Exercising for Birth
4 Exercises for the Final Month of Pregnancy to Prepare for Birth and Encourage Optimal Fetal Positioning
As you enter the final month of pregnancy, your body is naturally preparing for birth. Helping your baby settle into an optimal position while maintaining balance in your pelvis can greatly influence your labor experience. Light exercises and mindful positioning can be powerful tools in supporting both your body and your baby in these final weeks.
Here are four simple, yet effective, exercises that can help you prepare physically for birth and encourage your baby into the best position for labor. By incorporating these movements into your daily routine, you can ease discomfort, improve pelvic alignment, and set the stage for a smoother birth process.
1. Pelvic Tilts (Cat-Cow Stretch)
Pelvic tilts, also known as cat-cow stretches, are a gentle way to encourage baby’s movement while relieving lower back tension and maintaining pelvic balance.
How to do it: Begin on your hands and knees in a tabletop position. Inhale as you arch your back (cow), dropping your belly toward the floor. Exhale as you round your back (cat), tucking your chin toward your chest and pulling your belly button toward your spine.
Benefits: Helps realign the pelvis, relieves tension in the lower back, and encourages baby to move into an anterior position.
When to do it: Incorporate pelvic tilts into your morning and evening routine for about 5 minutes. This gentle movement can also be a wonderful way to start or end your day with focused breathing and connection to your body.
2. Forward-Leaning Inversion
The forward-leaning inversion is a great technique to give baby the space to rotate into the head-down, anterior position. It helps balance the ligaments around your uterus and pelvis, giving your baby more room to move.
How to do it: Kneel on the edge of your couch or bed with your knees hip-width apart. Slowly lower your head and arms toward the floor so your head is below your hips. Hold this position for about 30 seconds, breathing deeply. Slowly come back up, using your hands for support.
Benefits: This position helps align the uterus and pelvis, allowing your baby to reposition if necessary.
When to do it: Aim to practice this inversion once a day, perhaps before lunch, when your body feels well-rested and you’re not too full. It’s a gentle way to encourage alignment and baby movement without overexertion.
Read about Forward-Leaning Inversions and see photos at this link HERE.
3. Side-Lying Release
The side-lying release is a calming stretch that helps open and balance the pelvis, creating space for baby to rotate. It’s a great stretch for improving mobility in the hips and easing tension.
How to do it: Lie on your side, with the lower leg straight and the top leg bent at a 90-degree angle. Place the bent knee and leg on a pillow or stack of cushions so your pelvis is supported. Relax in this position for 2-3 minutes on each side, breathing deeply.
Benefits: Balances the muscles and ligaments in the pelvis, helping create optimal alignment for birth and encouraging baby to descend into the pelvis.
When to do it: Try this stretch in the evening before bed, allowing your body to relax into the position. It can be part of a calming nighttime routine that helps you wind down for sleep while also preparing your pelvis for labor.
See photos about side-lying release on the Spinning Babies Website HERE.
4. Deep Squats (Malasana)
Squatting is a natural movement that helps open the pelvis, strengthen the pelvic floor, and improve flexibility in the hips. It’s a great way to engage the muscles you’ll use during labor.
How to do it: Stand with your feet wider than hip-width apart, toes pointing slightly outward. Lower into a deep squat, bringing your hips as close to the ground as possible while keeping your heels on the floor. You can use a chair or wall for balance if needed. Hold the squat for 20-30 seconds, then slowly rise back up.
Benefits: Deep squats help open the pelvis, strengthen your legs and pelvic floor, and encourage baby to move into the birth canal.
When to do it: Practice deep squats for 3-5 repetitions in the morning, when your body feels energized. You can also include them as part of your routine throughout the day whenever you feel comfortable, perhaps after your daily walk or before a shower.
Learn more and see photos HERE.
Daily Strategy for Incorporating These Exercises
To make the most of these exercises, try incorporating them into specific parts of your day. Here's a suggested routine:
Morning: Start your day with a few pelvic tilts and deep squats to loosen your body and encourage baby’s optimal positioning. These movements will help energize you while gently aligning your pelvis. When you first wake up, roll to hands and knees on the bed or right by the bed and do 10 cat-cow stretches.
When you are brushing your teeth, consider doing deep squats. You can also challenge yourself to do 4 squats every time you walk through a door way.
Midday: Go for a nice after-lunch walk. Focus on softening your pelvis and balancing your steps. Walk fast enough that you get your heart rate up. Consider putting on your birth play list and working on visualization and breathing for birth.
Evening: As part of your bedtime routine, try the side-lying release followed by more pelvic tilts or gentle stretches to wind down and relieve any tension from the day.
Bedtime: As you go to sleep, put on a good meditation app and focus on relaxation, visualization and imagery that may help you in labor. One great app with free tracks is Insight Timer. You can search for tracks about sleep (a great topic you’ll need later on), pregnancy affirmations, and preparing for birth.
By creating a consistent rhythm with these exercises, you’ll support both your baby’s movement and your body’s readiness for labor. Even just 10-15 minutes spread throughout the day can make a significant difference in how you feel physically, mentally, and emotionally as you approach your birth.
Stay mindful, trust your body’s instincts, and remember that these simple movements are helping you prepare for one of the most powerful moments of your life.
