During pregnancy, your body shifts to accommodate your growing baby which often leads to a more forward-tilted pelvis and increased inward curve in the low back. As the load on the front of the body increases, your core and pelvic floor take on a bigger role in supporting your body and managing pressure
This is where intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) becomes important. IAP is the pressure inside your belly that helps stabilize your spine and pelvis during movement. While some pressure is helpful, too much pressure, such as with holding your breath and straining (known as the Valsalva maneuver), can push extra pressure downwards onto the pelvic floor
Because the pelvic floor is already working harder during pregnancy to hold everything (and everyone) in, repeatedly creating high pressure can add strain and increase the risk of symptoms like leaking, heaviness and prolapse. Poor pressure management can also contribute to diastasis recti, low back pain and other signs of dysfunction
Learning to manage pressure through proper breathing and movement is key to exercising safely, protecting your pelvic floor, and supporting your body throughout pregnancy. Not only do we need our pelvic floor to be strong to hold everything in, we also need our pelvic floor to be well-coordinated and able to fully relax so it can respond and function effectively – such as during birth we need to be able to release tension in the pelvic floor so that it can relax and move out of the way for baby to pass through the birth canal. And during running or jumping exercises we need the pelvic floor to coordinate with our breath and core so that it can respond to the demands of impact (ie be able to contract quickly with impact and relax between steps or jumps, not just stay tight the whole time)
Examples of poor breathing patterns can include:
shallow, chest breaths that rely more on the muscles of the chest, neck and shoulders and overtime can lead to tension in these areas
sending your breath/air to one place (ie the stomach, the pelvic floor, the chest) rather than distributing air evenly throughout the trunk
Better breathing patterns involve slow, deep inhalations through the nose and sending air evenly throughout the trunk with the chest, ribs (front, side and back ribs) and stomach all expanding so that we aren’t just relying on those upper muscles of our chest, neck and shoulders to do the work
360° breathing (otherwise known as the ‘connection breath’) is a type of diaphragmatic breathing that helps send air/pressure evenly throughout the trunk instead of pushing it all downward onto the pelvic floor, forward into the stomach, or keeping it high in the chest. Not only is 360° degree breathing good for the pelvic floor, but it also supports relaxation and reduced tension, efficient oxygen use and overall better body mechanics and posture for daily life activities and exercise. 360° breathing can also be paired with pelvic floor contractions to help you learn to coordinate your breath with your pelvic floor to better manage intra-abdominal pressure and support pelvic floor function. This breathing technique is a great daily practice during pregnancy and postpartum as you connect back with your breath, core and pelvic floor. Really, it’s beneficial for anyone, not just pregnant or postpartum women!
How to do 360° breathing
Sit upright with your ribs stacked over your hips and shoulders relaxed. You can also perform in other positions, such as laying down
Place your hands on both sides of your ribcage, cupping around the ribs so that your thumbs are on the back ribs, similar to how you would place your hands on your hips
Take a slow, deep inhale through your nose. Allow the breath to expand and widen your ribs in a 360° fashion (the front, sides and in the back), feeling the ribs fill out to your hands and thumbs. You should also notice your belly gentle rises as well
Exhale slowly through your mouth, causing the ribcage to return back to resting position and the core to gently tighten as the belly falls
After you perform a few reps and feel comfortable with this progression, you can continue with the same technique as above and add in pelvic floor contractions:
On the inhale, allow the pelvic floor to relax and gently expand downwards
As you exhale, gently contract and lift the pelvic floor up
Aim for 1-2 sets of 8-10 reps per day. I especially love to incorporate these 360°/connection breaths as one of the first exercises I do in my warm-up before a strength-training session
Happy breathing!