You have likely heard of Kegel exercises before, but probably not in relation to pregnancy.

Kegel exercises strengthen your pelvic muscles, which prepare you body for labor and delivery. As you practice these exercises more, you will even be able to relax your pelvic muscles, which is a great help for delivery. And finaly, by practicing your Kegel exercises during pregnancy, you will help your vagina bounce back into shape more quickly than if you don't do Kegels.

The muscles you use to practice Kegels are the same ones you would use to stop the flow of urine midstream (something you are probably already familiar with by doing all the urine tests at the doctor's office!)

You should do 25-30 Kegels each day, spread out throughout the day. You should hold for approximately 10 seconds each time. If you can't hold it for 10 seconds each time, even starting at 2 seconds and working your way up to 10 seconds will help your pelvic muscles prepare for pregnancy.

After birth, you should continue to practice to help your vagina get back to pre-pregnancy size.