Skip to main content

Why Kegel exercises are so important for new moms postpartum

Pelvic floor muscles – approximately 8 separate muscles in fact — are a totally combined system, built together to form a person’s pelvic floor. For women, these muscles not only support organs above and below, but they are also tested to the max during childbirth. These muscles are essential in bringing new life into the world, and vaginal births absolutely require them to do so. But so often, these areas suffer damage during the process of birth. They are stretched and relaxed for sometimes days while a mother is laboring and pushed beyond the brink during delivery.

It’s because of this damage that women and moms-to-be often look to Kegel exercises to help strengthen their pelvic floor and prevent unnecessary abuse to this intricate and indispensable group of muscles. If you’ve recently entered your postpartum journey and your OBGYN has cleared you for light exercises once again, now could be the right time to start practicing those postpartum Kegels in order to help support your recently tested pelvic floor, all the while preventing after-birth complications.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

What are Kegel exercises?

The pelvic floor and its hammock-like band of muscles run the length of the public bone, supporting the bladder, uterus, and bowel in very close proximity to the spine. When a mother delivers a child vaginally, these muscles are stretched and relaxed over and over, allowing their bodies to push their babies downward and through the birth canal. When this happens, the muscles become more and more lax, more often than not causing bladder leakage or incontinence. During a Cesarean section — a major surgical procedure – doctors cut through, or damage some of these muscles, requiring strengthening exercises even more. Because of these issues, many mothers choose to strengthen — or rebuild – those muscles to counteract any damage done to provide more support to their internal organs. The stronger the pelvic floor, the better and faster moms can recover from, and move through postpartum healing, and get back on their feet quicker.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

How to perform a Kegel

In terms of exercise and strengthening the core and pelvic floor muscles, it’s best to start at the beginning. In order to engage a mom’s core, and strengthen their pelvic floor muscles, begin by performing a basic Kegel stretch:

  • Step One: Take a few deep breaths to calm and center yourself.
  • Step Two: Begin taking a deep breath, and at the same time, pull in and tighten your vaginal and rear muscles and squeeze slightly.
  • Step Three: Hold that breath and cinched in muscles for 5-10 seconds and gently release while slowly exhaling the breath for 5-10 seconds. This is referred to as a rep.
  • Step Four: Repeat a rep of 8-10 stretches up to 3 times per day.
  • Pro Tip: Focus on only tightening your inner muscles, keeping your buttocks and hips relaxed.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Why Kegels are important

Your pelvic floor muscles won’t repair or strengthen themselves after birth. In fact, the damage from childbirth, coupled with the lack of any kind of strengthening exercises after the fact can create even more trouble for new moms, exacerbating the issue even further. Your core muscles are responsible for supporting the bladder, bowel, and uterus. A full bladder with less than adequate support can create a recipe for disaster, often causing embarrassment and sometimes a mess as well. Save face and yourself by practicing those Kegels as often as you can. Not sure how to get started, or maybe looking to mix up your regular routine? Consider adding these twists to your next post-baby strengthening workout plan:

  • Practice Kegels on an exercise ball
  • Include them in your meditation, Pilates, or yoga routine
  • Consider purchasing a pelvic floor trainer

Don’t feel silly or ridiculous by implementing and performing these exercises. Most mothers are recommended to perform them in order to recover correctly from labor and delivery. You’re not alone! Be open and honest with your partner or support system, and talk with them about your postpartum journey and your desire to bounce back from your delivery. They are intricate parts of your life, and often help support and encourage you, making sticking to your newly planned exercise routine that much easier to stick to.

Editors' Recommendations

Emily Pidgeon
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Emily's work has appeared in the Tube City Almanac, Tube City Online and our Affinity Sites. When she's not writing, she is…
What is implantation bleeding like? Facts you should know about when and why this happens
Implantation bleeding vs. period bleeding: Find out the difference
A menstrual pad being held on a pink background

Heavy implantation bleeding isn't typical, but we have the answers on what is normal for implantation bleeding. What is the difference between implantation bleeding vs. period bleeding and other questions you have about implantation will all be addressed, so that you can understand what this relatively uncommon phenomenon is like.

What is implantation bleeding like?
Implantation bleeding is very light bleeding, similar to a period (in the sense that it comes out of the vaginal canal from the uterus) that happens earlier than a period would come and lasts less than two days. It can be light pink or rust brown, but it's not usually the bright or dark red that period blood can be. Implantation doesn't have any clots and can be like spotting, a light flow, or just one or two smears of blood.
Implantation bleeding is just one possible symptom of implantation, so cramping, backaches, nausea, mood swings, sore breasts, bloating, fatigue, or headaches can accompany it.

Read more
These are the diastasis recti exercises to help repair your stomach
If your stomach needs a little postpartum help, start with these diastasis recti exercises
A woman doing stretches at home

Some babies are just not all that nice to the mother during pregnancy. Not only do they make you go to the bathroom every 5 minutes, but sometimes they stretch your stomach out to the point of breaking. A lot of women experience diastasis recti during the postpartum period, so if you're one of them, you aren't alone. We have diastasis recti exercises to help put your stomach back together if you develop the condition during pregnancy, due to age, injury, or other health reasons.

Exercises
You should do these slowly, with purpose, and at least once a week. Building up to three times a week would be great, but go at your own pace and listen to your body.
Deep abdominal movements

Read more
Moms with depression may be hurting their child’s development, study shows
Learn why maternal depression may impact a child's development process
Woman suffering from postpartum depression

If you're a mother who suffers from postnatal depression, you may be struggling to prioritize your mental health. The demands of being a mother are tremendous, and many women feel they need to put their own needs aside to prioritize that of their children and their family. However, a recent study out of the University of Missouri shows why it's more important than ever that mothers focus on their mental health. This tells us that maternal depression may negatively impact a child's development.

How depression can affect response time
This study, which notes the importance that conversation and back-and-forth interaction has on language development, assessed the response time between 104 mothers and children at 14 and 36 months of age. It found that "mothers and children are in sync," noting that when a mother was quick to respond, so was the child and the same was true when the mother was slow to respond. "The significant new finding was that the moms who were more depressed took longer to respond to their child compared to moms who were less depressed," noted Nicholas Smith, an assistant professor at the MU School of Health Professions.

Read more