Easier pregnancy, better baby positioning, less aches and optimal labor preparation!!

EASIER PREGNANCY & BIRTH

Daily and Weekly activities will greatly assist you not only in pregnancy as preparation for your birth but also to assist you with aches and pains or tight muscles and ligaments. All of the exercises will also assist your baby to get into the most optimal position for an easier birth.

Babies are in a bag of water into which they get into a position in mothers uterus which gives them the most space. Some ligaments and muscles are tight some are loose which creates an imbalance in the body and give a certain shape to the uterus which the baby has to accommodate. We have chairs, care, we cross our legs, sit incorrectly (slouching on that comfy sofa), stand on one leg more than the other which all affects the shape of the uterus. We can make more space for the baby by adding body balancing.

How far am I dilated? This is a question which seems to be the most frequent one especially if there’s a stall or issue in labor. Why don't we ask, where is the baby? Where is the baby in the pelvis? What angle does the baby’s head have? Where is my baby's back?

With the exercises below you will continue to stay mobile, release tension and stretch and BALANCE the most important muscles and ligaments to help you get your amazing birth.

Osteopathy care is an amazing tool to use to stay aligned, a few times in the first few months of pregnancy and continue from 30 weeks plus to stay aligned perhaps even an adjustment when labor just started.

I follow this daily routine with the exercises below. I was surprised of the tension build up weeks in a notice a complete difference. From daily back pains sometimes too hard to walk, sit or stand up from sitting does now go with ease. If I do have back pain I do some of my stretches and can feel an almost instant relieve.

TMJ (tight jaw) release

Clench your molars and locate the big muscles for chewing. Relax your jaw (don’t bite down). Press two fingers into the big jaw muscles and hold (alternative, stretch the muscle downwards) for 2 minutes while you sit up on the front of your 2 sitzbones legs apart or stand. Breathe slowly and deeply. If you don’t want to time it, take 5 long, deep breaths. Do this jaw release 2-3 times a day for 5 deep breaths.

NECK ROLLS

Following your jaw release with some nice, slow, gentle neck rolls, lift the back of your head Roll to the right and make circles. Roll to the left and make circles. Do this 2-3 times a day after jaw release. In general, hold the back of your head higher than your chin. Let your chin down. Lengthen your neck this way throughout the day.

OPEN YOUR SHOULDERS

Stand and sit with your shoulder blades apart and the top, back of your head lifted to lengthen your neck. Your pelvis is not tucked. Your legs are not crossed. Daily, lift your arms and make circles. Stand with feet apart and with your arms open wide, breathe in deep, exhale deeply, too. Inhale and lean over to your side, exhale and come back up. Repeat on the other side. Do a set of 5 in each direction. Then stretch your arms as below on the photo.

WINDMILL

Stand with your feet apart. Broaden your shoulders. Raise the back of your head and let your buttocks free. Bend forward and put your palms on a chair seat in front of you, a stool, a yoga block, or the floor. However your flexibility lets you. Pick the height of one of these that best suits your back. You only go down as far as your back can stay straight. Look at both hands in front of you on your chosen surface. Now inhale and lift your right hand out to the side and up over your head. Follow your hand with your eyes by turning your head. Don’t worry if your hips move that’s ok, but when you return your hand to your surface during your exhale, your hips should end up straight and even. Now switch to your left hand.

Keep your hand in your vision by turning your head. Don’t move your hand further than you can see. Exhale and bring your hand back to the surface slowly. You will notice a slight tilt to your pelvis as you do this.

Your legs are straight. Begin with 5-6 on each side. Work up to 10 on each side. This is so nice for your lower back and buttocks muscles that you may find a week without windmills means an achy back or sciatica by the end of that week. So keep this on your daily to-do list!

CALF STRETCH

Make sure your heel is grounded on the floor with one leg straight and one leg bend. MAKE SURE you sit on your 2 sitzbones, those 2 boney things in your bum cheeks ;-)

When you lean forward pay attention that your back remains straight. First do your right, then your left and then do both at once. 5-10 times each set. Daily! This gives length to your hamstrings so your sacrum and buttocks muscles are more mobile when you need your pelvis to open for your baby during descent in labour. Doing the calf stretch everyday, a few times a day, to ease pushing a baby out and make squatting easier. Your hamstrings will love you and you will love your hamstrings!

LUNGES

Follow the Calf Stretch with Lunges. Forward lunges do their part to “free the sacrum” by lengthening hamstrings and giving the tuberosities more give. Below a few lunge variations.

SQUATS

Squatting can help change the size of the pelvis Follow the Lunges with Squats. Or do squats separately as you go from your living room into your kitchen, do 3 squats coming and going. Use the wall to support your back if you are beginning. Feet are flat on the floor. Go down only as far as you can keep your heels down. Toes point forward, not out

Toes forward, heels down. Don’t worry about how far down you can go, pay attention to your knees being right over your ankles so your calves are straight up like a tree from foot to knee. Make sense? Try it. Swing your bottom way out behind you and let your buttocks free. Don’t tuck.

Brace yourself on a trusted surface and don’t fall. Take responsibility for your ability and be safe.

PSOAS RELEASE

Why? A tight psoas muscle pair keeps baby high. This is the only muscle in the body who connects from head to toe. A long labour can relax the psoas, as may an epidural, but why not improve your body’s balance by relaxing your psoas in pregnancy? A longer, more relaxed psoas is one of several factors helping your baby engage at 38 weeks.

Who does this? You, the mother

How? Lie on your back with your feet on a chair so that your calves are at a 90 degree angle to your thighs. Thighs are straight up and down and calves are horizontal. After five minutes, roll to your side and get up slowly.

