During pregnancy your body undergoes lots of physiological changes, to assist the growth and development of your baby. Pregnancy and birth are physically demanding, and having a reasonable level of fitness can help you better manage these demands, as well as help boost your mood and self image. What are some of the benefits of exercise in pregnancy? i mproved fitness reduced muscle and joint aches and pains improved mood and sense of wellbeing reduced risk of gestational diabetes and gestational hypertension reduced maternal weight gain and fat How much exercise should you do? The latest recommendations from the Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists suggest that you should exercise most days of the week at a moderate intensity between 2.5-5 hrs per week. Ideally this would mean that you would exercise most days for around 30-45 minutes, where you feel like you are working hard, but not short of breath, e.g. brisk walking. What if you are inactive or don't exercise regularly? If you are currently not exercising regularly or you are inactive, it is recommended that you still start to exercise during your pregnancy. It is recommended that you start with second daily exercise and build up to daily as you are able to, e.g. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and start with 15- 20 minutes of exercise. As you feel that your fitness levels are improving, you can increase the time you are exercising for by 5 minutes until you reach 30-45 minutes each day and/or increase the number of days per week you are exercising for. What type of exercise should you do in pregnancy? Cardiovascular exercise brisk walking stationary bike riding swimming (avoid spas and hydrotherapy pools as these tend to be warmer and can lead to overheating of you and your unborn baby) Running (can be done if previously running prior to conception, speak to you Midwife, Obstetrician or Physio to see if they are happy for you to continue running during your pregnancy. Strength/resistance training maintaining and improving muscular strength in pregnancy is helpful for reducing muscle and joint pains during and after pregnancy avoid lying on your back to exercise after 16 weeks, as this can affect your blood pressure and blood flow to the baby aim for 2 sessions per week Exercise in Pregnancy Precautions 1. Do not exercise in the heat! Your body temperature is naturally higher in pregnancy and exercising in the heat or intensive exercise can cause your internal body temperature to rise to unsafe level for you and your baby. drink plenty of water before, during and after exercise exercise at a moderate intensity exercise in a cool and well ventilated space do not exercise if you are sick or have a fever 2. Avoid high impact exercise The pregnancy hormones make your joints and ligaments more stretchy and loose and thus predispose you to injuries and the extra weight can place extra stress on your joints. Ideally during pregnancy lower impact exercise will help you avoid injury. Medical / Pregnancy Complications that mean NO EXERCISE unless your Obstetrician or Midwife gives you clearance waters have broken (ruptured membranes) uncontrolled high blood pressure blood clots low lying placenta (placenta previa) intra uterine growth restriction uterine bleeding pre-eclampsia Warning signs to stop exercising immediately chest pain unexplained shortness of breath dizziness, feeling faint or headache muscle weakness calf pain, swelling or redness sudden swelling of the ankles, hands or face vaginal bleeding or amniotic fluid loss decreased fetal movement uterine contractions or pain in the lower back, pelvic area or abdomen (potentially indicating preterm labour) I can help design you a suitable exercise program tailored to your needs and fitness levels. Resources https://ranzcog.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Exercise-during-pregnancy-pamphlet.pdf

What is the Pelvic Floor? The pelvic floor is a group of muscles and ligaments that are about as thick as the palm of your hand and they create the “floor” of your pelvic attaching from your pubic bone at the front to your coccyx bone at the back. What does the Pelvic Floor do? The pelvic floor helps to maintain control of your poo and wee, they also help to support your pelvic organs (bladder, bowel and uterus), helping to prevent them falling down into your vagina (prolapse). The pelvic floor also helps your sexual function, contributing to orgasm and arousal. How to contract your Pelvic Floor Muscles? These muscles are hidden inside our body and it can be very hard to know if we are actually contracting the muscles the right way. A lot of women actually perform the wrong movement which results in straining and pushing down of the muscles. To contract your muscles the right way I suggest the following: Sitting down on a chair, feet and back well supported Let your belly relax Palms facing up Now imagine that you are trying to stop your wee, squeeze and lift your pelvic floor muscles If the muscles are being squeezed the right way, you should feel a very small movement of your vagina lifting up from the chair Try and hold for 2-3 seconds and then relax the muscles As you relax the muscles you should feel your vagina drop into the chair Repeat this 10 times Other cues for contracting your pelvic floor muscles Imagine holding in wind Imagine drawing a tampon up your vagina Remember to not hold your breath, avoid clenching your inner thighs, jaw and buttock area

What is an overactive bladder? An overactive bladder is a common condition that causes an individual to experience sudden and uncontrollable urges to wee. For some people the urge is so strong that they have a bladder accident (incontinence) either at the same time the have the sudden urge to wee or enroute to the toilet. Some people will experience the sudden urge to wee, but be able to make it to the toilet n time. An overactive bladder can be a stressful condition that can cause anxiety and fear around leaving the house, being able to find a toilet when out and being able to hold on when the urge comes on. What are the symptoms of an overactive bladder: Urgency Frequency Incontinence Nocturia (night time weeing) What can cause an overactive bladder? There are many factors which can contribute to an over active bladder. These can include: Small bladder size Extra strong bladder contractions Caffeine intake e.g. tea, coffee Carbonated drinks e.g. coke, Pepsi max Neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis Hormonal changes Pelvic floor dysfunction Urinary tract infections What can be done to help an overactive bladder? There are lots of treatments which can be effective in reducing your symptoms. These can include: Bladder retraining TENS Pelvic floor muscle training (sometimes it’s about relaxing the muscles not just strengthening) Reducing caffeine and soft drinks Ensuring you drink enough fluid over the day Bladder emptying techniques Medications Rest assured you do not need to put up with your bladder symptoms. Your Pregnancy and Pelvic Health Physiotherapist can help develop you a tailored plan to restore your bladder control and life.

