 As a baby grows during pregnancy, the uterus expands to as much as 1,000 times its original size! This amount of growth affects a woman's body and may cause discomfort. Your body also undergoes significant changes in the weeks and months following your baby's birth. Some women experience a wide range of postpartum issues, while others do not.
The most common postpartum issue is urinary or fecal incontinence. Incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine or stool. Any loss of urine or stool, especially when laughing, coughing, sneezing, or straining, is not normal and you do not need to live with it. During pregnancy and/or delivery, incontinence may happen from the stretching of pelvic floor muscles.
Kegel exercises can help strengthen the pelvic muscles. These exercises are helpful for all types of incontinence. Biofeedback is a training technique that may help you locate the correct muscles. Our physical therapists are specialized in biofeedback training. In one type of biofeedback, sensors are placed inside or outside the vagina that measures the force of pelvic muscle contraction. When you contract the right muscles, you will see the measurement on a monitor. A pessary is another device sometimes used to treat urinary incontinence.
Other common problems include:
- Dyspareunia - pain with intercourse
- Diastasis Recti - separation of abdominal muscles
- Episiotomy scar pain - scar pain around the vagina
- Pubic Diastasis - separation of pubic bone
- Coccyx pain - tailbone pain
- Cesarean section (c-section) scar pain
- Epidural site pain
At PT Center for Women, we engage women in open dialogue so there is no shame or embarrassment in sharing your private health concerns. Together, we can end the isolation you may feel and get you on a path to living better and enjoying life.
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