Two weeks after pushing out my 3rd baby I know more than ever how important pelvic floor exercises are hahaha. I have to admit I am pretty lazy with remembering to do these kind of things so I have to set myself reminders and cues to remember. My midwife recommended I try to do my pelvic floor exercises when I sit down to breastfeed as I am not really doing anything else.
Having grown up with a mother who has had bladder issues her whole life I know this is more important than it feels right now. My mum said they never really talked about pelvic floor much after she had babies so it wasn’t on her radar at the time. For years she struggled with bladder leakage issues until a few years ago when she had surgery to get it all under control. Surgery in itself is a major thing to get done on your bladder so if I can find a way to avoid that I will.
Just before having bubs number 3 I became aware of a new app launched by The Continence Foundation. It is geared towards pregnant women to raise awareness and provide practical information regarding pelvic floor, bladder and bowel health. It is great because you can put in your own personal due date and it will send you push notifications personalised to you and relating to key pregnancy milestones for your due date. A key function of the app is it gives you information about how to do pelvic floor exercises and the ability to set up reminders to perform them 3 times per day. Very handy indeed.
Some of the other topics covered include:
• Safe exercise during pregnancy
• Looking after your back
• Bladder and bowel control problems – symptoms, causes and tips for management
• Tips for healthy bladder and bowel habits
• Preparing for the birth
• Pregnancy and postnatal abdominal muscle bracing
• Sex during and after pregnancy
• General information about what to expect during check-up’s with your health professional during your pregnancy
• Communicating with your partner
• Post natal depression
• Did you know? section for each milestone
• Where to get help: finding local services for pelvic floor problems
The best thing about this app is it is FREE and you can personalise it to yourself!!!
You can download it via iTunes & Google Play by clicking the links below …
iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pregnancy-pelvic-floor-plan/id888650849?ls=1&mt=8
Android link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=au.org.continence.pelvicfloor
Competition
The Continence Foundation have been super generous and have given us a $150 voucher for one lucky lady to win to select some fabulous shoes of her choice from Style Tread (Australia’s leading online shoe store) woohoo …. enter via app below …
Win A $150 Shoe Voucher to Style Tread
GOOD LUCK!!
Written By Sam Shazzam aka School Mum