In my previous post about having a low-risk pregnancy, I mentioned how helpful pregnancy exercises are for preparing your body for a natural labor. The Bradley Method teaches a series of 6 main exercises meant to tone and prepare your muscles to give birth, and I have found them to be very helpful with my own pregnancies/labors. Not only do these exercises prepare you for labor, but they also can help to ease pregnancy discomfort you might be feeling.
Let me state my usual disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, just a mama who loved her labors and is hoping to pass on any helpful knowledge I have gained from having 2 natural births and taking the Bradley Method Course. Please consult with your doctor before making any medical decisions.
That said, the Bradley Method encourages regular daily exercise for pregnant women so that you will have the stamina it takes to labor and give birth. Obviously, staying hydrated is important, and avoiding exhaustion or any movement that hurts or may cause you to lose your balance is also very important. You can continue to do forms of exercise that you are accustomed to regularly–i.e. if you usually cycle, you can continue cycling. Now, however, would probably not be the time to try running that half marathon that you’ve always wanted to, unless you have been accustomed to running pre-pregnancy. Swimming and walking are both great forms of exercise for pregnancy.
In addition to regular exercise, here are the 6 main exercises to do daily while pregnant:
Tailor Sitting: sitting in this position encourages your uterus to move forward, increasing your circulation and stretching your inner thighs. You get into this position by sitting on the floor or on the edge of a pillow with your legs crossed. Try doing this when you’re working or playing with your kids on the floor or watching a show at night. Make sure to move around often and return to this position. I feel hard-pressed to call this an “exercise” but it should become your new dominant sitting position to bless your labor and keep you comfortable.
Squatting: Squatting is used in labor because it gets the body into natural alignment, putting pressure on the uterus, and shortening the birth canal. This actually increases the outlet of the pelvis by more than 10% so by squatting during labor, it typically shortens your second stage labor. In addition to being exceptionally useful while giving birth, this exercise also helps strengthen and prepare your leg muscles and your perineum. To get into this position start by standing straight with your legs comfortably apart. Then bend your knees slightly and tuck your hips under. Then bend forward and squat, keeping your heels on the floor. Throughout the day, rather than bending over to pick something up, squat instead.
Pelvic Rocking: Possibly the most beneficial of the exercises, this one tones and conditions the lower back and abdominal muscles. It also relieves pressure and tension you might feel, increases circulation and often improves digestion. This exercise helps the baby to come forward, relieving pressure you may feel as well. To get into this position, get on all 4s in hands and knees position to form a box. Relax your lower back allowing your pelvis to tilt forward comfortably, and then level and tuck your hips under curving your back slightly. This should be done slowly and only the lower part of your body should move. This is quite similar to a very understated cat and cow position in Yoga. You should do this for brief and frequent periods throughout the day as well as before bed.
Butterfly: This exercise conditions your abductor muscles which helps in second stage labor. It also helps reduce shaking legs after birth and unnecessary pain. To get into this position: sit on the floor, leaning against furniture or a wall with your knees bent up and your feet side by side flat on the floor. Have your spouse place the flats of their hands on the outside of your knees and apply resistance while you try to open your legs. (You can do this as well by creating the resistance yourself, it’s just a little more difficult). It’s important that resistance is only applied when legs are going down and not on the way up. You should do this only 3-10 times/day.
Kegels: This exercise helps maintain proper tone in the pelvic floor. This is important because weak tone of the pelvic floor can cause incontinence, discomfort, lack of sensation, unusual pain during birth, prolonged second stage labor, damage to your muscles and feelings of pressure. For lack of a better way to say this, to do a kegel, simply tighten your Kegel muscle. It feels as if you are pulling everything in your pelvic area up. Then relax. Do this many times/day and increase your daily number over the weeks of your pregnancy–the Bradley Method encourages you to begin with around 50 times/day and work up to 200 times/day.
Side Relaxation and Sleep Position: This is a great position both for labor and for sleeping. It helps circulation and to support the weight of baby. It also reduces stress on other body parts during labor and enables your uterus to work unencumbered. To get into this position begin on your side with both of your knees slightly bent and your top leg forward. Use a pillow to support your head while in this position, and place your bottom arm either behind you or around over the top of your head. Practice this twice a day for 10 minutes as a means of attempting to relax every muscle in your body as you lay there. One of the most important things about labor is to relax through every contraction to experience the least amount of pain and to hasten your cervix dilation. Relaxation is a learned skill that must be practiced in order to be effective.
There you have it! The 6 main exercises to do throughout your pregnancy to ease discomfort and prepare you for labor. This video actually walks you through almost all of these exercises so I highly encourage you to take a look to see them demonstrated. Here’s to safely exercising while pregnant and preparing your body for labor. You’ve got this, mama!
