The One Thing Every Pregnant Woman Must Do!

O.k..I feel obliged to talk about this one again - The Kegel. I am coming across too many women lately who can't jump, skip or run because of incontinence. I'm talking about young moms in their thirties who wet themselves if they sneeze, cough or laugh too much. This is disturbing to me because if it's an issue now, what do you think is going to happen when good ole' age gets on their side and they have lost even more control.

Other than a couple of delivery nightmare stories, the reason behind their loss of bladder control is they didn't do their kegels during pregnancy. And why would they?? At what other time in a woman's life does anyone say to kegel then when they are pregnant? We've gone all these years not even knowing what a kegel was (atleast I didn't) and now you want me to remember to do hundreds of these a day for the next 9 months? Please!! But unfortunately... you have to.

So what is a kegel anyway? A kegel is an exercise that stregthens the pelvic floor. The pelvic floor is a bunch of muscles that act as a sling to support your uterus and bladder. When you are pregnant, a growing fetus puts enormous pressure on your bladder which causes increased trips to the bathroom but also a loss of control. So because of this, kegels are essential whether you have a caesarean or vaginal delivery. Just like any other muscle in the body, the pelvic floor must be strengthened to ensure it can sustain the added weight and not "buckle" under pressure.

So how do you do a kegel? Well after you have emptied your bladder, pretend you are holding a $100 bill "down there" and you don't want to drop it in the toilet. Hold for 5-10 seconds and relax. If this is new to you (which it usually is for most), you wont really feel anything because nothing else should move. Don't squeeze your butt or hold your breath. Just imagine pulling up and in from the bottom and hold - just like you would if you were to hold your pee. But that's not allowed either. Holding it in can actually cause bladder infections. You just want to simulate the action.

Now be weary... it's recommended that you do ALOT of these every day. I mean 100's!! So why not start in the bathroom? You're there anyway. Every time after you have finished your business, do 10 kegels. Once that becomes habit, choose something else in addition; some other association that will help you remember to do your kegels. And don't worry if you're not doing it exactly right. It's way better than the alternative.