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WOMEN'S & CHILDREN'S | Family Maternity Center | Pregnancy Resource Center | Pregnancy Library | Exercise | Kegels are Key to Bladder Control
Kegels are Key to Bladder Control
Kegel exercises can be the answer to a problem many women have after delivering a baby but few talk about: Urinary incontinence. It happens when urine leaks when you sneeze, cough, run, or jump. Doing daily Kegel exercises can often prevent this problem.
How? The pelvic floor is made up of layers of muscles that support the organs in your lower abdomen. Pregnancy and childbirth put a lot of pressure on these pelvic floor muscles and can weaken them. Exercising these muscles regularly makes them stronger.
What are Kegels?
Kegels are pelvic floor exercises named after the obstetrician who developed them. They strengthen the muscles around the openings of the vagina, anus and urethra. Performing Kegels, especially after childbirth, can prevent incontinence and abdominal discomfort.
How are they done?
There are three ways to identify and isolate these muscles:- Lie down with your legs apart and chest relaxed. Draw up the pelvic floor, which will make your urethral sphincter tighten. Hold that position for three seconds, and then relax.
- Squeeze and tighten your vagina around your finger.
- Stop and release the urine flow when urinating. This is probably the easiest method.
How many should you do?
Start slowly by contracting the muscles for five-second periods, five times in a row, several minutes each day. Establish a routine of doing it when you go to the bathroom or while you're talking on the phone (no one can tell you're doing them). Some people do as many as 200 Kegels a day, but you can benefit from doing them for five minutes, three times a day. However, it will be three to six weeks before you notice improved bladder control. Don't give up.
Kegels do more than prevent leaks- Kegels can make birth easier. Your perineum is more likely to preserve without tears or the need for an episiotomy.
- Maintaining pelvic floor health can enhance sexual enjoyment.
- Kegels can keep your pelvic organs from prolapsing (falling out of place).
Date last reviewed: October 2002.
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