What exercises are safe for pelvic floor recovery after birth?

You can usually begin gentle pelvic floor exercises within a few days after giving birth, once you feel comfortable and any catheters have been removed. Starting early helps promote circulation, reduce swelling, and begin reconnecting your brain and pelvic floor muscles.

Early pelvic floor exercises are about reconnecting neural pathways, increasing blood flow and healing to your pelvic floor and creating the foundations your postantal recovery. 

During pregnancy and labour, your pelvic floor muscles are stretched and softened by hormones like relaxin, and in the early days after birth they may feel bruised, swollen, or weak. That is completely normal. What matters is giving them the chance to gently wake up again.

Start with small, gentle activations, such as softly lifting and releasing, or even just visualising the lift if you cannot feel it yet. Research shows that early activation can help restore muscle awareness, improve circulation, and support recovery of bladder control (Boyle et al., 2012; Dumoulin et al., 2018).

If you have had a C-section, it is still beneficial to start pelvic floor exercises once you are comfortable. Your pelvic floor supported your pregnancy and continues to play an important role in core stability, posture, and continence.

Within the Empowered Motherhood Program, you will find guided pelvic floor sessions designed specifically for these early weeks. They are gentle, restorative, and completely safe to do while lying down or resting. We will help you progress gradually so you can build both strength and confidence at your own pace.

Yes, and in fact, that is one of the most effective ways to strengthen your body after pregnancy. Once you have started reconnecting with your pelvic floor and can gently activate and release those muscles, it is safe and beneficial to begin combining this connection with other forms of movement.

Your pelvic floor does not work in isolation. It is part of your core system, which also includes your deep abdominal muscles, diaphragm, and back muscles. These muscles naturally work together during breathing and movement. When you learn to engage your pelvic floor correctly during exercise, you are supporting your entire core and protecting your body from downward pressure that can lead to symptoms such as leakage, heaviness, or abdominal bulging.

Research shows that combining pelvic floor muscle training with general exercise can improve strength, continence, and overall function more than isolated exercises alone (Dumoulin et al., 2018). That is why every Empowered Motherhood workout, from gentle Pilates to full-body strength and cardio, includes cues to help you connect your breath, core, and pelvic floor.

You might start by pairing pelvic floor activations with breath work or gentle movements such as bridges, squats, or arm lifts. As you progress through your recovery, you will build towards functional, full-body movements that naturally integrate your pelvic floor connection without you having to think about it.

It can be difficult to know if you’re activating the right muscles.

When performed correctly, pelvic floor exercises should feel like a gentle lift and squeeze around your vagina and anus, followed by a complete relaxation. You should not feel pain, straining, or see your tummy or bottom tightening excessively.

A good test is to notice whether you can breathe naturally while you contract your pelvic floor. Holding your breath or gripping other muscles usually means the movement is too strong or uncoordinated.

If you are unsure, the Empowered Motherhood Program includes guided videos and cues from a pelvic health physiotherapist to help you find and feel the correct muscles. For extra support, you can also see a pelvic health physiotherapist who can assess your technique and tailor your exercises to your recovery.

Yes. Regular pelvic floor exercises can improve sexual function, arousal, and confidence after pregnancy and birth. These muscles play an important role in blood flow, sensation, and orgasm. When they are strong and flexible, they help you feel more connected to your body and more in control during intimacy.

Pregnancy and birth can temporarily stretch or weaken these muscles, which may reduce sensation or make sex feel different. Through guided strengthening and relaxation techniques, the Empowered Motherhood Program helps you restore tone, improve awareness, and rebuild trust in your body.

Healthy pelvic floor muscles support not just continence and stability, but also pleasure, confidence, and comfort in your sexual wellbeing.

The Empowered Motherhood Program’s pelvic floor workouts are designed by a pelvic health physiotherapist and a perinatal exercise specialist, bringing together medical expertise and real-life understanding of what recovery after birth feels like.

Unlike generic pelvic floor routines that focus only on squeezing, EMP’s approach teaches you how to coordinate your breath, core, and movement so your pelvic floor works as part of your whole body. You will learn how to both strengthen and relax your muscles, restore function, and build long-term confidence.

The EMP includes specialised pelvic floor workouts for continence, prolapse, third and fourth degree tears, return to running and more. 

Each stage is progressive and physiotherapist-led, guiding you from gentle reconnection in the early weeks to dynamic, functional strength for lifting, running, and everyday life. The result is a stronger, more resilient body that supports you in everything you do.