How Do I Know if My Pelvic Floor is Healthy?

We get so many people that call us and say they’re not sure if they’re calling the right place. To that, we say, awesome! Let’s figure that out together! Many people have been on the medical merry-go-round with no luck of a solution, or they have sat on their discomfort for years unsure if they need help, or they want to have a healthy pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum experience and they don’t know when to start! Whatever the case, we are here to talk and to listen because it can be complicated to understand with there being so much mixed information out there. So we are here to set the record straight! Keep reading to hear straight from our very own expert on all things pelvic health, Dr. Jessica Papa from her bestselling book, Postpartum is Forever: A Pelvic Health Specialist's Guide to Heal and Optimize Your Body Before, During, and After Pregnancy.

Why is Pelvic Floor Health Important to Address?

According to Postpartum is Forever, The health of your pelvic floor is vital before, after, and during pregnancy. The strain of carrying a child growing inside our bodies can be damaging for the pelvic floor muscles. This is because the pelvic floor has to make room for the baby, and as such, the pelvic floor stretches its muscles to accommodate our little one. As the baby grows, these pelvic floor muscles expand even further and get weighed down, putting them at risk of becoming weakened and strained and putting excess pressure on our organs. If your pelvic floor is already healthy, these muscles will be strong enough to withstand the stretching and weight, and the damage they endure will be very minimal. However, an unhealthy or weak pelvic floor encountering such strain can cause weaker muscles and damage during pregnancy. 

Also, a healthy pelvic floor ensures that we are readily equipped for labor and delivery. Delivery is likely to be less risky and strenuous, which means less stress for both the mother and baby if you have a healthy pelvic floor. If you have a vaginal delivery or a C-section, the layers of muscles in the pelvic floor experience a bit of straining and stretching. If the pelvic floor is healthy enough, the muscles will return to their optimal level of functioning and location soon thereafter, so we are likely to recover faster after the delivery. Otherwise, if the pelvic muscles were not in the best shape going into the labor and delivery process, it means post-delivery pelvic complications can be expected.

A healthier pelvic floor is a stronger pelvic floor and that makes it easier for us to control our bladder and rectum during and after pregnancy. A lack of bladder control during pregnancy is observed most frequently during the second and third trimesters. This is because our pelvic floor is weak, so we cannot squeeze the muscles as required to stop urine from evading the bladder. In the worst-case scenario, a weak pelvic floor can cause pelvic organs to move out of their places into the vagina. When this occurs, it is diagnosed as pelvic organ prolapse, which is extremely painful. What happens is that our ligaments loosen up during pregnancy due to the production of hormones like oxytocin & relaxin. These ligaments are tissues that keep our organs in place, and when loosened, they can’t hold onto them.⁷ We will delve much more into this condition a bit later.

Even if you are not interested in having children or if you are unable to, your pelvic floor muscles can develop dysfunction from stress, a sedentary lifestyle, irregular bowel movements, poor toilet habits, etc. It’s multifactorial so it can be hard to determine where the discomfort or dysfunction is coming from, that’s why we want to go over next, how to figure out if you should seek pelvic health help.

Signs of an Unhealthy Pelvic Floor

Now that we know the complications associated with a weakened pelvic floor, let’s look for the signs to find out if ours is healthy or not. If it is healthy, that’s great; we just need to keep doing whatever it is that we’re doing. If not, it’s not the end of the world. All we need to do is take a bit more care of our pelvic floor muscles. By that, we certainly don’t mean just doing kegels. It’s hard to know what’s best for our pelvic floor since we don’t learn much or even think about it growing up. That’s why it’s always best to seek help from a specialist who can understand your individual case. Here are the more common signs and symptoms of an unhealthy pelvic floor:

• Urinary incontinence: If urine involuntarily exits the body during daily activities, like walking, coughing, laughing, etc., the pelvic floor may be weak.  
• Fecal incontinence: If we uncontrollably pass stool during everyday activities for even a short time, it may be an indication that the pelvic floor is unhealthy. 
• Urinary and fecal retention: This is another sign of a weakened pelvic floor when we have much difficulty emptying the bladder or rectum.
• Painful penetration: Experiencing any pain during sexual intercourse or the insertion of a tampon/finger is another sign of an unhealthy pelvic floor.   
• If you see or feel a bulge distended from the vagina or feel like the vagina is full or something is protruding from the vaginal opening, it can be an indication of pelvic organ prolapse.

There are other issues that may indicate pelvic floor dysfunction and that’s why if you are not sure, it’s best to call your doctor or a pelvic health specialist to ask about your non-invasive options. It’s more common than you think!

Prevalence of Pelvic Floor Disorders 

According to the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES), from 2005-2010, almost 8,000 women in the United States were found to experience symptoms of a pelvic disorder. This is prevalent in women with and without having gone through a pregnancy. One thing we always want to make clear with our patients and anyone who calls us is that though pelvic floor dysfunction is common, that does not mean it’s normal! We don’t need to and should not live with dysfunction and discomfort. Just like any other area of the body, there is nothing to be ashamed of and muscle dysfunction is not our fault! However, it is our responsibility to find the care we need. If you are interested in speaking with an expert to find out if you qualify for care, you can give us a call at (401)602-7006, reach out to us online, or you can grab your copy of Postpartum is Forever on Amazon if you want to read more!

Works Cited

Papa, Jessica. Postpartum Is Forever: A Pelvic Health Specialist's Guide to Heal and Optimize Your Body Before, During and After Pregnancy. 2022.