Edit The benefits of pelvic floor exercises

<p><strong>To strengthen pelvic floor muscles, it’s recommended to do exercises every day during pregnancy.</strong></p> <p>They can be carried out straight after childbirth–if the patient is comfortable to do so—it’s perfectly safe and will make a dramatic difference to how quickly the muscles recover. However, if the patient isn’t happy to continue doing them immediately, it’s never too late to start.</p> <p>The pelvic floor naturally weakens with age, so regular movements can help keep them as strong as possible. A <a title="pelvic floor exercise study" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20828949" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> carried out in 2010 found that the exercises improve symptoms of stress urinary incontinence by up to 70%.</p> <p>Depending on what is more comfortable, the exercises can be carried out lying down, sitting or standing.</p> <p>While breathing as normal, the patient should squeeze the muscles slowly and pretend they are trying to stop the flow of urination midstream (without actually urinating) and hold for between five and 10 seconds.</p> <p>However, they might not be able to grasp the squeeze for very long when first doing the movements, so they may wish to hold for less time, to begin with, and then build up to a longer time.</p> <p>It is important that they have some of the squeeze left to release slowly at the end of the exercise. This should also be done without tightening their legs, stomach or buttock muscles.</p> <p>For the muscles to regain their full strength, the exercises will need to be done between eight and 12 times a day for at least three months.</p>

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