What are haemorrhoids? Haemorrhoids are swollen veins in your anus and lower rectum. if the haemorrhoid is inside your rectum it is called and internal haemorrhoid. If its located on the outside of your anus its called an external haemorrhoid. Symptoms of external haemorrhoids Itching or irritation in your anal area Pain or discomfort with sitting or pain during a poo Difficulty getting clean after passing a bowel motion (lots and lots of wiping) Swelling around your anus Bleeding when passing a poo You can generally see these when you look in a mirror Symptoms of internal haemorrhoids Painless bleeding when passing a poo that is bright red in colour a sensation of a bulge or prolapse of something in the anus when doing a poo, which you may feel that you need to push back up the rectum Not visible without looking internally at the rectum What can cause haemorrhoids? Poor toileting habits and straining in the toilet Pregnancy and childbirth Regular heavy lifting Being overweight or obese Chronic diarrhoea or constipation What can I do to help my haemorrhoids at home? 1. Adopt good toileting habits Avoid straining use a footstool to raise your knees higher than your hips spend no longer than 10 minutes on the toilet 2. Increase your fluid and fibre intake Try and consume at least 8 glasses of water per day, more if you are exercising or completing physical work Eat foods high in natural fibres, such as pears, kiwifruit, prunes, dates, chia seeds and flaxseed 3. Avoid excessive wiping You should aim for 3-4 wipes with toilet paper. If you wipe more than that you can irritate the skin around the anus and the haemorrhoid. Try using water, sorbolene on toilet paper or cold flannels to assist cleaning after a poo, if you find it difficult to clean 4. Avoid prolonged sitting Long periods of sitting, at your desk, car or on the toilet can increase the pressure in the veins around your anus and can cause bigger haemorrhoids. When should I seek help for my haemorrhoids? Any rectal bleeding should be investigated by you GP or local Doctor to rule out other more sinister causes of your bleeding like colon or rectal cancer If you feel that you may have a prolapsed haemorrhoid changes in your bowel habits, e.g. your unable to empty completely now, you notice a mucous discharge If you experience anal pain that disrupts your normal daily life

What should you do in the first few days until the wound(cut) heals? After your surgery, generally there will be sutures, staples or steri strips over the wound to help hold the skin together. The doctors and nurses usually place a waterproof dressing over the top to help the wound stay dry and clean to help reduce the chance of an infection. You should leave all dressings and sutures in place until your Doctor or Midwife removes them. Try and keep your wound dry and clean. The wound can be quite sore and tender for the first week or so. Make sure you keep up with your regular pain relief that you Doctor has given you. To help support the wound and give you an added layer of protection between your clothes and the dressing, you can place a clean sanitary pad across the wound. You can change this a couple of times a day to keep the pad as clean as possible. Try to wear high waisted undies if you can as bikini briefs tend to dig into the wound. If you have tubigrip you can wear this around your belly to help give you some more support around your abdomen and the C section wound. Try and avoid wearing highly compressive shorts such as the recovery ones until your wound is healed a bit more as they can be hard to pull on and off for the toilet in the early stages. I generally suggest to my clients to start wearing them from 7-10 days post partum. What signs and symptoms do I look for I am worried that my wound is infected or not healing as it should be? Severe abdominal pain Pain at the incision site which is worsening or not going away Redness or swelling along the incision site Pus discharge from the wound Foul smelling vaginal discharge Temperature, feeling unwell, increased fatigue If you have any of these symptoms and you are worried that you may have an infection or the wound is not healing as expected, you should contact your Doctor, Midwife or Obstetrician immediately. How can help my scar heal faster? Once your wound has fully healed and your steri strips and/or sutures/staples have been removed you can start to gently massage your scar to help soften and breakdown the scar tissue. I usually recommend vitamin E cream, dermeze or sorbolene to use to help massage the scar. You do not need to be very vigorous and hard when you massage your scar. A gentle massage up/down and across the scar will help to soften and gently breakdown the scar tissue. Scar massage can help to improve your skin sensation and reduce some of the sensitivity along the incision which can occur with a caesarian. Once the steri strips, staples/sutures are removed I usually recommend for my clients to use either micropore or silcone based tapes for 3-6 months after their surgery to help flatten, support and improve their scar appearance. Both of these tapes are readily available from most Pharmacies and cost less than $10 AUD. If you have had a C section before, I usually recommend to use the silcone based tape as this is more firm and has been shown to be more effective than micropore for previous scars. If your body has a tendency to be a very good healer, or you have a history of keloid scarring then I would also recommend using the silcone based tapes as they are more supportive and effective in reducing the density (thickness) of scars. Help my scar is lumpy, raised and tender. What can I do? If you have been worried about your scar and your Medical Team has advised that there is no infection or wound issue then you may benefit from a consultation with a Pregnancy and Pelvic Health Physio. It is really common after a C section to have tenderness, numbness and tingling sensations around the scar. The operation creates scar tissue and it can make the nerves around the wound extra tender and sensitive. Most of the time, the sensation returns to normal after 6-12 months, for some women the sensitivity can remain, but to a much lesser extent that its not generally bothersome. For some women, their bodies can produce large and thick scar tissue which can be bothersome from a physical and psychological perspective. Some woman can find that wearing jeans or low waisted pants irritate their scar, whilst others are quite distressed about the appearance of the scar. There are a various different treatment options that a Pregnancy and Pelvic Health Physio might be able to offer you to help your scar. This may include; therapeutic ultrasound, laser therapy, dry needling and scar massage to the wound.