The big role of small muscles: Kegel exercises for the expectant mother

What are Kegel exercises during pregnancy?

Kegel exercises are a set of exercises developed by the outstanding American obstetrician-gynecologist Arnold Kegel.

The doctor’s goal was to make the birth process easier for the woman and prepare her body for this test. To do this, he created exercises that train the muscles of the female reproductive system, which are responsible for the movement of the fetus along the birth canal.

The technique brought Kegel world fame and became popular not only in the West, but also in our country.

Muscles that little is known about

Interest in training the perineum came to us from the East, which had enough experience in strengthening intimate muscles in women, which, as they say, “are not particularly visible.” Meanwhile, it exists, and the sexual health of both sexes, and especially women, depends on its condition. During pregnancy, a woman’s body experiences a strong load on the muscles of the pelvic floor - a connective tissue plate consisting of 3 muscle layers:

• External - consisting of 4 muscles that compress the entrance to the vagina and compress the rectum.
• The middle (genitourinary diaphragm) - passing through the woman’s vagina and urethra, contains a special circular muscle - the sphincter, which “locks” the urethra.
• Internal - consisting of the levator ani muscles. By contracting, they close the genital opening, narrow the vaginal lumen and “lock” the rectum.

The pelvic floor muscles experience greater stress during pregnancy.

It has long been noticed that “invisible” muscles can be trained; a variety of exercises were used for this, from oriental “belly dancing” to special techniques that restore intimate tone.

Arnold Kegel (gynecologist) became interested in this fact and soon developed a gymnastic complex aimed at “pumping up” the intimate muscles. Kegel recommendations are relevant for both sexes, but especially for a pregnant woman.

During pregnancy, the pelvic muscles are stretched and their elasticity is lost due to the increasing pressure on it, which is exerted by the growing uterus. If before pregnancy their condition left much to be desired, then bearing a child and giving birth can subsequently bring many problems. Among the complications that arise due to perineal weakness:

1. Phlebeurysm.
2. Hemorrhoids and bleeding.
3. Soft tissue ruptures.

To prevent this from happening, and to give birth easily and without complications, the expectant mother must properly prepare herself for the upcoming event, and Kegel exercises during pregnancy will help her with this. Regular performance of intimate gymnastics:

• Teaches you to “control” the perineum.
• Restore muscle tone of the pelvic floor.
• Trains the pelvic vessels.

Gymnastics is performed in a lying or standing position; no special equipment is required.

Why do pregnant women need exercise?

During pregnancy, a woman's pelvic floor muscles weaken. The main reason for this is the growth of the uterus, which, as it increases, stretches the tissue around it. And the longer the period, the more the muscles will be stretched, and, consequently, weakened. What's harmful about this?

The fact is that the muscle tissue of the pelvic floor is responsible for pushing the baby through the birth canal. And the stronger they are, the faster and less painful the birth will be .
Therefore, in order to avoid unpleasant consequences, it is recommended to systematically perform a set of Kegel exercises aimed at toning the genital muscles.

Second trimester

Starting from week 14, you should diversify your workouts. Kegel exercises for pregnant women in the 2nd trimester still include the basic exercise, but new ones with a more complex task are necessarily added to it.

Exercise 2. Wave. Starting position: lying on your back, knees bent, fixed on a fitball, chair, sofa. Once the pregnancy reaches 16-18 weeks, the training is carried out while sitting in a comfortable position. The essence of the exercise is rapid alternate, wave-like compression of the vagina and anus.

The contraction of the vagina is performed first, then the muscles of the anus. Relaxation occurs in reverse order. The compression speed may be comfortable to begin with, but it is important to try to increase it. The number of repetitions is gradually increased to 10-15 per day.

Exercise 3. Elevator, Floors or Retraction. A woman’s vagina is a tube, lined inside with a mucous layer that forms numerous transverse folds. The optimal position for the exercise is sitting.

