What are the pelvic floor muscles?
The pelvic floor muscles form a broad sling between your legs from the pubic bone in front to the base of the spine at the back. They help to hold the bladder, womb, and bowel in place and to control the muscles that close the anus, vagina, and urethra. When the pelvic floor muscles are weakened or damaged as the result of childbirth, for example they cannot do this effectively. This can result in stress incontinence, decreased satisfaction during intercourse, and prolapse. Stress incontinence means that you might leak small amounts of urine while coughing, sneezing, laughing, or exercising. It is estimated that up to 25 per cent of new mothers suffer from stress incontinence.

How do pelvic floor exercises help me?
Pelvic floor exercises can strengthen these muscles so that they function effectively again. The more you use them, the stronger they will be.

Strong pelvic floor muscles can support the extra weight of pregnancy, help in the second stage of labour, and, by increasing your circulation, assist in healing the perineum between the anus and vagina after birth. When done regularly, these exercises can help to prevent stress incontinence and prolapse in later life. Another benefit of the exercises is that women with strengthened pelvic floor muscles are more likely to be orgasmic and have a more satisfying sex life! Which come on ladies - is the part we are most interested in here!

How do I find my pelvic floor muscles?

Imagine that you are trying to stop yourself from passing wind and, at the same time, trying to stop your flow of urine mid-stream. The feeling is one of 'squeeze and lift', closing and drawing up the front and back passages. (When you have practised the exercises for a while, you could also try this during lovemaking, asking your partner whether he can feel the effect.)

Of course, that sounds easy enough. But the catch is that you have to squeeze and lift without:

* pulling in your tummy

* squeezing your legs together

* tightening your buttocks

* holding your breath

In other words, only your pelvic floor muscles should be working.

Once you can begin to identify the correct muscles try this exercise:

• Sit on a firm chair with your feet flat on the ground as before, and imagine your pelvic floor muscles are the lift in a department store
• Squeeze your muscles so the ‘lift’ rises to the first floor and rests, then goes onto the second floor and rests, and then rises to the third floor and stops
• Hold it there for a count of four, then let the lift go back down to the second floor, rest and then down to the first floor, rest and then down to the ground floor

Many women find it easier to take the ‘lift’ up the floors than down. Don’t worry if you find you cannot stop the lift on the way down. It takes practice, and as your pelvic floor gets stronger, you will find that your control increases as well.

If you're unsure whether you are doing this exercise correctly, you could try the following. Put one or two fingers in your vagina when you are having a bath and try the exercise. You should feel a gentle squeeze if you are exercising the pelvic floor.

Now try to do slow pull ups and fast pull-ups. First, lie, stand, or sit with your knees slightly apart. Then follow these instructions:

* Slow pull ups: Slowly tighten and pull up your pelvic floor muscles as hard as you can. Hold for as long as possible, then relax slowly.

* Fast pull ups: Pull up the muscles and relax immediately.

Repeat both of these exercises five times or until you are tired.

As your muscles get stronger, the contraction can be held for longer and more pull-ups achieved. After a few weeks, improvement should be very noticeable, but you will need to exercise these muscles regularly for several months before they gain their full strength.

How often do I need to exercise my pelvic floor muscles?
This will vary, depending on how weak they are to begin with, but aim for 50 a day and increase this over a few weeks to 120 daily.

For an occasional check to see how strong your pelvic floor muscles are becoming, try halting the flow of urine in mid-stream (but not first thing in the morning).