So a couple years back I was talking with a patient who had recently delivered and come to me for help with peeing a little when she sneezed (a common postpartum complaint).
I asked her to tell me all about her symptoms.
Then I asked her to tell me what exercises she had done prior to delivery for her pelvic floor...
...And that's where things got weird.
All of a sudden her face went blank.
She stammered something about practicing breathing, going for a few walks.
Then she fell silent. She shook her head in confusion.
Then she said, "What do you mean 'exercises for my pelvic floor'? I should have been doing something?? Why didn't anyone tell me??"
#1 MISTAKE: She had made the mistake of NOT training her pelvic
floor for the marathon of childbirth
But the crazy thing is, it wasn't her fault! Despite the fact that 1 in 3 new moms have bladder leakage, standard pregnancy care in the US does not include pelvic floor prep.
I don't know why this is still the case in 2024, but there you go.
Realizing this crazy gap in care is why I designed a class to help women prepare for delivery proactively, to help lessen the risk of tears and PREVENT postpartum bladder
leaks.