At the six-week checkup, a lot of new moms get told they’re healed and good to go. Then they go home and still can’t sit on a hard chair without wincing. Or they leak when they pick up the baby’s car seat. Some feel a strange heaviness down low by the end of the day and aren’t sure if it’s normal. Healed on paper doesn’t always mean healed in real life, and the pelvic floor is often the part that’s still catching up.
Pelvic floor therapy is physical therapy for the muscles at the base of your pelvis. After birth, it can help with pain, leaking, and that general feeling that things just aren’t working like they used to.
What Birth Does to These Muscles
Your pelvic floor sits at the very bottom of your pelvis. It’s a group of muscles, and its job is to hold up your bladder, your uterus, and your bowel. Pregnancy loads it down for the better part of a year. A vaginal delivery then stretches it a long way, and tears or stitches are pretty common. Moms who had a C-section aren’t off the hook either, since the muscles still spent all those months holding extra weight.
So it makes sense that these muscles can come out of birth weak, overstretched, or tight and sore. Sometimes it’s a mix.
When the Pain Sticks Around
Pain after birth should ease up over the first several weeks. If it doesn’t, something may need more help to heal. We often see women with:
- A tender scar from a tear or an episiotomy
- Pain when sitting, especially on firm seats
- Tailbone pain that started during delivery
- Pain with intimacy after they’ve been cleared
- An achy pelvis or sore hips by bedtime
A scar that heals tight can pull and sting. The muscles around it often clench up to protect the area, which makes everything more sore. We treat the scar with gentle hands-on work so it loosens. For the muscles, we use breathing and relaxation drills, because a lot of moms are holding tension down there without realizing it.
Leaking and That Heavy Feeling
When these muscles are weak, a cough or a laugh can be enough to cause a leak. Lifting a toddler can do it too. Some moms describe a heavy or bulging feeling instead, and that can point to a mild prolapse. We see both of these all the time after birth. The right exercises help a lot.
The key is learning to use these muscles correctly. Many women try Kegels on their own and end up squeezing the wrong muscles. We’ll help you find the right ones, then build their strength and timing so they work when you need them.
Come Talk to Us
If you’re still dealing with pain, leaking, or pressure after having a baby, come see our team at Modern Medicine of Tucson, AZ. We’ll listen first and help you heal.
