3 reasons every woman should do kegel exercise post pregnancy

Doing kegels post pregnancy not only improves your sex life, but has other benefits too.

By: Debjani Arora | | Updated: May 25, 2016 1:38 pm

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Doing kegel exercises during pregnancy is a great idea as it helps strengthen muscles of the pelvic area to help ease labour. While it is easy to do Kegels during pregnancy and it needs no effort or support from an antenatal coach or trainer, you shouldn t stop the practice post delivery too. Also Read - Overactive bladder? Know how to save yourself the embarrassment of accidental leakages

Dr Geetanjali Shah, author of Garbhasanskar and pediatrician attached to Supraja Foundation and Ashvini IVF center, Mumbai tells why doing Kegals post-pregnancy is a great idea.

1. It prevents urinary incontinence: For mothers who had a vaginal or a natural birth, this is very common. The entire group of muscles that helped to expel the baby out of the womb were subjected to enough wear and tear during labour, which makes them lose some of the elasticity. This leads to urine incontinence leaking of urine involuntarily when the abdominal muscles face a pressure due to laughing or coughing. Kegel exercises can help strengthen the area once again and counter this problem. Here is all that you need to know about urine incontinence post pregnancy.

2. It improves sexual intercourse: It isn t surprising that pain during intercourse after delivery bothers most couples. There could be some reasons for the same episiotomy, a sensitive vagina, lack of lubrication, etc. However, performing kegels can make one fight those problems and make the muscles in that area more strong. It is believed that performing kegels can help reduce dyspareunia, that is pain during sexual intercourse after delivery. Here is how to have sex after having a baby.

3. It helps reduce post-pregnancy tummy: The descent of the uterus after pregnancy is known as prolapse. This happens more with women who undergo multiple pregnancies. Doing regular kegels can help you strengthen the lower muscles of the uterus and get the pre-pregnancy tummy back (only if you are lucky). However, kegels can definitely help recover from the damage. Here are five exercises you can do with your baby to lose weight post pregnancy.

How to do a kegel

Sit in a comfortable position and contract your kegel muscles for as long as you can (ones that help you to stop the flow of urine) and relax. Repeat it 10 to 15 times. You can do kegels as much as you want during the day or night. If you are pressed for time, remember to do it after every session of breastfeeding. In this way, you will end up doing it at least 20 to 25 times a day.

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Published : January 22, 2016 5:07 pm | Updated:May 25, 2016 1:38 pm

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