Floored: A Woman’s Guide to Pelvic Floor Health at Every Age and Stage

In this insightful debut manual, physical therapist Reardon details how women can care for their pelvic floor, “the group of muscles, tissues, ligaments, vessels, and nerves” responsible for the basic functioning of the bladder, ovaries, rectum, and uterus. Reardon outlines how to perform such pelvic floor strengthening exercises as squats and bridges (lifting one’s hips while lying face up on the floor with knees bent) to help with incontinence. She cautions that frequent urinary tract infections and painful bowel movements can be signs of pelvic floor tension and explains how to relax with deep breathing techniques or massaging the area between the anus and vagina. Elsewhere, she discusses how to deal with pelvic floor issues during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, contending that sitting upright helps prevent the lower back pain that arises from changes in posture during pregnancy and that propping up one’s feet with a stool while on the toilet can make urinating after giving birth less painful. Reardon supplements the conversational guidance with informative explanations of the pelvic floor’s role in various bodily functions. For instance, she describes how during vaginal sex, arousal signals blood to rush to the pelvic muscles, relaxing them until they involuntarily contract during orgasm. Readers will find much of value in this comprehensive resource. Agent: Wendy Sherman, Wendy Sherman Assoc. (June)