are you doing pelvic floor exercises?

[sotough]

I'm not, and i know i should be. I'm 21 weeks pregnant now. did them all the way through my first pregnancy but have had other much bigger things to worry about with this one. interested to know whether most people do/don't do the exercise and what stage they start...

Dont worry, I was (this is grim) suffering from bad sneezing from day 1 of my pregnancy to the point of wetting myself a little

Been doing pelvic floor for only a month and not religiously, but the little wee's have stopped! So even starting late like I did (23 weeks) made a huge difference.

glad you started this thread. i'm 32 weeks and i do them when i remember but i do have a toddler and i am supposedly moving in about 3-4 weeks so have slightly more pressing things on my mind.

However, i think i really need to start taking them seriously IYKWIM . It's ok doing them but really how many do you need to do? How often? to be effective.

And there is no way I am going to become one of those women who do 100's a day everytime they go through a door!

I'm 37+2 and have only been doing them sporadically so not sure how effective it'll be. I did do them a bit more before I was pregnant though. I haven't had any wetting myself or anything and don't feel the need to wee during the night so I'm hoping my pelvic floor is ok. Not loo long till I have to test it out!

I went to a class at the hospital the other week for back and pelvic pain and the physio asked if we were all doing our pelvic floor exercies. I hadn't been but started the day after the class! I am now 29 weeks. Was about 27 at the time.

She said you should do 10 quick tighten and relase squeezes and then 10 squeezes where you hold it for the count of 10.

You should aim to do this 4-5 times a day .

I do another type

Ten short bursts
Five 'three step' ones, where you start off holding gently, then tighter, then really tight, hold, then release.
And finally some anal ones in the same sequence as above.

You can feel the difference by turning your feet in and out. One way is vaginal, one way is anal. Cant remember which is which but there is a slight difference in feeling.

Yep, I'm 37 weeks and doing them regularly. I can (probably) fire grapes out of mine now.

Pre-pregnancy, I always used to do them in boring uni lectures. Beware - I thought this was unnoticeable, until my course friends listed it as one of their top humorous moments at uni - years later.

Erm auburnlizzy78 how could people tell you were doing them ?!

This may sound wierd but does anyone else fine doing them a slightly uncomfortable feeling? Hard to describe, it just feels a bit odd. Would be interesting to know if its just me!

Apparently I would shift up and down in my seat very slightly!

I find it a little uncomfortable but more so now that there a few more pounds in weight resting on it all!

WARNING: I did not do any exercises throughout my pregnancy and now my son is seven months old. The consequences are an almost permanent "dragging" sensation, a little like period pain, in my abdomen and an extremely painful coccyx (for those that don't realise, your pelvic floor muscles are attached from the front, all the way to your tailbone, or coccyx). Whenever I sit, or try and stand up from sitting, it's utter agony and literally stops me in my tracks. I am now having to do twice the exercises I should and it may still be too late. I am scared to sneeze, cough, or laugh too hard!! When I keep up with my exercises, my coccyx stops hurting and I can laugh harder. But I HAVE to keep them up.

I don't know whether this is normal or whether I'm just unlucky. All I'm saying is that I wish I had listened to the midwife at the beginning of my pregnancy.

Yes they do feel sort of uncomfortable maybe more weird.

As for doing them in public not a chance my DH says I pull a funny face and he always knows when I am doing them .

Also, they seem to make my bump start kicking.

haleana what a scary tale. i don't think this is normal - sounds like you've been very unlucky - but all the same i'm glad to be reminded of the possible consequences of not doing them and will get my act together....

My sister had a prolapsed uterus after birth of second child so she keeps reminding them to do them. Plus my mum has been treated for incontinence through physio. She says to try and do them when you have finished on the toilet by putting the lid down and sitting back down and doing them.

I bet every single person who reads this thread is sat at their computer doing them. I know i am!

I do mine when cleaning teeth! Electric toothbrush, 6 30 second bursts, so I do alternate 30 secs of pulses and holds for each of front, middle and back sets of muscles. Great as couldn't be talking or doing anything else at the time so easy to fit it in. Have been doing this since about 8 weeks, and was v busy polishing my halo, till got cold 2 weeks ago and coughed to the point of weeing most days, now thinking I haven't done enough....