What is kegel exercise for female during pregnancy?

Kegel exercises strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, helping to prevent the urinary incontinence that's common after childbirth. To do Kegels, squeeze the muscles around the vagina as if you are stopping the flow of urine; hold for 10 seconds, breathing normally, then slowly release. Do 20 reps five times a day.

Kegel exercise is a form of pelvic floor exercise that involves squeezing and relaxing muscles in the pelvic and genital areas. These muscles are support the pelvic organs, including the bladder, uterus, small intestine, and rectum. Regular Kegel exercise during pregnancy and after you’ve given birth can help improve and maintain your bladder and bowel control by increasing the strength, endurance, and correct function of these important muscles. Kegels can be beneficial throughout life, and you might want to begin doing them during pregnancy or after your baby is born, when pelvic floor muscles often need to be strengthened.

The good news is that you don’t need to join a gym to train these muscles. Kegels can be done discreetly as a part of your daily routine. Also, these are some of pregnancy exercising tips that could come handy in your fitness journey

The benefits of doing Kegel exercises — especially during pregnancy and after giving birth — include:

Strengthening the pelvic floor muscles during pregnancy also helps you develop the ability to relax and control these muscles in preparation for labor and birth. Read on to find out signs & symptoms of labor that will help you recognize without a doubt. In the postpartum period, Kegels can help heal perineal tissues, which are stretched during vaginal birth.

Kegel exercises are easy to do. It’s all about squeezing and relaxing the same muscles you would use to stop a stream of urine. Here’s how to do Kegels:

As with all types of exercise, you will need to stick with Kegels and do them correctly to see the best results. Typically, women report noticing better bladder and bowel control after about 6 to 12 weeks. For continued results, make Kegels a permanent part of your daily routine.

If you are pregnant or if you want to try post pregnancy exercises, it’s best to ask your provider before starting. During pregnancy, you may want to start in the second trimester when many moms-to-be experience a much-needed energy boost. After your baby is born, you may be able to start doing Kegels within a few days of an uncomplicated vaginal birth — just make sure you feel ready. If you had complications during vaginal birth or had a C-section, wait until the doctor gives you the all clear.

There is no set rule on how often to do Kegels. Some experts recommend doing Kegels at least twice a week, while others recommend doing them daily. There are many options in terms of how many Kegels to do and how often. For example, your healthcare provider may suggest doing 10 sets of Kegels three times per day; doing 50 squeezes throughout the day; or practicing twice a day before increasing to three times a day. With a little practice, you’ll be able to do them while you’re relaxing on the couch, waiting in line at the store, or even lying in bed. You can also contract your pelvic floor muscles before and during any situation where you might leak urine, such as when you sneeze or laugh. Also, these pregnancy exercises will help you stay fit during pregnancy.

To get the most out of doing your Kegels, keep these tips in mind:

Invented by American gynecologist Arnold Kegel in the 1940s as a nonsurgical treatment for incontinence, the exercise has become a first-line treatment for urinary stress incontinence; vaginal, bladder, or uterine prolapse (sagging); and other pelvic health concerns.

Additionally, Kegels can also be used to prevent these issues, which is why many healthy women, especially in mid-life and later are encouraged by their doctors and other health professionals to perform them regularly.

Kegel exercises target the pelvic floor, which is a set of muscles in the pelvic region running from the tailbone to the pubic bone like a hammock. The primary muscle of the pelvic floor is the pubococcygeus (PC), which runs along and around the openings of the urethra, vagina, and rectum.

This layer of muscles supports the organs in the pelvis, which include the uterus, bladder, and bowel. These muscles span the base of the pelvis to keep your organs in place and strengthen the bladder and rectal sphincters, which give us conscious control over the bladder and rectum and the release of urine, feces, and flatulence.

A strong pelvic floor can help prevent and/or treat the following:

Exercising your pelvic floor muscles also helps to tone the muscles of the vagina, which can enhance sexual health and enjoyment. In fact, research has shown a strong link between weakened pelvic floor muscles and sexual dysfunction.

Pregnancy and childbirth can put a lot of strain on the pelvic floor muscles, particularly due to the weight of the pregnant belly, changes in posture and body alignment, and all the stretching and compacting that happens in a pregnant person's pelvic and abdominal regions while growing a baby. The birth itself can also cause damage to these muscles, resulting in common pelvic floor disorders.

Vaginal childbirth, particularly subsequent births, can significantly weaken the muscles of the pelvic floor, as can a cesarean section. Research overwhelmingly demonstrates a relationship between pregnancy and diminished pelvic floor strength. Other factors, like trauma, abdominal surgery, repeated straining from constipation, aging, and being overweight or obese can also weaken the pelvic floor muscles.

Even if you don’t have clinically diagnosed pelvic floor dysfunction, Kegel exercises can help reverse, improve, or prevent a variety of pelvic health symptoms that commonly arise during or after pregnancy, including:

Your doctor may want you to wait until you've recovered from childbirth before starting treatment to see if any of the symptoms have changed, or if they are a sign of another condition unrelated to your pregnancy.

