Pregnancy and childbirth can bring great joy, but they can also be hard on your body. Doing simple exercises and forming healthy habits can help you cope with many of the changes to your body. It can also help reduce injuries and problems in the future.

Pregnancy, childbirth and your body

When you are pregnant, your body changes. Your muscles stretch, especially those in your abdomen and your pelvic floor.

Also, your ligaments soften. Ligaments connect bone to bone and provide vital support for your joints.

To help look after your body during pregnancy, and to recover after childbirth, simple exercises can be used to help you strengthen these muscles.

Hospitals often offer postnatal physiotherapy classes, where you can learn the best exercises to do.

Pelvic floor and abdominal exercises

It is important to do exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor and abdominal muscles while you are pregnant. It’s also important to continue these exercises after the birth of your baby.

If you’ve had a vaginal birth, you only need to wait 2 days to get started. If you had a caesarean birth, it’s best to wait 5 days.

If you feel any pain, stop doing the exercises and see a physiotherapist or your midwife for advice.

Your pelvic floor

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that supports the pelvis, helps with bladder and bowel control and is important in sexual function. Pregnancy makes your pelvic floor weaker. To help prevent problems now and in the future, such as leaking urine, try practicing pelvic floor exercises.