Preparing your delivery during your pregnancy is one of the most crucial points, alongside tackling the pain and the discomfort as the months go by. While pregnancy is filled with anticipation and lots of excitement, it also brings its load of physical, hormonal and emotional changes, making it one of the most life-altering challenges women face. These changes often can be overwhelming, especially as they affect the body, organs, posture and hormones.

But there is a way to work around them. Several natural methods now exist to support your body during your pregnancy, assuring as much comfort as possible during those 9 months.

By taking the time to understand the nature of what changes in your body during your pregnancy and targeting preventive techniques to help with your wellbeing, our pregnancy physiotherapist offers guidance so you can move forward towards an easier and smoother pregnancy.

What will happen to my body during pregnancy? The physical and hormonal changes in pregnant women.

The evolution of pregnancy brings several changes to your body and while these are natural and unavoidable, they sometimes can be uncomfortable and even painful if not dealt with correctly.

One of the first changes during your pregnancy revolves around your posture and its alignment. As your baby keeps growing, your body’s gravity centre shifts and start affecting your balance. This can strain your back and spine as well as your hips and pelvis. Your body needs to adapt differently to the growing weight of your baby, which has an effect on the way you walk, the position of your pelvis and hips while sitting or standing. If not taken care of in time, these changes can lead to back pain, sciatica, pelvic girdle pain (PGP) and hips discomfort. In addition, your muscles need to work harder to support your extra weight, which can create muscle fatigue in the muscle that support your posture.

During pregnancy, your body also undergoes many hormonal changes. This hormonal changes play an important role in preparing your body for delivery. One of the main hormones is called relaxin and as its name indicates, his role is to relax the ligaments and joints of your body to allow the pelvis to expand during labour. It’s an essential process for birth, although it doesn’t come without side effects. Relaxin leads to an increased laxity of the joints which make them less stable, leading to a risks of pain and discomfort as well as the possibility of minor injuries. The most common symptom is pelvic girdle pain during pregnancy (discomfort in the hips and pelvis), which affects 1 in 5 women.

Another organ that is affected by the pregnancy is your pelvic floor. The pelvic floor supports your bladder, bowel and uterus which take more and more weight as the baby grows, weakening and straining under the pressure. This can take the form of symptoms such as stress incontinence or a constant feeling of heaviness and pressure in your pelvis.

Another part that can be affected by pregnancy is your circulatory system. Your blood volume tends to increase by almost 50% in order to nourish both you and your baby, adding strain in your veins. This, mixed with the hormonal changes that loosen the walls of your blood vessels has an influence in the swelling of your feet and ankles. You can feel the sensation of heay legs. It happens more commonly at the later stages of pregnancy and some women even notice the appearance of varicose veins.

How can I stay comfortable during pregnancy? Our expert’s tips and exercises to stay active and pain free.

Day-to-day adjustments can have a big impact on reducing your pain and strains while actively preparing your body for the labour and your postpartum recovery. Our expert pregnancy physiotherapist explains.

How can I maintain good posture while pregnant?

Your body changes gradually during pregnancy and it can be easy to keep your spine curved and slouched, increasing the strain and discomfort.Try to keep your shoulder relaxed and avoid locking your knees or pushing your pelvic forward. It’ll help distribute your weight evenly through your body and across both feet. Additionally, you can use a pillow or lumbar roll when sitting to support the natural curve of your lower back. This will help keep your hips slightly higher than your knees and will reduce the pressure. Avoid lifting heavy things but if you have to carry a load for any reason, try to bend your knees instead of your waist and hold the objects close to your body.

Is it safe to exercise during pregnancy?

To maintains comfort and energy during pregnancy, it is recommended to stay active with safe exercises. Movement will help you reduce stiffness, improve you circulation and will keep your body prepared for labour. At Excellence Physiotherapy, Our pregnancy physiotherapist advises on low impact exercises such as walking to keep you in movement without affecting your joints too much, or swimming to exercise you whole body. Yoga and Pilates during pregnancy also offer great benefits and can help improve your balance, flexibility and strength as well as strengthen your core and pelvic floor. It can be incorporated with light strength training with small weights or resistance bands, which can help maintain muscle tone. However, make sure to consult a professional for a safe guidance on how to proceed with these kinds of exercises. Our Pregnancy physiotherapist are here to help.

How do I strengthen my pelvic floor during pregnancy?

As your pelvic floor plays an essential role in supporting your growing belly and the delivery of your baby, improving its strength and control is the key to a smooth pregnancy. Gentle exercises will aim to better control the contraction and release of your pelvic floor muscles, which also affect the control of your bladder and bowel. Day-to-day exercises can be implemented with the help of a pregnancy physio and women’s health physiotherapist.

What stretching exercises are best during pregnancy?

A few minutes of stretching exercises every day can have an impact to release tension and restoring the mobility in your muscles. I advise stretching exercises to all my pregnant patients. Stretching has major benefits and even more during pregnancy. Leaning forward when sitting can provide gentle stretches for your lower back. You can also sit cross-legged or in butterfly position to open your hips or you can do some yoga poses such as cat-cow, which is great at releasing tightness in your spine and working on your flexibility.

Can I improve my swollen legs caused by pregnancy?

Swelling in the legs and feet are a common symptom during the pregnancybut they can be reduced by simple adjustments. You can elevate your legs on a pillow with you feet higher than your heat every time you can or wear compression socks to help encourage your blood flow. Don’t forget to stay hydrated throughout your day to reduce water retention and get rid of the excess sodium. The best treatment for swollen and heavy legs during pregnancy is Lymphatic Drainage. It is a very soft and light massage that drains the lymphatic liquid from your limbs and remove the swell and the heavy legs sensations.

How can I prepare my body for postnatal recovery? The importance of pelvic floor physiotherapy.

One of the most important aspects of postpartum recovery is the rehabilitation and the understanding of your pelvic floor. By preparing your body during pregnancy allows an easier transition to the postnatal stage, setting the foundations for your recovery after birth.

Your pelvic floor muscles are significantly affected during your pregnancy and delivery, this  is why rebuilding its strength is important. Pelvic floor exercises, guided by a pelvic floor rehabilitation specialist or postnatal physiotherapist help restore control of your muscles, and reduce the risk of postnatal conditions such as incontinence, diastasis recti or prolapse. I advise to start postpartum rehabilitation from six weeks after birth, and I can provide assessment and guidance on your recovery.

During my patient’s pregnancy, I usually advise to start with a pregnancy MOT (prenatal MOT). It is a full assessment that I do and check your body and pelvic floor thoroughly to detect any coming condition that could arise during or after your pregnancy in order to tacle this condition before they arrive or to reduce their impact to the maximum possible. This Pregnancy MOT has helped so many of my patient to feel good during their pregnancy and to get better quicker after. Prevention is always better than treating.

Can you recommend a pregnancy physiotherapist in London?

Yes, me! I am a women’s health physiotherapist and pregnancy and postnatal specialist  I am offering pregnancy care and postpartum rehabilitation to my patients on everyday basis. You can book a pregnancy physiotherapy appointment in London at any of our clinics in Clapham, Monument and Belgravia as well as home visits through central London. I will be able to follow you and support you along your pregnancy journey and postnatal rehabilitation, I will assess and implement a care plan to help you at every stage and you can ask me for any advices if you have any questions that worries you.

At  Excellence Physiotherapy, we offer prenatal and postnatal check-ups, Pregnancy treatment and rehabilitation.