Preparing for Labour: Tips and Exercises to Get Your Body Ready

Are you an expectant mother? You must be wondering how to prepare for labour. Here are some tips and exercises for labour that will help you know how to prepare for birth.

Having a baby is an overwhelming experience for every woman. But there’s a lot before that, and preparation can make the transition into parenthood easier. There are various physiological health benefits.

While labour is a natural process, it can also be physically demanding. Therefore, it’s essential to get your body ready for the challenges ahead. In this blog, we will explore a range of helpful tips and exercises that can help you prepare for labour, allowing you to approach this transformative experience with confidence and strength.

From gentle stretching routines to relaxation techniques, we will provide practical strategies to support your body during this miraculous chapter of your life.

Here are seven things you can do to make your birth experience easier:

1. Take a childbirth class

Indulging in a childbirth class is one of the most important things for expectant mothers and parents to prepare for labour and delivery. Taking a class can help you prepare for labour both physically and mentally. In this, you learn about breathing techniques, pain relief strategies, exercises for labour and how your body prepares for labour with practice contractions.

Childbirth classes also give you an idea of what to anticipate in labour, how your doctor will support you during delivery, some tips, and techniques regarding newborns, and what happens after delivery.

2. Practice relaxation techniques

The more you will be at ease, the better you can deal with the challenges of labour. You may have learned several relaxation techniques during childbirth class that can help prepare you for labour. You can try prenatal yoga, meditation, and deep breathing exercises to reduce labour pain and manage anxieties and worries about the big changes ahead.

3. Keep moving

Movement helps you have an easier pregnancy because your uterus works more efficiently when you move or walk. Moving or standing during labour helps increase pressure on the cervix, and support your baby’s descent into the pelvis. Women who move during labour have shorter labours, experience less pain, and are more satisfied with their birth experience.

4. Exercises to prepare for labour

Pregnancy and childbirth are very physically demanding experiences that require full body strength and function. During labour and childbirth, your body works hard and requires many muscle groups. There are various exercises for labour that help to ease the delivery process like the pelvic floor muscles, back muscles, abdomen, and legs.

Therefore, to strengthen those muscles, you need to do exercises that can help you gain the strength that is required during labour.

There are several simple exercises that can help ease the pain and discomfort and prepare you for labour:

• Kegel’s Exercise

Kegel’s exercise is a form of pelvic floor muscle exercise that involves squeezing and relaxing muscles in the pelvic and genital areas. Kegels can be beneficial throughout life but during pregnancy, they help to improve and maintain your bladder or bowel control and increase strength.

• Pelvic Tilt Exercise

Pelvic tilt exercises are done to strengthen abdominal muscles, alleviate pain and stiffness, and strengthen core muscles.

• Butterfly Stretch Exercise

Butterfly stretching is a home workout exercise that includes the glutes, hip flexors, and lower back. It strengthens and stretches muscles in your back, thighs, and pelvis. This exercise helps to keep your pelvic joints flexible, improves blood flow to the lower body, and eases delivery. 

CONCLUSION

Giving birth to a baby can feel overwhelming and complicated, but there are various tips and exercises for labour to simplify the process and enhance your birth experience. A healthy diet, proper sleep, and daily exercise can help pregnant women feel best throughout their pregnancy and labour.

Expectant mothers, it is completely normal to be worried about the labour process; try to speak up with your healthcare provider about whatever your fears and questions are.

We hope these tips help you prepare for your delivery and childbirth.