4 Stretches to Help Prepare Your Pelvic Floor For Birth
Once you enter the third trimester, you can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. While it is important to have a strong pelvic floor to support your growing baby, during the last few weeks you want to work on opening up your hips and pelvis to prepare your body for birth. Here are a few of my favorite stretches that you can do at home:
Stretches to Relax Your Hips and Pelvis
1. Cat/cow
Start on your hands and knees with your hands directly under your shoulders and knees directly under your hips.
Take a breath in, then as you exhale, drop your head down to look towards your belly button as you round your spine up towards the ceiling.
Next, inhale as you lift your head and tailbone and arch your back, letting your stomach drop down towards the ground.
Repeat 15 times in each direction.
2. Child’s pose
Start on your hands and knees and then bring your feet together but keep your knees wide apart.
Sit your hips back towards your heels.
Relax into your hips and pelvis and perform slow, deep breaths.
3. Sidelying knee to chest
Start lying on your side and then pull one knee in towards your shoulder.
Allow your hips and pelvis to open up as you feel a stretch.
Bonus, this is also a great birthing position! You can hold this stretch and practice some deep breathing in this position.
4. Deep squat
This is one of the more intense stretches/poses you can get it but is also one of my favorites! This position allows you to really open up the pelvis and helps lengthen and relax the pelvic floor to prepare for delivery. You can do this with or without the support of a yoga block underneath your sit bones. I like to spend five minutes in this pose every day to help relax my muscles.
IF you are experiencing any pubic bone pain, SI pain or pelvic pain, this stretch may not be appropriate for you. We always recommend checking in with a pelvic floor PT to see what stretches will be best for you and your body!