The point is to try to tighten the vagina step by step from bottom to top and back. To make it easier, you can imagine an elevator that goes up the vagina, stops at the folded floors, and after reaching the top one, descends, again stopping at each floor.

During Kegel exercises for women before childbirth, it is prohibited to use various devices. The effectiveness of the exercises is better, as it turns out to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. Balls and jade eggs are left to restore the perineum during incisions and severe stretching. An exception is soft vaginal cones, but only after consultation with a gynecologist.

The benefits of Kegel exercises

Let's list the main advantages of the system:

• maintaining muscle tone;
• helping your body during childbirth;
• the ability to control your body;
• reduction of pain;
• protection against tissue rupture during childbirth;
• increasing the chance of giving birth easily and quickly;
• relieves discomfort and possible pain during pregnancy;
• increases the speed of recovery after childbirth;
• promotes the production of sex hormones;
• health promotion;
• improves sex life and prolongs sexual activity of pregnant women;
• improves mood and improves well-being during pregnancy.

Thus, a set of Kegel exercises helps a woman to better endure pregnancy and give birth easily without threatening the health of the child. Doctors often prescribe such classes to women who have not yet given birth and to mothers after childbirth. The complex helps those who are preparing for conception to prepare, and women who have given birth - to quickly restore the reproductive system, avoid hemorrhoids and urinary incontinence.

Components of success

The main condition for the success of training is its regularity. In this case, you are guaranteed to feel the result within a few weeks of daily exercise. You will see that if this condition is met, soon your muscles will reflexively, without your conscious control, perform these exercises on their own.

You should start training from the earliest stages of pregnancy, doing 20-30 exercises daily.

It's okay if you don't do well at first and feel like you can't tense your muscles hard enough or for long enough. Patience and a little effort! But experts do not recommend overdoing it. If you started with sufficiently weakened pelvic muscles, the load, effort and intensity of exercise must be increased gradually.

Remember, your goal is to learn to feel the pelvic muscles and control their work, and not to create maximum strength tension.

Benefits of Kegel exercises during pregnancy:

• Strengthens muscles.
• Allows you to use their resources most effectively during childbirth.
• Teaches you how to manage them correctly.
• Prevents the occurrence of severe pain.
• Helps avoid tissue ruptures.
• Overall, it promotes easier and faster delivery.
• Allows you to avoid many uncomfortable and painful sensations during the process of bearing a child.
• Helps to recover faster in the postpartum period.
• Improves physical health and fitness.
• Establishes control over urination.
• Significantly improves the quality of sexual life.
• Improves a woman's sexual health.
• Extends the period of a woman's sexual activity.
• Activates the production of female sex hormones.
• Improves mood, appearance, well-being.

In short, Kegel exercises during pregnancy allow you to give birth quickly, easily and as safely as possible for both you and your newborn. Moreover, they will be useful to every woman, whether she has given birth or not. But they are especially recommended for preparation for pregnancy and childbirth, recovery after them, for the prevention of urinary incontinence, hemorrhoids and other ailments, including inflammatory processes of the genital area, to prolong youth.

Cautions and contraindications

Kegel exercises are not recommended if there are problems with pregnancy or if there is a threat of miscarriage. In this case, only a gynecologist can say exactly which exercises will not harm mother and baby.

And even if the pregnancy is progressing well, with the onset of the eighteenth week, it is necessary to stop performing exercises in a supine position , as this will lead to compression of the inferior genital vein. It is better to perform them while sitting, but the ideal option is to stand.

Before you start exercising on your own, it is better to consult with your gynecologist. This is due to the fact that the complex has some contraindications, including:

• diseases causing febrile conditions;
• gestosis;
• severe toxicosis;
• the occurrence of uterine bleeding.

Can gymnastics cause harm and what kind of harm?

An incorrect approach to exercise, as well as excessive stress, can negatively affect the health of the expectant mother and fetus.

