Can Exercise help Labor?
Being in our profession, our answer is almost always “Yes” to exercise helping with pain and function. Research definitely supports that “rest is not best.”
But what about exercises to HELP Labor?
The answer is “YES!!”
Exercise during pregnancy is crucial. It helps improve circulation, mobility, decreases the incidence of a cesarean section, hypertension, diabetes, etc. But do all those squats and lunges really help when you are actively in labor?
They do.
Let’s breakdown labor into stages and movements. As your body is preparing to give birth , contractions from the uterus help start the process of opening your cervix until you are fully dilated. These are the first and second stages of labor, and can take hours or even days!
During this time,we can tell you after 5 kids between us, MOVING ALWAYS FEELS BETTER! Walking, squatting, stretching, mobility–you name it we did it.
To help your baby descend down into the pelvis, we can use rotation and hip movements to help parts of our pelvis loosen up and improve labor.
So during your pregnancy, we introduce exercises like:
Step up with rowing
½ Kneeling chopping for core and rotation
Elevated mountain climber with rotations
Single leg deadlifts with a row
And so many more!!!
Now let’s talk about actual labor. As the baby descends into the top of the pelvis or the inlet, our body likes movements of hip external rotation and pelvic rocking. During stages of labor, these exercises can be things like:
Prayer stretch with your knees pointed out
Side leans /lunge holding on to a table or countertop with knees facing outward
Holding onto a counter and bending forward to stretch with our toes pointing out
Deep squat holding onto a counter or railing with toes out.
As labor progresses, the baby enters the midpelvis which likes both internal and external rotation of our hips or almost like a “shimmy” movement. These can look like rotation movements like:
On hands and knees turning your feet in and out,
Holding on to the wheely table in the hospital and lunge while turning your body to both sides
Sitting on a ball in the birthing room and pointing toes in and out
Then, finally, the baby comes down to the pelvic outlet. This is where we can use internal rotation to help that last push to birth. Exercises for this stage of labor can look like:
Hands and knees rocking with knees in and feet out
On your side with your knees bent and up to your chest and feet outward ( this is a great labor position!)
Bottom line, our body was MEANT to move in rotational patterns in pregnancy and postpartum. We can’t guarantee easy labor, because as we know, it’s unpredictable. But being strong and mobile will help you feel empowered and in control of something during this time where anything can happen!
Blog written by Kellie Bedoni, orthopedic and pelvic health PT