Luckily, Kegels are a relatively simple and effective exercise that most people can do to dramatically improve their pelvic floor muscle tone.

Kegels are essentially repetitive squeezes of the pelvic floor muscles. You don't need any special equipment to perform these exercises, and they can be done anywhere. All you do is locate the right muscles, tighten, hold, release, rest, and repeat.

Sometimes this is easier said than done. It can be a bit tricky to get the hang of where the muscles are and what exactly to do. However, rest assured that once you do, the actual exercises are straightforward—even easy. The key is to isolate the correct muscles to focus on and learn how to perform them correctly.

In order to find the correct muscles, there are some things you can try:

If you’re having difficulty isolating your pelvic floor muscles, ask your doctor or gynecologist for guidance. They may refer you to a physical therapist who specializes in pelvic health and can teach you proper Kegel techniques. Some doctors also use biofeedback with Kegel exercises in order to monitor pelvic floor activity.

Proper technique is vital but once you get the hang of doing Kegel exercises, you can do them in any position and in any place.

Here are four comfortable positions to begin with:

Ideally, you should do all four positions each day for maximum strength. One way to think about doing Kegels is to squeeze and lift from the vaginal opening up toward the cervix. Some describe this tightening motion as like riding an elevator up as far as it will go. Then, as you let the muscles relax, take the elevator all the way back down.

Other variations of Kegel exercises include:

Relaxing the pelvic floor muscles between Kegels is just as crucial to improvement as the squeezing motions, so it's vital not to skimp on this part.

Think of it this way. When doing Kegels you are getting those muscles strong enough to, for instance, clamp down on command to prevent accidents. However, if you are always clamping down, your muscles will have a hard time clenching further in times of need. Another way to imagine this is that if you always keep your hand in a fist, it becomes difficult to grasp on to something when needed.

Additionally, to avoid using the wrong muscles when doing your Kegels, try not to squeeze or tighten any of the adjacent muscles, such as those in your stomach, buttocks, or legs. Doing so can interfere with the action of the pelvic muscles. Also, it can put pressure on your bladder if you're tightening the muscles around the pelvic floor instead of the actual pelvic floor muscles.

Like any workout regimen, it takes some time to see a significant muscle strength improvement from doing Kegels. Many people start to notice a change in their bladder strength (with fewer "accidents" and longer times between trips to the bathroom) within three to six weeks of regularly doing these exercises, but results vary a great deal from person to person.

From elevators to squats, here's everything you need to know about pelvic floor exercise.

The transversus abdominis, or transverse, is the innermost abdominal muscle. It encircles your trunk like a corset and involuntarily contracts when you sneeze. The action of this muscle is forward and backward, which compresses the abdominal cavity, and it can help you push during labor.

The main muscle of the pelvic floor, the PC (short for pubococcygeus), lies in a figure eight around the openings of the urethra, vagina and rectum. Kegel exercises strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, helping to prevent the urinary incontinence that's common after childbirth. To do Kegels, squeeze the muscles around the vagina as if you are stopping the flow of urine; hold for 10 seconds, breathing normally, then slowly release. Do 20 reps five times a day.

These pregnancy pelvic floor exercises and abdominal exercises, designed by former Fit Pregnancy fitness editor Teri Hanson and based on the Tupler Technique, will also teach you how to work the muscles separately. The goal: During the pushing phase of labor, you ideally draw in the deep transversus abdominis, or transverse, muscle and relax the pelvic floor to let the baby out. Do these exercises in the order shown up to three times a day, performing 10 repetitions of each move and progressing to 20 reps when you feel strong enough.

How To: Sit with your legs crossed and lower back supported, hands on your belly. Keeping your back and shoulders still, slowly inhale through your nose as you expand your belly. As you exhale through your mouth, draw in your abdominals, bringing your navel toward your spine.

Benefits: Strengthens abdominals

How To: Get down on your hands and knees, wrists under shoulders and knees hip-width apart. Keeping your back flat, draw your abdominals up and in, bringing your navel toward your spine; hold, breathing normally. Tilt your pelvis under, bringing your pubic bone toward your navel.

Hold and count to five. When you complete the final rep, stand up by stepping one foot forward and pushing off your thigh with both hands.

Benefits: Strengthens abdominals, back and upper body

How To: Sit with your lower back supported, one hand on your upper belly and the other near your navel.

Imagine your transverse is a horizontal elevator with six "floors." Inhale, then exhale, drawing your abs toward your spine to the fifth floor. Hold and count out loud to 30. Do five squeezes from the fifth to the sixth floor.

Benefits: Strengthens abs, especially the transverse

How To: Holding a fixed object, such as a post or a sturdy chair, stand with your feet farther than hip-width apart.

Lower your body into a deep squat, keeping your weight over your heels. (If your heels do not touch the floor, place a towel under them.) Do a Kegel then draw your abs in as you exhale. Repeat combo five times.