All About Your Pelvic Floor

During pregnancy, your growing uterus and baby put extra pressure on your pelvic muscles. What can you do to keep those muscles in good working order, so they hold the pee in during pregnancy, let the baby slide out during birth, and remain toned during postpartum and beyond? Lisa Gillispie has answers.

What we talked about:

• Our love of being barefoot
• The functions of a healthy pelvic floor
• The problem with chairs and sedentary lives
• Tuning in to the tension you carry in your pelvic floor
• Move to keep it interesting
• Effects of an out of balance pelvic floor on birth, and how to prevent them
• Ditch the heels
• Back the pelvis up!
• Love your ischial spines
• Pay attention to your body “cheats”
• Kegels, squats or what?
• Walk before you run, or modify before you squat
• How your pelvic health related to a diastasis
• Why doing a lot of core work makes you vulnerable to a diastasis (which can increase organ prolapse)
• Stop sucking it in
• Thoughts on perineal massage
• Things to consider after the big stretch of vaginal birth

Related resources*:

• Diastasis Recti: The Whole Body Solution to Abdominal Weakness and Separation, by Katy Bowman
• The Roll Model: A Step-by-Step Guide to Erase Pain, Improve Mobility, and Live Better in Your Body, by Jill Miller
• Lisa’s online class: Whole Body Approach To a Pelvic Floor That Works

Related Birthful episodes:

• Diastasis and Tummy Fitness
• Baby’s Position and Labor Flow

Check out this amazing booklet that Lisa created,

especially for Birthful podcast listeners!!

Courtesy Lisa Gillispie

About Lisa Gillispie

Lisa Gillispie is passionate about helping women feel comfortable during pregnancy, give birth more easily, and, enjoy life after birth. In her work with women online and in-person, she uses craniosacral therapy, corrective exercises and somatic experiencing to help them improve their movement and alignment patterns and experience less pain and more ease in their daily life. She is a Nutritious Movement certified Restorative Exercise Specialist, craniosacral therapist and somatic experiencing student living in Columbus, OH with her husband and almost 7 year old daughter. She can often be found walking barefoot through her neighbors’ yards and is usually the only adult playing on the playground equipment.

Find out more on her website at lisallc.com, or follow the conversation on Facebook, Twitter (@LisaGillispie). You can also email her directly at Lisa [at] lisallc [dot] com.