For a group of muscles you don't really see (or maybe even know about!), the pelvic floor does a whole lot of work. This multitasking set of tissues even adapts during pregnancy to support your baby, and it plays a crucial role during labor and delivery.    

What to Expect creator Heidi Murkoff recently sat down with the "Vagina Whisperer" Dr. Sara Reardon, a pelvic floor physical therapist, for a "mom hall." The two discussed some of the most common questions new and expecting parents might have about the pelvic floor. 

Here are some highlights from their conversation:

What is the pelvic floor and what does a pelvic floor therapist do?

Physical therapists typically work with muscles and tissues throughout the body, and I specialize in working with the muscles and tissues in the pelvic region of the body.

We're all familiar with what our pelvis is. You have your pubic bone in the front, and your sacrum and tailbone in the back, and at the very bottom of this ring of bones is a basket of muscles. These muscles support your pelvic organs: your bladder, which holds urine, your rectum, which holds poop, and your uterus, which holds a growing fetus during pregnancy.

If these muscles are working great, they can hold in pee and poop throughout the day. They can support your organs and your growing baby, and they can relax for intercourse, bowel movements, urination or birth. 

If they're not working optimally, they may be weak — which can often lead to leakage, prolapse or pressure — or they can be too tense, which can often lead to pelvic pain and difficulty with movement.

What are some ways to care for your pelvic floor during pregnancy?

I really encourage folks to be proactive about strengthening the pelvic floor during the first two trimesters of pregnancy, and then in the third trimester, to focus more on relaxation. That's when we want your hips to stay relaxed and your pelvis to be mobile. 

Some of the other things I encourage folks to do are: scaling back your workouts, learning how to engage your pelvic floor and not hold your breath during exercise, and then also not straining. Don't push when you pee or when you pick up your kids, don't strain when you poop — managing the bowel and bladder stuff so that you're not bearing down. 

What are some postpartum healing tips for the pelvic floor?

If we're talking about really early postpartum recovery, you're still going to be bleeding, regardless of what method of birth you had, if it's vaginal or Cesarean. You're still going to need menstrual hygiene products, so that's just something to have on hand. 

Sometimes your first first postpartum poop is as stressful as having that baby. I tell people to start stool softeners on day one. Talk to your medical provider and your nurse about starting stool softeners and hydrate, hydrate.

The other thing I tell everybody is to get a squatty potty. Putting a stool under your feet [when you're using the toilet] relaxes your pelvic floor muscles to help you empty, so you won't have to strain as much. 

Whether you have hemorrhoids or perineal tears, you really need to take it easy the first one to two weeks after birth. You can take sitz baths a couple of times a day to soothe hemorrhoids, to soothe perineal tears and to delicately take care of those tissues.

What can you do about painful sex during pregnancy or postpartum?

If you are at the three-month mark postpartum, and you're experiencing pain with sex still, that's a red flag that you need to get addressed. 

One of the common reasons that sex is painful after birth is vaginal dryness. If you're breastfeeding or lactating, your estrogen levels are lower, and that causes some thinning and dryness of the area. So, use all-natural moisturizers like coconut oil, or talk with your medical provider. There are a lot of all-natural ones out there. It's going to be beneficial. 

Also use water-soluble lube during intercourse. Just proactively use it before you even test the waters. You want to make it as comfortable as possible.

Scar tissue at the vaginal opening is another reason. Things are just tight and restricted. If at three months, it's still painful, a PT can help you massage it and show you how to massage it. Even a Cesarean scar can cause pain with intercourse because the connection between the abdomen and the pelvic floor is so close that Cesarean scar restriction can cause pelvic pain as well. 

Then the last one is muscles. If you've got tight, tense muscles, that can cause pain. 

The first time you have sex [postpartum], it might be painful. If it continues to be painful, I would check in with somebody. We have enough roadblocks as to why we don't want to have sex after having babies, but I don't want pain to be one of them. It really should be pleasurable and not painful.

How do you push properly during delivery?

The biggest thing for folks to know about pushing during a vaginal birth is that you always have options. So if you feel like a certain method is not the right method for you, then you have another option.

The way that I tell people that's been most effective for myself and my clients and is supported in the research is that you exhale when you're pushing, like you're blowing a bunch of birthday candles.

This is the same way that you're supposed to be pushing when you poop, so practice this during pregnancy. Every time you poop, exhale like you're blowing out candles. Your pelvic floor muscles will open and relax, and that's the way that you're going to push during birth.