One day you will notice that your lower back relaxes enough so that the space between your lower back and the floor disappears. Don’t force your lower back to touch the floor, wait till it happens on its own. Then repeat this technique occasionally. Before that, do it daily as much as you can, but for five minutes at a time.

How long? 5 minutes.

How frequent? Daily!

Do this when….you are constipated. Your baby is not yet engaged after 38 weeks. You’ve had a previous long labour. This is your first baby. You have a history of sexual or emotional abuse, you do desk work or lots of sitting.

Don’t do this if… any time on your back is not possible. Roll over to your side if you feel unwell while doing this. Remember, you spend 5 minutes on your back for a prenatal exam, these 5 minutes will be fine!

Note: Can’t lay down? Your lunges, when done properly, will help your psoas, too. As will daily, brisk walking, breathing deeply and letting your belly relax. Kneeling lunges, standing forward lunges, and sitting with your knees lower than your hips help lengthen your psoas. Any activities that arch your body backwards from your leg socket, so to speak, will help. Drink water to hydrate all your muscles remember we are 70% water drink accordingly 2 liters of water a day MINIMUM.

HIP OPENERS

Open up your hips daily!

Technique: Hands through the hole

Why? This exercise balances the pelvis and “opens” the hips, allowing easier descent of your baby in labour.

Who does this? You, the mother. You can learn this “pose” at yoga, via youtube and from a physical therapist.

How? Lay on your back. Bend both knees with your feet flat on the floor. Breathe in and out. Lift one leg (for example, your right knee), and put that ankle above the bent knee of the other leg. Put one hand through the hole your right leg makes and grab the thigh or shin of the other leg (left). Lift the left leg to grab it. Hold the pose for a bit, and stretch your lifted knee, in this case, the right knee, away from your head. You will feel a stretch.

Don’t hurt yourself. Take a few slow breaths in via nose out via mouth. Put both feet down again and breathe a breath. Then do the opposite leg in the same way, opening the left knee, this time, away from your head.

How long? This may take two minutes to start with, and longer as you get more comfortable with it. Give yourself 5 minutes to do both legs by the third week into it or earlier if you are comfortable.

How frequent? Daily when you can, but three times a week for your body to respond.

Don’t do this when….lying on your back is impossible.

KNEELING LUNGE

Make sure your knees and toes are aligned and that your knee doesn’t go past your toe with the stretch. Put your foot forward when you are progressing to get more stretch. You are lengthening the muscles attached to your uterus. Your psoas in the front and hamstrings in the back, stretch forward, hold for a few breaths and go back.

Use these lunges in labor when there’s a stall in labor anywhere between 5-7cm to create space for your baby in the pelvis. You will find that as the days go by where you do this exercise that you are able to go deeper and open up much more each time. Remember to breath.

PELVIC TILTS

Why? Loosens the hips and sacrum. Relaxes the lower back and soothes an achy back at the end of a long day. Do pelvic tilts at the end of each day for comfort and to enhance flexibility.

Who does this? You, the mother. No professional help is necessary, but a yoga teacher or physical therapist can give advice about technique.

How? You can use a folded yoga pad or quilted blanket, rug or folded towel protects knees and wrists or just on the floor. Leaning over a birth ball or couch seat can be done if your wrists are too tender. Don’t sway or arch your back -its “cat-table top” – Your back goes from straight to then arching, make sure you don’t overarch just slightly as you don’t want to sway.

Start with your hands under your shoulders, knees under your hips. Knees are hip width apart, not touching. Focus on your lower back. Inhale to table top and exhale to curl your back.

How long? Do 20-40 pelvic tilts for comfort, usually about 2-3 minutes.

How frequent? Daily for comfort, or as needed and in labour, for 20 minutes.

Do this when…the lower back is tired or achy; or the hips are stiff. After balancing techniques to help baby swing to the anterior, or during labour through several contractions for the same aim.

Don’t do this if… Wrists or knees are too weak or damaged. Use a cushion for your knees and lean over a birth ball or soft chair so you aren’t resting on your wrists, if that’s better.

Note: It’s good to rest on your belly in child’s pose, on hands and knees, but don’t expect that pelvic tilts will be the one technique to turn a baby. Solutions rarely work in isolation. Pelvic tilting works better with contractions to turn baby. Do in pregnancy to keep your sacrum flexible and your spine comfortable!

REST OPTIMAL

Here are some Rest optimal ideas to use in pregnancy. These postures can also be used in labor. Think of your belly as a hammock and let your baby lie with his or her back settling into the hammock. Don’t “tuck your tail.” Pass the flashlight test which needs to point downwards.

Rest in positions that let your baby’s back settle in your “hammock.” While resting or while on bed rest, make a little pillow nest so that you lay nearly on your belly. Pillows hold your weight off your baby. Use your breastfeeding pillow, curve your body pillow, or semi-inflate a swim doughnut to dip your belly in the “nest.” It’s so comfy. Sometimes you just want to lay on your side make sure to switch around to keep the balance going.

Relax

Aim to relax your abdominal muscles and ligaments and move the pelvic joints. Relaxation means taking a deep breath but a guided breath where you use everything lungs and belly. For good positioning of your baby and labour progress, the ligaments, joints and fascia (your membrane surrounding your muscles, organs and bones) need to be relaxed and symmetrical.

What else you might like to do (if not daily, then regularly 3-6 times a week):

• Prenatal yoga

• Dancing

• Swimming

• Good upright postures

• Hoola-hooping big circles on an exercise (birth/yoga) ball

• Emotional resolutions: journaling, counseling, prayer, forgiveness…

A body worker such as a chiropractor and or osteopath will be able to align your spine and pelvis where needed and will work miracles in achieving a better, easier birth.

We wish you an amazing birth, if there are any questions please do reach out that is what we are here for!

Much love,

XoXo

Love & Own Your Birth

With special thanks to SpinningBabies.