparation for birth. Relaxin peaks during the first trimester. However, relaxin can also contribute to laxity in other areas of the body during pregnancy, not just the pelvis.
- Details
- Written by Staff Writer
- Hits: 1463
Do you really know what happens to your hormones during pregnancy? Do you know what hormones are in play, during pregnancy?
Well, let’s go through some of the hormones and their functions during pregnancy, so you can have a better understanding of what is occurring in your body.
- Details
- Written by Staff Therapist
- Hits: 2846
It’s truly amazing what bodies endure during and following pregnancy. We praise all the new parents that come into the clinic for their resilience not only physically but mentally, taking care of themselves as well as being a caretaker 24/7 whether it’s one child or three children, it really is a super power.
- Details
- Written by Staff Therapist
- Hits: 2324
How Does Endometriosis Affect Fertility and Pregnancy?
As we continue our series about endometriosis, today we address how endo might affect fertility and pregnancy.
Endometriosis Does Not Equal Infertility
Having endometriosis does not automatically mean that you will never have children. What it does mean is that you might have more trouble getting pregnant. About 30% of those with endometriosis have trouble with fertility and struggle to get pregnant. Others with endometriosis have no difficulty getting pregnant, or eventually get pregnant after utilizing medical interventions including surgery to remove endometrial growths, or reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization to help with conception.