Hi, everyone, I’m going to talk to you all today about a technique that I use when I’m working with clients in the clinic who are experiencing leaking while lifting, especially in their daily lives.

So we have to lift our kids a lot during the day. We lift them to get into the car seat, into their crib, to just carry them around. And I have some clients who experience leaking when they go to lift their kids.

The first thing I’ll have them do is just notice: What are you doing? What is your strategy when you’re lifting your kid? And are you holding your breath? I find that a lot of people will really hold their breath to try and create more stability when they’re lifting their kids. When you hold your breath, it might apply more pressure down onto your pelvic floor. And then that can cause leaking.

So we practice a technique called blow before you go. We are going to take a breath in. And then we’re going to start our exhale, and then lift our kids through our exhale. So we’ll practice this in the clinic by putting a weight on the floor and imagining it’s our kid. We’ll have people inhale, start their exhale, and then squat down to lift your “kid” up. So it’s inhale, start your exhale. And then lift your kid up.

It’s definitely a good idea to practice this. So if we’re doing some sort of strength program in the clinic, like we are gonna do 10 sets of lifting some amount of weight up off the ground, we’re practicing the inhale, starting your exhale, and then breathing through that lift.

And recognizing that this isn’t going to be something you’re going to be able to do every single time when you lift your kids. We’re busy during the day, we’re doing a lot of different things and we’re not always going to be able to take the time to pause to set ourselves up, to take a breath, then start an exhale and then lift my kid. But it can be something that you can do every once in a while throughout the day.

Especially, at least for me, when I’m lifting my kids up into the car seat or in the car, it’s a good time for me to inhale, exhale, and then lift. And once this becomes more of a habit, you’ll just do it naturally, we’ll get away from that breath holding. Hopefully this will help you throughout your day when lifting your kids.