Breathing is so important, apart from the simple fact it keeps you alive! Knowing how to breathe properly will help you to understand the ways to breathe better during pregnancy.

Did you know that:

Your diaphragm is a big muscle that sits like a parachute in your chest.

Your pelvic floor muscle and your diaphragm are closely connected. When you breathe in, your diaphragm will move downwards and so should your pelvic floor muscle.  When you breathe out your diaphragm will move upwards and so should your pelvic floor muscle.

With our crazy busy lives, quite often we don’t think about our breathing. We take short shallow breathes usually from the upper part of our rib cage and lungs.  This does not allow any movement in your pelvic floor.

In the last stages of pregnancy your baby usually comes up and under your rib cage. This can give you a feeling of breathlessness when walking up stairs or going for a walk because the lung capacity is not as big. Post-natally you need to work with your diaphragm to ensure that it descends again and is able to expand like it did before you fell pregnant.  Once your baby arrives you will likely be so busy that you forget to breathe.

When your diaphragm is not functionally effectively, every system in your body can be affected. Bladder leaking, pelvic organ prolapse, back pain and decreased stress management can be common.

Try these simple tips for breathing effectively during pregnancy:

So start simple breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, thinking about sending the ‘in breathe’ into your rib cage. Imagine it as a 360 degree barrel, see if you can fill that barrel full of air.  Try and do that a few times a day and see if it makes any difference to your energy levels and to your levels of stress.

Seeing a Women’s Health Physiotherapist from 6 weeks after birth can help to ensure your diaphragm and pelvic floor muscles are working correctly.

Call 020 8394 0393 to book a Mummy MOT appointment with Lisa Few.