PREGNANCY FITNESS Being fit can help you stay healthy during pregnancy, it can reduce the likelihood of complications during labor, make labor shorter and allows for a faster post-delivery recovery.

Kiegel Exercises

What are Kiegel exercises?

These are the exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor (the muscles surrounding the anus, vagina and urethra.)

WHY SHOULD I DO IT?

• During pregnancy the pelvic floor muscles support your expanding uterus and the baby and so it becomes important to strengthen it. These are important to tone up bladder, vagina uterus and rectum.
• During labor, it is important to keep your pelvic muscles strong and flexible  
• It prevents urinary incontinence in late pregnancy and post partum.
• It keeps the circulation in a good condition and prevents hemorrhoids.

HOW DO I LOCATE THE MUSCLE GROUP FOR THESE EXERCISES?

To locate it, relax your pelvic muscles and legs.try to insert your finger into your vagina and squeeze around it. If you feel your vagine tightening around your vagina, you have located the proper muscles.

Another method is stop your urine flows midway while you are passing urine.

IN WHAT POSITION SHOULD I DO IT?

These exercises can be done anywhere and in any position.

ELEVATOR KEGEL

1. Sit with your legs crossed and concentrate on your pelvic muscles.
2. Contract the muscles around our vagina, urethra and anus.
3. Continue to contract these muscles inwards towards your belly and keep it holding there for sometime.
4. Release the muscles slowly.
5. Now focus on these muscles as they are back in the pelvic area and try to soften and release it even more.
6. Repeat it 10 -15 times/day

THE WAVE KEGEL

1. Contract the muscles around the anus and vagina and try to push it to the urethra as if you were pushing it towards the pubic bone.
2. Slowly release the muscles from the urethra after holding it for some time.
3. Repeat it 10- 15 times in a day.

You can slowly increase to 50 -100 times .the perinea or pelvic floor muscle form a figure of eight pattern around the vagina and anus and these are used in love making and when you resist the urge to urinate. So keep these muscles toned up and you will have a breezy delivery.