Perinatal Pelvic Health Service

A service for pregnant women and birthing people, both during pregnancy and for up to one year following birth.

This is a service for pregnant women and birthing people, both during pregnancy and for up to one year following birth, experiencing pelvic health problems such as incontinence or prolapse. We work as part of a wider team with pelvic health physiotherapists, obstetricians, GPs and health visitors.  

During pregnancy, your body goes through many changes to help you grow, carry and birth your baby. It can sometimes be difficult to know what normal changes are and when you should seek help. 

Being pregnant puts extra strain on the pelvic floor, a group of muscles and ligaments in the base of the pelvis which support the bladder, bowel and uterus. These structures can be stretched during pregnancy and birth. As a result, it is common for pregnant women to experience leakage (incontinence) of urine (wee) or faeces (poo) or to feel as though their pelvic organs are sitting lower in the vagina, known as prolapse. Sometimes after having a baby, it is possible to experience pain during sex. 

Quick links

Health concerns during the perinatal period

Information on a range of health concerns during the perinatal period can be found on the NHS website.

Please do not feel embarrassed to talk to us about your pelvic health problems. Research estimates that about: 

  • 1 in 3 women experience urinary leakage 3 months after pregnancy  
  • 1 in 5 women have accidental bowel leakage 1 year after pregnancy 
  • 1 in 12 women report symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse (when one or more organs in the pelvis slip down from their normal position and bulge into the vagina).

We can offer treatment, advice and support for all of the above conditions.  

Further advice can be found through the following videos from NHS South Yorkshire.

What to expect at a physiotherapy appointment

Pelvic Floor Exercises

Pelvic Health Physiotherapy

Pelvic health physiotherapy (sometimes known as women’s health physiotherapy) involves the assessment and treatment of pelvic health problems affecting men and women, such as urinary and faecal incontinence, and pelvic organ prolapse.

Visit the Pelvic Health Physiotherapy section here.

Practising regular pelvic floor muscle exercises during pregnancy and after birth will resolve these problems. You can find information about the exercises within the resources below. 

Antenatal exercises

Postnatal exercises

Self referral  

You can self-refer into the Perinatal Pelvic Health Physiotherapy Service from 12 weeks of pregnancy up to 1 year after birth or by accessing the Women’s Physiotherapy page here.

Contact the Perinatal Pelvic Health Service

Call the Perinatal Pelvic Health Service on 01302 648212


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