As a pelvic floor physical therapist, one of my most frequently asked questions is, “Can I exercise safely while I’m pregnant? If so, how?” In fact, I was asked so often that I started the online portion of my work to answer it! There truly isn’t enough education around movement and exercise for pregnant women, and I want to equip every expecting mama I can with safe and effective ways to stay strong during pregnancy. 

I also want to show you how to prepare for labor and delivery — because you absolutely should! Consistent movement, if possible, is great for you in every stage of your pregnancy, although you’ll need to modify differently during each trimester. As you get closer and closer to your due date, your exercise routine will shift from general strength training and movement to specifically preparing your body (especially your pelvic floor) for childbirth. If you’re expecting and wondering how you can walk into your birthing suite with confidence, you’re in the right place! Here are the five movements I find myself recommending most.

Squats 

No matter what your pregnancy routine has been, if you’ve ever worked out in the past, this movement is going to be very familiar to you. Squats are a staple in almost any fitness routine, but they’re actually a fantastic way to prep your body for labor!

The boundary between your abdominal cavity and your pelvic cavity is known as the pelvic inlet. Located at the top of your pelvis, it’s the entryway to the birth canal, and the first place your baby will go when labor begins.  In obstetrics, when someone says “the baby is still high,” they are referring to the pelvic inlet. 

Squats are an essential labor prep movement because they help to open the top of the pelvis. Any position that encourages wide knees helps to open your pelvic inlet and encourage baby to engage in the pelvis as labor begins. 

Bonus: Squats are a fantastic movement for generalized lower body strength which you will need for the marathon that is labor!

Lateral Step-Ups 

Sometimes, your body needs to be asymmetrical to allow things to open up. Once baby enters the pelvic inlet, they will need to make their way through the midpelvis, which is best opened with asymmetrical or rotational movement. Lateral step-ups are the perfect solution! Asymmetrical positions that promote diagonal, sideways, and uneven hip movements open up your midpelvis. As your midpelvis creates space, baby can rotate, moving further down into the pelvis.

Deadlifts 

As baby continues to travel downward during labor, the pelvic outlet begins to open. This is the final part of baby’s journey down the birthing canal! To open up the pelvic outlet, which sits at the bottom of your pelvis and ends with your pelvic floor, you can engage in hinged movements. Deadlifts are a common place to start! 

When baby enters the pelvic outlet, you’ll move into the pushing phase of your labor. Deadlifts and other hinged movements help to open the posterior of your pelvic floor, lengthening it to create more space as baby get close to emerging. Vaginal delivery requires pelvic floor mobility — if your floor is too tight or mobility is restricted, it can be difficult for baby to pass through. Training with deadlifts is a great way to aid that mobility before labor begins. 

Windmill

Did you know that your pelvic floor is just one piece of your core? Together with your diaphragm, abdominals, and back muscles, they form a protective barrier around your vital organs — and during pregnancy, your baby! 

Thoracic mobility is an often overlooked, but very important part of optimal pelvic floor and core function, as well as optimal pelvic position. Your thoracic spine provides attachment points for your ribcage, and because of this, limited thoracic and rib cage mobility can affect your pelvic position. Your thoracic spine should be able to move from front to back and side to side, and it should be able to rotate freely. Limited mobility in any of these directions can restrict pelvic movement, which compromises baby’s position and journey through the pelvis. 

To open your thoracic spine and improve mobility, make sure to implement rotational movements like windmills into your labor prep! 

Adductor Rock Backs

Your pelvic floor muscles are an essential part of labor and delivery, not to mention urinary and bowel function, healthy breathing, and other every day functions. But they don’t work in isolation! The muscles of your pelvic floor attach to your pubic bone, which is also home to other muscles — like your hip adductors. 

By incorporating movements that engage and stretch your adductors, you can improve your inner thigh mobility, which will be important in the later stages of labor. Your pelvic floor muscles and your hip adductors are intimately connected with one another! 

As I treat in-person patients, I often notice a correlation between these two muscle groups. If your hip adductors have limited mobility, your pelvic floor likely does, too. An overly tight pelvic floor can cause issues at any point in life, but it can cause extreme difficulty in vaginal deliveries. An inability to relax your pelvic floor can lead to tearing and damage during delivery — so suffice it to say that this movement is essential labor prep! 

Adductor rock backs are a simple movement with big payoff. In addition to helping relax and lengthen your pelvic floor for delivery, they also function as one of the asymmetrical movements that open your midpelvis. It’s a two-for-one deal!

Want More Helpful Movements? 

When you consistently do these five movements throughout your pregnancy, and as your due date approaches, your body will be better prepared to deliver your baby into the world with less tearing and injury to you! No birth goes exactly according to plan, but I hope after reading this blog, you feel empowered and ready to train yourself for an optimal experience.

Bonus: once you’re in labor, you can use these 5 birth ball positions – all tried and approved by me in my own labor. 

Looking for more ways to prepare your body for childbirth and feel strong throughout your pregnancy? My Movement Through Pregnancy was designed to do just that. You’ll find pregnancy-safe workouts, educational modules, and so many more movements like these to help you labor well. If you’re a mama-to-be, try the Movement Through Pregnancy program now. I truly believe you won’t regret it!