Living and Loving – August 2019

pregnancy & birth

L&L | AUGUST 2019 | 17

WORDS

KATIE MASTERS/BAUER SYNDICATION

PHOTOGRAPHY

GALLO IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK

How often?

To keep your pelvic floor in peak

condition, you only need to do the

Easy Squeeze once a day. Don’t be

tempted to do more, as this could

make the muscles too tight. The

exception is if you’re getting little

bladder leaks. ‘This can happen

during the third trimester when

your bladder is squashed by your

baby, so it can’t hold as much

liquid,” explains Elaine. Mention it

to your midwife, and do the Easy

Squeeze three times a day instead.

How easy?

“In the first trimester, the exercise

will be easy,” says Elaine. “In the

second trimester, it may get a little

harder, because you’re carrying

the weight of your baby and your

Here’s how...

1 The best position to do the Easy

Squeeze varies depending on

which trimester you’re in. If you’re

in your first trimester and still find

it comfy, lie on your back in bed.

Once you’re 16 weeks pregnant, or

past this point, sit on a chair with

your feet firmly on the floor and your

back supported instead. When

you lie on your back, the weight

of your baby presses on the vein

that carries blood to your heart.

2 The next step is to take a deep

breath in through your nose

and then sigh out through your

mouth. Make a conscious effort

to relax your jaw as you do

this, as that will help you relax

your pelvic floor muscles.

3 Time to get down to business! “To

clench your pelvic floor muscles,

squeeze the muscles around your

vagina and then lift them – only

a small lift – about half an inch,”

says Elaine. You should be able

to feel the muscle that wraps like

a low belt around the front of

your tummy tightening, too. Some

moms-to-be find it easier to feel

their pelvic floor muscles at the

back, rather than at the front, so

try tightening the muscle here.

4 Hold the squeeze for 10 seconds,

then release. Make sure you carry

on breathing normally throughout.

Now do a set of 10 sharp, fast

contractions, using exactly the

same muscles: squeeze for a count

of one, relax for a count of one,

squeeze for a count of one, relax

for a count of one, as though you’re

pulsing something in the food

processor. Don’t worry if you can’t

manage to do the squeezes this

quickly at first: once the muscles

have strengthened, you will.

5 When you’ve finished, take another

deep breath in through your nose

and then sigh out through your

mouth, feeling your jaw, and

your pelvic floor muscles, relax.

That’s it, you’re done for the day.

TRY THIS

Sit in a chair

in front of a

mirror, and

watch your

face as you

do your set

of squeezes.

Our eyebrows

often go up

and down

when we do

this one-

second

pulsing, so if

you’re doing

that, it’s a

sign you’re

doing them

correctly.

SQUEEZE

IT UP A STEP

Challenge yourself by

varying your position. “Increase

tone by making the position in

which you do the exercise more

challenging. The easiest position

is lying down, then sitting, then

standing, then while walking

or balancing on a gym

ball,” says Elaine.

muscles will feel tired more quickly.

This is true for the third trimester too:

your pelvic floor is working hard all

the time now, so it might feel weaker.”

So don’t be discouraged if it feels

like the exercise gets harder. LL

FEEL THE

BENEFITS

During labour, your pelvic

floor muscles help to rotate your

baby’s head into a good position.

And it’s worth giving them a workout

if you’re having a C-section too,

as this will help the muscles

recover from the strain of

pregnancy, post-birth.