https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:41:08 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/why-you-should-stop-doing-kegels#post-852137 Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:07:41 +0000 Freckles 852137@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Alivoo01: But shouldn't you be engaging your pelvic floor muscles while squatting anyways? I know that post-partum, there was no way i could do a squat without engaging these muscles first. </p> <p>You also have to remember that it's not just about strengthening your pelvic floor muscles. My pfms were really tight, so i had to work on relaxation before going back to strengthening. I highly recommend working with a PT who specializes in PFM/post-partum issues prior to delivery. I know i wish i had! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/why-you-should-stop-doing-kegels#post-852031 Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:33:27 +0000 Alivoo01 852031@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My chiro just told me this past Sunday to do squats to strength my pelvic floor muscles prior to delivery, and didn't say anything about kegels. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/why-you-should-stop-doing-kegels#post-852020 Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:29:23 +0000 Lozza 852020@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yeah, I'm still not convinced. She seems to more be saying "don't over-kegel, and try squatting!" Which is fine, but I don't think I know anyone who really kegels too much. At the very end of the post, she says "I came up with the perfect solution, Kara. Gently tense and fully release (shy of urinating) your PF 10 times while you are in a squatting position. That way you know you are keeping all the pelvic muscles balanced."<br /> Which seems to me that she's actually just saying to strengthen ALL your relevant muscle groups, which makes a lot more sense to me- and I'm sure she sees plenty of women who kegel but have no glutes, but most of my pregnant peers have the opposite problem- we squat plenty, we have strong glutes, but have never worked on strengthening our pelvic floors, so doing exercises makes sense. I was kind of talking to my physical therapist about that this morning even- she was talking about how if you have a weak pelvic floor and strong glutes (i.e. if you're me), they pull on things in a way that's NOT good (I wish I could articulate this better!)<br /> One thing she also talks about is that usually when women talk about doing PF exercises, they focus on those short pulses, whereas what you should be doing is alternating between those and pulling in your pelvic floor ("like you're picking a marble off the ground with your vagina," as she puts it) and holding it- ideally for a full 60 seconds. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/why-you-should-stop-doing-kegels#post-851999 Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:24:21 +0000 Dandelion 851999@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was told to do kegels to help repair my muscle tone after my episiotome. I'm really bad about doing it, but I do know the muscles down there definitely aren't great (there's no holding back gas anymore!).</p> <p>Seems like there's a fine balance. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/why-you-should-stop-doing-kegels#post-851969 Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:15:52 +0000 allison 851969@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Lozza: Yeah, that's what I've always heard, too. But this article makes a lot of sense (did you read it?). She talks about how, when you're strengthening any other muscle of the body, the muscle is most toned when it's just the right length and just the right tightness. Does that make sense? So doing Kegels tightens up the PF too much, which makes it ineffective in preventing incontinence, prolapse, etc.</p> <p>ETA: of course, I'm just repeating what the article is saying. I have no idea if it actually works that way. But it makes a lot of sense to me. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/why-you-should-stop-doing-kegels#post-851948 Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:10:28 +0000 Lozza 851948@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So, my OB told me not to worry about kegels because she thought having a looser pelvic floor seemed to be associated with less tearing during birth, but my physical therapist who specializes in pelvic floor issues says exactly the opposite, that you absolutely want to do everything you can to strengthen your pelvic floor and transverse abdominals both prior to giving birth and especially postpartum. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/why-you-should-stop-doing-kegels#post-851931 Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:06:56 +0000 allison 851931@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This blog post is really old (from 2010), but I just saw it on Facebook and wanted to share! The interviewee suggests that Kegels can actually make your pelvic floor too tight, thus ineffective (it needs to be not-too-tight, not-too-loose). She says, instead, that you should do squats to strengthen your glutes, which pull the PF back where it's supposed to be (trampoline, vs hammock).</p> <p>As someone suffering from PF prolapse, I find this very interesting! I wanted to share, in case any of you were dealing with the same thing.</p> <p><a href="http://journeytocrunchville.wordpress.com/2010/08/17/why-you-should-stop-doing-kegels/" rel="nofollow">http://journeytocrunchville.wordpress.com/2010/08/17/why-you-should-stop-doing-kegels/</a> </p>