How to Check Your Pelvic Floor at Home: The Postnatal Self-Check

If you don't know where your body is starting from, you're still guessing. A simple self-check to find your ground zero.

What the self-check confirms

The self-check looks for three things: a small internal lift when you engage, a full release afterward, and an isolated lift rather than a full-body clench. Together they tell you whether you can find, hold and let go of your pelvic floor — the foundation everything else builds on.

Why "ground zero" matters

If you don't know where your body is starting from right now, you're still guessing. Pregnancy and birth change your core function, your pelvic floor capability, your breathing and your pressure management in ways that aren't always visible. Knowing your starting point turns guesswork into a plan.

The most accurate starting point

A women's health physiotherapist gives the most reliable assessment. The home self-check isn't a replacement for that, but it is the next best starting point, and it's something you can do today.

Where is your pelvic floor?

Your pelvic floor sits at the base of your pelvis, like a hammock stretching from your pubic bone at the front to your tailbone at the back, and from one sit bone to the other. It controls your bladder and bowel and is part of how your core engages.

What engagement should feel like

Engagement is a small internal lift, as if everything is drawing slightly upward and inward. It is not a full-body clench and not a breath hold. A few things are worth knowing: feeling nothing at first is normal, often because of pudendal nerve disruption after birth; partial sensation, such as feeling the back before the front, is fine; and even a small flicker indicates proper engagement.

Three common mistakes

1. The full-body clench — squeezing your glutes, thighs and stomach trains the wrong muscles.
2. Pulling belly button to spine — aggressively drawing the stomach in pushes pressure down and disrupts your breathing.
3. Forgetting to release — the muscles must fully relax. Constant clenching leads to fatigue and dysfunction, and a hypertonic floor may need a professional evaluation first.

What to track and how often

Check in every couple of weeks and monitor three things: how clearly you can find the lift, how strong it is, and how well you release. Then practise engagement during real movement — lifting, pressing and carrying — so the skill carries into daily life.

What your results mean

• Hard to engage or hold: start with a gradual program that rebuilds the connection, such as Feel & Heal.
• Can't feel anything: get a professional evaluation before starting.
• Feels strong: move into a faster-progressing program that integrates strength, such as Core Connection.

Frequently asked questions

• How do I know if it's weak? Common signs include leaking when you cough, sneeze, laugh or exercise, a feeling of heaviness or dragging, difficulty engaging, and urinary urgency.
• Is it normal to feel nothing after birth? Yes. Pudendal nerve disruption is common, and sensation usually returns with practice.
• How often should I practise? Two to three times a day in short sessions, with quality over quantity.
• Can I have a strong floor but still get symptoms? Yes. A tight, overactive floor can cause leaking, pain or urgency, and in that case "just do Kegels" can be the wrong advice.