Oh baby...do more for your pelvic floor

 As I'm sitting here writing this, I'm re-educating my core - getting all my front and back pelvic floor muscles to talk to each other. And keep talkin' I say, because around 80 per cent of all women will have issues with their pelvic floor at some point. Like flossing your teeth, pelvic floor exercises are health habits you know you're supposed to do. But if you had a dollar for each time you ACTUALLY did them...well, you'd probably have a dollar. According to the Continence Foundation of Australia, one in three women who have had a baby have incontinence. So it's time to do more for your pelvic floor!

So what is this pelvic floor business anyway? 

If you haven't had a baby, it's probably a muscle that you haven't given a great deal of thought about. Connecting your pubic bone and tailbone, your pelvic floor supports a swag of organs including your uterus, bladder and bowel. When it contracts, it's like a sling - lifting and supporting  those organs from underneath.

It's a little like the bottom of a plastic bag under the weight of a whole lot of groceries, and yep, that's the kind of pressure that's it's under. And just think of the added pressure to those muscles further weakened by a few extra kilos or pregnancy weight. Eeeekk! And pregnant ladies are also more susceptible to further weakness in this area due to high levels of progesterone the body produces during pregnancy. So yes, everything stretches!

And what if I haven't had kids?

Ladies - take note, it's not just during the body's time of hormonal changes (like during pregnancy and menopause) that you need to be flexing 'the muscle'. One study from the University of Utah in the US found that 10 per cent of women aged 20 to 39 will experience a pelvic floor disorder and it significantly increases with age.

It's time to toughen up

See our tip sheet on re-connecting your front and rear pelvic floor muscles. It gives some simple tips to help you switch on all parts of your core - pelvic floor, diaphragm, abdominal muscles and lower back muscles.