Why does your pelvic floor become weak?

Pelvic health physiotherapist Elaine Miller shares why pelvic floors become weak.

Read the transcript from the video:

Pelvic floors weaken over time because of challenges they can’t cope with. So if you are a woman that becomes pregnant then the muscles are having to resist the extra weight associated with that – the baby, the placenta, even the extra blood volume that you’re carrying around.

Being pregnant can have more stress on the pelvic floor than the delivery of the baby. So some people assume that if they are going to have a caesarean section than that means they don’t have any problem with the pelvic floor and that’s not the case.

Certainly if you have a vaginal delivery that increases your risk of having a problem with your pelvic floor – especially if you have to have assistance with the delivery. So people who have an episiotomy, or have forceps to help the baby be born, than that increases your risk.

So does things in your family history. So if you’re bendy that can increase your risk. If you’re overweight and your muscles are having to work harder to support all your body mass. But small amounts of weight loss can have a significant impact on the symptoms that you have. So if you loose 10% of your body weight, then symptoms can be reduced as much as 50%.