Did you know that you didn't have to have a baby in order to have pelvic floor problems? Even men can have problems with their pelvic floor!
Pelvic floor problems can be associated with pain or not, leaking (incontinence) or not, being unable to completely empty the blower or bladder or not, the feeling of pressure or not, or a mixture of these items. As you can see there are a variety of symptoms that can be present with pelvic floor issues. Another example is a person may have stress incontinence due to weakness in the pelvic floor, however the next person with stress incontinence could be due to an overactive or tightness in the pelvic floor muscles.
For the reasons listed above, it is essential that all postpartum women see a pelvic floor specialist after having a baby. Many of these issues can arise after the six-week follow up appointment with the OBGYN. In my opinion, and talking with other mom's who have come to see me in the clinic, mother's delay seeking help because they prioritize the appointments for their newborns (or older kids in the household), they are too busy, or they simply believe this is the way their body is now after having a baby. In Europe and Australia it is considered routine postpartum care to be seen by a pelvic floor physical therapist in addition to your OBGYN. Here in the United States we behind and need to do a better job of caring for postpartum mama's.
Click here to see if you can get a perfect score on the Pelvic Floor Quiz or if you could benefit from seeing a pelvic floor specialist.
