Why Is Pelvic Floor Health Important For Fertility
If you were about to run a marathon, would you show up the day-of without having trained or planned how you would accomplish this? For most people, this is a no. Think of all that goes into training for such an event, the physical and mental aspects of such an event, which is why many people take ample time to train their body and mind. Now think about wanting to start or grow your family. For some it feels like a long race with both physical and mental aspects that begin even before conceiving. How do you train for this? Similar to running a marathon, the road to pregnancy through postpartum includes a long time of life that requires a lot from your body and mind. Let’s talk about the first step to pregnancy, fertility and conception.
The Pelvic Floor
The pelvic floor is an intricate system of muscles, nerves, and organs that carry out a multitude of function and are important for so many of our body systems. Pelvic floor plays a role in supporting all the abdominal organs, controlling bowel and bladder, sexual function, fluid movement in the body through lymphatics, and so much more. What we require from our pelvic floor is constantly changing during life depending on our goals and circumstances. During pregnancy and birth, our pelvic floor and its jobs shift to allow for growing an entire human- that’s pretty amazing. To learn more about the pelvic floor, check out “what is the pelvic floor” for more about just how vital it is.
Is Pelvic Floor Health Important for Fertility?
Fertility is complex, and there is not one single factor that is responsible, but rather many that have a part. When talking about the pelvic floor in the context of fertility, the health of the pelvic floor muscles is important because of the base of support they provide our bodies. Studies have shown that as women age, their pelvic floor muscles progressively become weaker, as do most muscles in the body. Weakening of the pelvic floor for many reasons outside of age, such as history of childbirth, trauma, or lifestyle, all of which can contribute to complications like incontinence, pain, constipation, and poor management of abdominal pressure according to this study and many other articles. Fertility, conception, and pregnancy all are impacted by these factors and therefore are dependent on pelvic floor health. What does this look like specifically?
Position of the pelvic organs -refers to where your pelvic organs live in your body, and this has an effect on conception. In women, the uterus position is incredibly important for conception but can be highly affected by the structures around it. The pelvic floor muscles may hold too much or too little tension, the tissues and ligaments that position the uterus could be tight or lax, and both can lead to decreased movement of the pelvic floor and uterus and/or misalignment. The muscles or tendons may pull the uterus out of its typical place in the pelvis, which changes the path during conception. This is sometimes called myofascial restrictions and it can lead to tightness and Pulling of certain structures, impacting the likelihood of conception.
Blood flow to the muscles and the organs of your pelvic floor are crucial in maintaining tissue health. Just like every other muscle or organ in your body, blood is needed to bring oxygen and filter out waste from tissues to ensure viable tissue and continued function. So for a healthy uterus to conceive and become a good environment for a growing baby, it needs good blood flow.
Sexual function is (obviously) closely related to fertility and conception. People experiencing difficulties with their pelvic floor may find that they have pain with sex, difficulty to orgasm, and/or decreased libido. Sex should be enjoyable for both parties, and if it is not for any reason, it may lead to stress and overall less desire for sex which impacts fertility.
Stress and the nervous system can be held in the pelvic floor. Meaning the muscles and organs of your pelvic floor are highly sensitive to stress and stress hormones, and they respond to it by tensing, causing pain, affecting menstrual cycles, and so on. In this study, authors discuss how complex the stress cycle is when trying to conceive and assert that those who work through finding ways to manage their stress prior to any treatments for fertility have a better result.
How To Tell If Your Pelvic Floor Is Healthy
You may now have a better idea about how your pelvic floor impacts fertility, so how can you tell if your pelvic floor is healthy?
Bowel and bladder function: you urinate 4-7x during the daytime and have a bowel movement 3x per day- 3x per week, both without straining and feeling like you have completely emptied your bowel or bladder
Going through your daily activities without feeling heaviness in your vagina, tightness of your pelvic floor, and without pelvic, back, or hip pain
Pain free sex with ability to orgasm
Able to control your bladder and bowels without leaking while sneezing, coughing, running, jumping, etc. without feeling bulging or heaviness
Generally, the less you think about your pelvic floor throughout the day means the better job it is doing. If you have pain or trouble somewhere in your body, you think about it, if there isn’t pain or any issues, you can go through your whole day without thinking about it because it is just doing its thing. The good news with all of this is that pelvic floor therapy for fertility addresses all of these areas! Not only is the goal to prepare your body and mind for conception and pregnancy, but these areas affect your life in so many other, profound ways.
Accessing Care for Your Pelvic Floor
You may be asking, how do I know when to get pelvic floor therapy and when should I start? If you experience any symptoms that cause you stress or pain each day, it's time to see a pelvic floor therapist. If you have a hard time connecting to your pelvic floor or have questions about your fertility and how to prepare yourself for conception and pregnancy, that is a great time to talk to a pelvic floor therapist.
Colorado is a direct access state, meaning you do not need a referral from your doctor to find a pelvic floor therapist. You can find a therapist right for you by looking for three things:
1. Approach/vision of the therapist, take some time to explore your prospective therapist’s website and even chat with them on the phone to get a feel for how they approach pelvic floor therapy and how they will address your concerns.
2. Cost. Let’s face it- this is a big one. We all want care that is effective and affordable. Understand pelvic floor therapy cost by checking out our blog on this.
3. Your goals, it is important to consider what you want out of pelvic floor therapy before even starting. If you have a hard time coming up with goals for yourself, talk to any potential therapists about it and see how you feel talking to each about what you hope to get out of this experience.
Pelvic Floor Therapy for Fertility At OWN Your Pelvic Health
At OWN Your Pelvic Health, we specialize in working with people who are trying to conceive, pregnant and postpartum, and we firmly believe that all are on a spectrum. From initial planning for your family to long after giving birth (some doctors say postpartum is at least 7-10 years to fully recover!), all of the stages within that are important to us because they are important to you. It is our goal to focus on what you want, and treat you as a whole person as you prepare for pregnancy or have questions about your fertility. Give us a call for a free discovery conversation or book an appointment here. There is space for you at OWN Your Pelvic Health, and you deserve to be heard and empowered in your own body.
