Pregnancy is the most overwhelming part of one’s life. When you get the news of pregnancy everyone is so excited and they only think about the baby. But, pregnancy and postpartum are the two most important phases of life where you need to train your muscles so that they don’t get affected in the later parts of life. The majority of females in their late 50s suffer from stress incontinence in which they are not able to hold the urine while they cough or sneeze or even when they laugh. If the situation is worse, leaking can also happen with just sitting or standing or bending movements. So, it is very important to understand the role and impact of pelvic floor muscles during pregnancy and even after birth.

‍What are pelvic floor muscles?

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‍In simple terms, the pelvic floor is the muscles with the help of which you pass or hold urine and even defecate. These muscles are dome-shaped and help in separating the pelvic cavity above and below. The pelvic cavity encloses the pelvic organ like the bladder, intestine and uterus in the case of females.

These muscles form the base of your core muscles and therefore also work in the stability of your body. These muscles extend from the pubic bone in front to the tail bone in the back. Also extends to the sides of sitting bones.

How to feel these muscles?

To feel the muscles, first sit in a comfortable position. Now imagine as if you have to pass urine or release gas but you are stopping yourself from doing it. Basically, you are contracting your front and back passage together. If you feel an inward and upward muscle pull in your pelvis, you are on the right muscles.

What are the main pelvic floor muscles?

The pelvic floor is made up of layers of muscles, but out of which we have two important muscles to talk about.

First is the levator ani which makes the most of the bulk of your pelvic floor muscles and further consists of three muscles: pubococcygeus, puborectalis and iliococcygeus. This muscle majorly covers the entire pelvis.

Then comes the Coccygeus muscles which are located in the back of your pelvis. It is a small muscle and its major function is supportive.