Continence NZ has put together this guide with help from pelvic health physiotherapists. The aim is to educate people about bladder and bowel control (also known as continence) in pregnancy and after childbirth.

Pregnancy may be the first time you hear about the pelvic floor. There are often no problems prior to pregnancy so it’s not talked about much. Pregnancy and childbirth put you at increased risk of having problems and there is a lack of awareness about where to go for information or help when you need it. Many people don’t even know that support is available.
 
In this guide, we discuss where the pelvic floor muscles are, and how to strengthen them. Having well-functioning pelvic floor muscles can help with both prevention and management of bladder, bowel and pelvic health problems. It will also help with your delivery and recovery afterwards, and the prevention of these issues later in life.

We discuss how to recognise that something may not be quite right and what you can do to help yourself. There is also information on how to seek further help from a health professional if you need to.

You can visit our YouTube channel to watch helpful videos of the information featured in our Pregnancy Guide.
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You can download a copy using the link below.

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