Women's health

Shortness of breath, increased blood pressure and dizziness can result from:

• overestimation of physical capabilities;
• performing gymnastics in a poorly ventilated area;
• discomfort due to uncomfortable clothing;
• improper execution of exercises.

The course of pregnancy and the fetus

Gymnastics can have a negative impact on the child’s health if the woman neglected the doctor’s recommendations before classes or did not consult.

This can lead to an increased chance of premature birth. Also, excessive stress can impair blood flow in the uterus, which will negatively affect blood circulation and the supply of nutrients to the baby.

How to Do Kegel Exercises During Pregnancy

Before you start doing the exercises, you need to prepare your body . To do this, you need to empty your bladder and bowels. If you have not practiced this set of exercises before pregnancy and are just starting to do it, do not try to do all the exercises in full right away.

The pelvic floor muscles should not be overloaded, so start small. Also, remember that your goal is to learn how to control muscle tissue, not how to squeeze it as hard as possible.

Kegel exercises can be done in any position , but it is better to start from a lying position. And only when all the exercises have been mastered, you can begin to perform them sitting and standing.

Women often have problems determining which muscles need to be tensed during exercise. There is a simple way to determine them. When urinating, you need to hold back the flow of urine. The muscles that you use for this will be the very material with which you have to work. By the way, the process of stopping urination itself is also an exercise that doctors advise you to do before starting your main activities.

What do you need to know before starting classes?

A woman should understand that physical exercises for pregnant women are different from those she did in the 1st trimester. In the last 3 months, intensive activities, including sharp turns, running, and heavy lifting, are strictly prohibited.

Gymnastics can be done both at home and with an instructor in the gym. The main thing is to provide comfortable conditions during classes (the opportunity to go to the toilet, lie down or drink water).

The optimal training time is 20 minutes; it is better to do it in the first half of the day.

What happens to the body of the expectant mother during this period?

From the 27th week of gestation, significant changes occur in the mother’s body:

1. As the child's weight and height increase, the uterus enlarges, making it more difficult for women to breathe and causing shortness of breath.
2. The outflow of venous blood worsens, and in women the tendency to varicose veins increases.
3. The enlarged uterus begins to put pressure on the bladder, which increases the urge to urinate.
4. The load on the back and spine becomes maximum.
5. Under the influence of the hormones relaxin and progesterone, ligaments and tendons soften.

A set of Kegel exercises during pregnancy

The entire Kegel technique is based on tension and relaxation of the muscle tissue of the pelvic floor. Therefore, when performing, you only need to use the muscles between the vagina and anus.

Now let's move on to the description of the main exercises.

First exercise:

• Lie down on a mat with flat pillows under your shoulder blades and head. If there are no pillows, you can replace them with terry towels folded several times.
• Bend your legs at the knees and spread them apart. This is the position a woman’s body takes during childbirth.
• Relax, breathe deeply and evenly.
• Start squeezing the muscles of the perineum. The state of tension should last 10 seconds.
• Relax your muscles. Let them rest.
• Repeat the exercise 8-10 times.

The load will gradually need to be increased and the number of approaches increased from 8 to 30 times. This applies to all exercises that will be described below.

Second exercise:

• Lie down on the floor, having first laid out a mat. It is tedious to place your feet on a chair or bed. If you have a fitball, use it.
• Make sure the position is comfortable and stable for you. Relax.
• Now begin to quickly tense and relax your intimate muscles. You need to start by squeezing the vagina, gradually moving to the anus.
• Movements should not be sudden, they should resemble a wave.

Third exercise:

• Sit on the mat. Either cross your legs, as in the lotus position, or spread them out and bend them.
• This exercise is aimed at teaching a woman to push. Therefore, having taken the necessary position, stop breathing and try to push very carefully. In this case, the vaginal muscles should be exposed outwards.
• When inhaling, the muscle must be contracted.

To achieve the greatest control over the process, you need to place your palm on the perineum. Muscle tension can be easily felt with your fingers.

