Short answer: Your pelvic floor supports your bladder, womb and bowel, and pregnancy and birth put it under strain — after a caesarean too. Some leaking, heaviness or weakness in the first weeks is common. But ongoing leaking, problems controlling wind or poo, a bulge or heavy feeling in the vagina, or painful sex aren't things you just have to live with. Pelvic floor exercises help, and a GP or specialist pelvic health physiotherapist can assess and treat symptoms. Get help early.
You sneeze, and a little urine escapes. Someone says, “Well, that's what happens after children.” And that's how something treatable becomes a lifelong habit.
What your pelvic floor has been through
The pelvic floor is a sling of muscles supporting your bladder, womb and bowel. Throughout pregnancy it carries extra weight, and during a vaginal birth it stretches a great deal. Even after a caesarean, it has done nine months of work, so symptoms can happen then too.
Common in the first weeks
- Leaking a little urine when you laugh, cough, sneeze or move suddenly.
- A heavy, dragging feeling low down.
- Finding it hard to feel or find your pelvic floor muscles.
- Soreness around stitches.
Common, but worth getting treated
- Leaking that's still happening after your six-week check.
- Leaking poo or wind, or difficulty controlling them.
- A bulge, lump or heavy feeling in or near the vagina, which can be a sign of prolapse.
- Pain during sex.
- Difficulty emptying your bladder or bowel, or straining to pee.
- Sudden, strong urges to pee that you can't put off.
“It comes with having children” keeps many people living with symptoms for years that could improve with a few months of treatment.
How to do pelvic floor exercises
You can do these lying down, sitting or standing:
- Squeeze and draw in your bottom as if you're holding in wind.
- At the same time, squeeze around your vagina and bladder as if you're stopping the flow of urine.
- Long squeezes: hold for as long as you can, up to 10 seconds, then relax fully.
- Short squeezes: squeeze quickly, then let go straight away.
- Build up to 10 of each, at least three times a day.
Keep breathing normally, and don't pull your stomach in hard or hold your breath. Relaxing fully between squeezes matters as much as squeezing. Many people find it hard to tell whether they're using the right muscles; a pelvic health physiotherapist can check.
Other things that help
- Avoid straining on the toilet: drink plenty and eat fibre; a footstool under your feet can help.
- Lift carefully: breathe out and gently tighten your pelvic floor as you lift.
- Build exercise up gradually. High-impact activities such as running and jumping put the most load on the pelvic floor; many physiotherapists suggest waiting until at least three months after birth and returning step by step.
Getting help
Raise any symptoms at your six-week postnatal check, or with your GP at any time. They can refer you to a physiotherapist who specialises in pelvic health, and in some areas you can refer yourself. UK guidance (NICE) recommends supervised pelvic floor muscle training for women with pelvic floor symptoms. The earlier you get help, the easier it usually is to treat.
Get urgent advice if you can't pee at all, or have new loss of bladder or bowel control together with back pain or numbness around your bottom or genitals.
You saved up for months for a pushchair. Invest some time in the body that carried your baby, too.
Related reading
For the first twelve weeks: The Fourth Trimester (PDF, English) covers the first weeks with your baby — and with the new you.
Sources
- NHS — Your post-pregnancy body.
- NHS — Your body after the birth and Pelvic organ prolapse.
- NICE — Pelvic floor dysfunction: prevention and non-surgical management (NG210).
Written by the Bloom Guides editorial team. Last updated: 20 October 2026. General information only — not a substitute for advice from your GP or physiotherapist.