You probably became familiar with Kegel exercises during your
pregnancy. Kegel exercises are equally important after pregnancy
to help restore the tone and strength of your vaginal wall.
Kegel exercises help strengthen your pelvic muscles, which
weaken during childbirth. Why would you want to strengthen these
muscles? If they are weak, you could have bladder control
problems. You may also find that intercourse is more fulfilling
when you have control of your kegel muscles.
Not sure how to do your Kegel’s? Pretend that you are trying to
stop the flow of urine the next time you are sitting on the
toilet (or anywhere for that matter). Those are the very muscles
you need to contract in order to do your Kegels. You can also
insert a finger into your vagina and try squeezing just like you
are trying to stop the flow of urine. If you feel tightness
around your finger, you are performing the exercise correctly.
Be sure when you are doing your Kegel’s that you concentrate on
the pelvic floor muscles specifically; try not to do any other
exercises. You should squeeze for about 15 seconds several times
per day.
It is important that you don’t overdo your Kegel’s particularly
in the early weeks after birth, or you may become very sore.
Consider working up to doing three sets of ten repetitions over
the course of the day.