Fourth exercise:

The vagina is like a tube consisting of several rings tightly adjacent to each other. To perform this exercise, you will need to gradually strain these same rings, first moving up, then down.

• Sit on the mat. For convenience, you can put a flat pillow or towel. Spread your legs slightly and bend them slightly. You can move your arms back a little and lean on them.
• Squeeze the lower segment of the vagina, holding this position for 2-3 seconds. Then, without relaxing, move on to the next segments. Gradually you will use the muscles of the entire vagina.
• Now you need to relax the muscles, but not immediately, but gradually, as you tensed them. You need to act according to the same scheme, only follow not up, but down.

Need to know

If you think that Kegel exercises are allowed for pregnant women in the 3rd trimester, but not during other periods, then you are mistaken. In fact, you can start exercising before 12 weeks. Moreover, at the beginning of pregnancy, a woman’s tummy is small, and she can easily do gymnastics while lying down. At the same time, she will not feel inconvenienced.

If you are a beginner, start with short classes, it is enough to devote just a little time to them. Over time, the intensity and duration of training increases.

In the later stages, they are allowed, but it should be taken into account that the fetus enlarges and it compresses the woman’s internal organs. This is especially noticeable if she practices in a lying position. To avoid unpleasant consequences, it is necessary in the later stages to choose for yourself those exercises that are performed while sitting. Until the 18th week, it is quite possible to do gymnastics while lying down. Next, let's talk about how to do this or that exercise.

Recommendations for pregnant women

When performing exercises, adhere to the following recommendations:

• try to take the most comfortable position for yourself;
• breathe evenly and deeply;
• strain only those muscles that are required, otherwise you will not only not achieve
• desired result, but you can also harm yourself and the child;
• do not overwork, take breaks as often as possible;
• a set of exercises must be performed daily;
• always monitor your feelings when performing tasks, make sure that
• use the right muscles;
• If discomfort occurs, stop doing the exercises and consult a gynecologist.

Video of a set of Kegel exercises for pregnant women

In the video presented, you can find out why you need to do the exercises and what contraindications exist. Get advice on how to spot the muscles you need to train. See how to perform a set of exercises correctly .

You can talk a lot about the benefits and possible harms of Kegel exercises, but nothing can replace personal experience. And many women, before experiencing the complex themselves, consult with those who have experienced it themselves. Therefore, dear mothers and those who are planning to become one, do not hesitate to tell us about your experience or ask a question.

Several yoga exercises for training intimate muscles - video

Unfortunately, in antenatal clinics, doctors often avoid the topic of intimate training during pregnancy. For example, two of my acquaintances with many children (four and seven children) answered my question about whether they practiced Kegel exercises and answered quite sincerely: “What is this?” But in courses to prepare for childbirth, they always talk about the need to strengthen intimate muscles. So, this knowledge was useful to my friend Maria, who 13 years ago safely gave birth to a wonderful girl: “I started doing Kegel exercises on the recommendation of my spiritual midwife from the 20th week of pregnancy. I just squeezed and unclenched my muscles as many times as I could. I did the exercises whenever I remembered them. I was a student then, and often performed them on the way to the university and during lectures. As a result, when I gave birth, it was not torn; there were only two or three abrasions in the vagina, which healed on their own. Intimate life with her husband was resumed even before the end of the 40-day recovery period after childbirth. I asked him if he felt that something had changed inside. He replied that everything was the same as before, nothing had stretched. But what I lacked was preparing my legs for vertical childbirth. I remember I was suddenly allowed to give birth vertically, which was rare in the 2000s. Everything went well, but my Achilles tendons were very sore, making it difficult to fully concentrate on pushing.”

Kegel exercises are good because after two to three weeks of daily exercise, the result becomes visible. In addition, basic training for squeezing and contracting intimate muscles can be performed by a woman anywhere - on the street, in transport, in the park, at a party, etc. Despite their simplicity, these exercises have an amazing effect, and you should not give them up even after childbirth.