The pelvic floor is a hammock-like group of muscles that sits at the base of your pelvis. These muscles stretch from your pubic bone at the front to your tailbone at the back, and from one sitting bone to the other, like the hull of a small boat. The different layers interweave and overlap and surround the three openings: the urethra, the vagina and the anus.

This area supports your abdominal organs, keeps your bladder and bowel function working properly, and plays a huge role during birth—especially if you plan to give birth vaginally. The pelvic floor also helps stabilize your spine and pelvis, and it manages the pressure inside your abdominal cavity every time you move, breathe, or lift something (even a toddler!).

As your baby grows, so does the pressure on your pelvic floor. By the third trimester, this group of muscles is supporting the weight of your baby, your uterus, the placenta, and more.

On top of that, your body produces a hormone called relaxin during pregnancy. As the name suggests, this hormone softens your ligaments and joints to prepare for childbirth, but it also affects the stability of your pelvis and can make the pelvic floor weaker.

You might have a hypotonic pelvic floor, which means these muscles are underactive or weak. Common symptoms include:

• Leaking urine when sneezing, coughing, or laughing
• Feeling of heaviness or dragging in the pelvis
• Low back or hip pain
• Difficulty contracting the muscles
• Pain during sex
• Discomfort

But not all pelvic floor problems come from weakness. Some people have a hypertonic pelvic floor, where the muscles are too tight and can’t fully relax. This can also cause:

• Leaking urine when sneezing, coughing or laughing
• Urinary urgency or difficulty starting to pee
• Pain during intercourse
• Trouble taking a deep breath
• Constipation or painful bowel movements
• Low back or pelvic pain

Many symptoms overlap, which is why a pelvic floor physiotherapist can be a wonderful support during pregnancy. They can assess your specific situation and help you work on the right thing, whether that’s toning or learning to release.

Often, pelvic floor exercises are discussed in the context of postpartum recovery. But focusing on your pelvic floor during pregnancy is just as important, if not more so.

Strengthening and softening this area while you’re pregnant helps:

• Reduce or prevent incontinence during pregnancy
• Ease back and pelvic pain
• Improve breathing and posture
• Prepare your body for labor
• Speed up recovery after birth

Here’s the thing: during a vaginal birth, your pelvic floor has to stretch a lot, and then come back. And if you’re having a planned C-section? You still need to care for these muscles, because pregnancy alone can stretch and weaken them.

A healthy pelvic floor isn’t just strong—it’s also flexible and responsive. You want to be able to contract and relax the muscles fully. Think of it like training for a marathon: you wouldn’t wait until the day after the race to stretch or strengthen your legs, right?

This short, mindful practice is one I include in nearly every prenatal yoga class I teach. It’s gentle, effective, and focuses on awareness and breath—two tools that will support you in labor and beyond.

You’ll need: A yoga bolster, birthing ball, or a firm pillow. Optionally, a chair.

Start sitting on a bolster, birthing ball or cushion, or try a semi-inverted position (like Puppy pose) with your forehead resting on a pillow. If you suffer from high or low blood pressure or heartburn, keep the head elevated on to the seat of a chair.

1. Bring your attention to the base of your spine. Inhale, squeeze the ring of muscles around your anus as if trying to hold in gas.
2. Exhale, release the muscles fully.
3. Repeat a few times extending the exhalation, keep buttock muscles relaxed.

1. Next, shift your awareness from the back of the pelvic floor to the area under the pubic bone at the front.
2. With rapid short movements, squeeze and release in turns the small muscles that control your urethra sphincter, like stopping and starting a pee. Do not hold your breath nor the squeezing action.
3. Repeat a few times extending the exhalation.

1. Last, turn your attention to the birth passage, inhale, draw in or lift the muscular walls of the vagina.
2. Exhale and allow for the muscles to release entirely. Do not hold the lift and do not hold the breath.
3. Repeat a few times extending the exhale time each time.

If you know you have a weak pelvic floor, concentrate on the inhale or the contraction of the muscles. If, on the contrary, you have an overly tight pelvic floor, extend the exhale time and relax the muscles fully.

You might notice that this exercise feels a little different from how your body usually moves with the breath. Normally, when we inhale, both the respiratory diaphragm and the pelvic floor gently move downward. As we exhale, they naturally rise back up.

In this practice, we’re intentionally using the exhale as a way to soften, especially in the pelvic floor. A long, steady exhale taps into your parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and digest” state), helping your whole body—muscles included—let go of tension.

The more awareness you develop around your pelvic floor, the easier it becomes to release these muscles on cue. That skill is incredibly helpful during labor, where being able to direct breath and release pressure can help your body work more efficiently and gently. In fact, knowing how to relax your pelvic floor can reduce the risk of tearing or needing interventions like an episiotomy.

Developing awareness of the different pelvic floor areas will help you gain elasticity and enhance or restore the healthy functions of each of the three openings. It will also make it easier for you to regain strength after your baby arrives.

And while targeted exercises are important, don’t forget that posture and alignment matter too. Paying attention to how you sit, stand, and move throughout the day can go a long way in keeping your pelvic floor supported and responsive.

While movement during pregnancy is beneficial for you and your baby, doing core work that directs too much pressure on the pelvic floor is not recommended. Exercises that increase intra-abdominal pressure—like crunches or intense weightlifting—can put excess strain on your pelvic floor.

That said, if you’re already weight training and feel good doing it, you don’t necessarily have to stop. Just work with an experienced coach and pay attention to your alignment and breath. If symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction continue or worsen, it’s a sign to scale back and seek guidance of a pelvic floor physiotherapist.

When in doubt, gentle yoga and breathwork that supports pelvic alignment are excellent ways to stay strong, connected, and supported.