Pelvic Floor Function #3: Support
My in-laws have the most amazing hammock. It hangs between three trees and is built for 4 people (though admittedly we’ve had 6 adults and 2 children on it...). It’s made of a strong woven material, yet has enough give to make it incredibly comfortable. It’s quite supportive.
The deepest layer of your pelvic floor is designed in a strikingly similar fashion to that hammock. It slings between the sitbones, then connects to the tailbone in the back and the pubic bone up front. In a balanced pelvic floor there’s enough give to allow for some bounce during walking/running/jumping/etc, but it’s stiff enough to support all the organs.
Your bladder, rectum, and uterus (if you’ve got one) are all supported from the bottom by this hammock. There’s also support from ligaments that connect the uterus to the sacrum and the pelvis, and the uterus in turn helps support the bladder and bowel. They all hold one another up, with the pelvic floor acting as the most southern level of support.
After pregnancy, all the ligaments get stretched, and won’t return to exactly the same length they were before (they’re not quite as stretchy as muscle!). This may leave some feeling a sense of heaviness in the pelvis, or like things are falling out. This is typically because of prolapse— most commonly the bowel or bladder pressing into the vaginal wall. But DON’T WORRY: your bowel and bladder CAN’T FALL OUT. And it’s much rarer for the uterus to descend. (Another post will cover prolapse more in depth!)
The good news: by strengthening this deep hammock layer, you can reduce those feelings of heaviness (without surgery!) and keep things more in their place inside the pelvis. It’s like tightening the hammock back up after it got stretched out.
You can also give the hammock a break from gravity by going a little upside down. Try one of these postures for five minutes, a couple times every day (especially after exercise), and you should feel a little less heaviness. (If you don’t have a yoga block or bolster, just use pillows!)
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