will continue for some time after the birth - so keep on doing your pelvic floor exercises. For others, it may continue into later life.'Bladder weakness affects one in three women over 40 who have had a pregnancy,' explains Dr Chris Steele, resident doctor

Midwife Katie says: The pelvic floor is a sling of muscles that supports the organs in your pelvis, including your uterus and bladder. During pregnancy, the growing weight of the baby and the softening effect of pregnancy hormones on the ligaments

Statistics show the West Midlands as having the highest fertility rate in England and Wales. That means a lot of mums with a lot of potentially weak or problematic pelvic floor muscles! Channel 4’s Embarrassing Bodies programme is inviting the women

for physiotherapy in a few weeks.'Aid the healing process by using warm water (not sopa) to keep yourself clean, and change maternity pads often. Pelvic floor exercises will help re-tone the muscles and boost the blood supply to your perineum. 

first. Otherwise, go ahead and enjoy.Q My friend told me about the importance of pelvic floor exercises. Should I be doing them?A. Yes, these are important. The pelvic floor is a sling of muscles that supports the organs in your pelvis including your

, and the pelvic floor will return to near its usual position, especially if you do pelvic floor exercises to help strengthen the area in preparation for birth, and continue them postnatally.Your midwife can advise on how to do them.You should be feeling more like

, stand up for a while. This will aid blood flow and help ease conditions such as varicose veins. This is also a good time to really ramp up your pelvic floor exercises. You’ll be glad of them following the birth.You may be starting to worry about

about other pregnancy side-effects.This WeekTalk your birth plan through with your midwife next time you see her.Make sure you’re doing your pelvic floor exercises every day. Try and choose a regular time when you do a few squeezes – waiting for the bus

to exercise in your third trimester. ‘Any classes that you undertake should include relaxation and pelvic floor exercises in preparation for birth’, Melinda tells us.Whilst exercising during your pregnancy is great, make sure you follow our dos and don

for labour, strengthening your back, legs and arms. Practise your birth positions and don’t forget to work those pelvic floor muscles.Build your strength‘Swimming is great during this trimester, as long as you’re not suffering from pelvic or ligament pain