How to exercise your pelvic floor muscles

With one in three women experiencing incontinence, pelvic floor exercises are increasingly important. But few women are aware of how significant they can be

Woman lying on the floor

Making sure you exercise your pelvic floor muscles can really help women after they give birth. Here is a step by step guide to what to do

1. To make sure you are using the right group of muscles, it helps to be lying down or sitting when you first try to do the exercises.  Remember to breathe normally.

2. Imagine that you are trying to stop yourself passing urine and at the same time trying to stop yourself passing wind. The muscles should feel as though they ‘lift and squeeze’ at the same time. 

3. You need to practise long and short squeezes.

LONG SQUEEZES: Tighten your pelvic floor muscles and hold for several seconds and then relax for the same length of time. Repeat until the muscles feel tired.

SHORT SQUEEZES: Tighten your pelvic floor muscles for a second and then relax. Repeat until the muscles feel tired.

4. Most women eventually aim to do 10 long squeezes followed by 10 short squeezes but you need to start with what you feel suits you and gradually increase the number of repeats and the