3. Incontinence is not a ‘normal’ part of having a baby

Find a group of women who’ve had babies and someone will inevitably joke about peeing when they jump or no longer having great bladder control. While urinary incontinence is common, Nellist is keen to stress that it’s not normal and not to be expected.

While factors like weight and age can contribute to postpartum issues, performing the right pelvic floor exercises during your pregnancy can reduce the risk of things going wrong later on. If you do have an issue, Nellists says: “The good news is that it is treatable, with most women having successful outcomes with conservative treatment or therapy.”

4. Pelvic floor health isn’t just about strength

Just as you wouldn’t exclusively do endless bicep curls for a stronger upper body, a healthy pelvic floor doesn’t come from doing endless sets of the same exercise. “Strength is only one component of muscle function,” Nellist says. “Awareness of where the muscles are, how to engage and release them correctly, timing, speed and coordination of the pelvic floor muscles with other muscle groups are also important factors to consider when training them.”

The Squeezy app can help with this as it comes with a pre-set plan that follows NICE guidelines. She recommends performing three sets a day of the following pelvic floor exercises:

8–12 endurance repetitions. Draw in your pelvic floor muscles and hold for 10 seconds before releasing fully. Rest for 5 seconds between each one.
8–12 quick repetitions (like the endurance ones but drawing in for a second and releasing the next).
4 sub-max endurance repetitions. Close and draw in your pelvic floor muscles to approximately 30%t of your maximum contraction strength and hold for 30-60 seconds. Rest for 10 seconds between each one.

5. Kegels don’t work for everyone

It’s clear that pelvic floor weakness can cause issues, but Nellist cautions that the situation can be made worse by pelvic floor exercises: “For many women, that weakness can be caused by overactive or tight pelvic floor muscles.

“If you have tried pelvic floor exercises and they haven’t noticeably helped, you may have an overactive or tense pelvic floor,” she explains. If this is the case, she recommends seeing a professional. 

Engelmann agrees: “The most common misconception I hear from women about their pelvic floor is that kegels are the only solution.” Instead of kegels, she recommends engaging your pelvic floor when doing daily activities and movements. That might be actively engaging every time you get up from seated or when standing on the Tube.

“I had a second-degree prolapse while pregnant – here’s everything I wish I’d known about pelvic floor health before having a baby”