To be honest, the only thing I know about pelvic muscles is exercising them during pregnancy as I read it helps to make the contractions faster. Oh boy, I hope I got it right. For both of my pregnancies, I squat as much as possible right up to my last trimester and I think it helps a lot! It is good to read on page 52 of Mary O'Dwyer's Hold It Mama: The Pelvic Floor and Core Handbook for Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond about the benefits of squatting and reaffirm my understanding.
The exercise on page 16, item number three is the Kegel exercise I learned in antenatal class when I was pregnant with my first child. I also like the tips given during labor, ways to take to help baby move down the pelvis.
The chapter in section six touches on the early postpartum phase and how it is important to use this period to heal and strengthen back the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles. I also find the tips on breastfeeding positions on page 100 very helpful as well.
By the way, one awesome point in this book is that it sets out detailed a recovery after caesarean as well as vaginal births. Do you know that it takes C-section mums longer to recover after birth as deep healing needs to happen before they return to activity? I read with great interests on how the muscles are affected for C-section mums after labor. Interesting!
My favorite chapter in this book has got to be section 13 where it highlights birth and postpartum care in other countries and cultures. It makes for a good eye-opener to always know more on how people from other countries do it.
Reading Hold It Mama helps me to learn how important our pelvic floor and abdominal muscles are and how we can exercise and get them back into shape even after birth and beyond.
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