What to Expect When You’re Expecting
Pregnancy Tips
Exercise and strengthening. When we’re pregnant our bodies emit a lot of hormones that makes us really loosey goosey because we are trying to make room for a baby to grow. Due to the ligament laxity, it is so important to strengthen and exercise to stabilize our body and prevent pain. With that said, if you have never done exercise before, now is absolutely not the time to train for a marathon or enter a weight lifting competition. If you are active pre-pregnancy, continue your routine and watch your max heart rate. Talk to your physician and pelvic floor therapist for a specialized treatment/exercise protocol. If you are less active but want to reduce/prevent pain, schedule an appointment with a PF PT and they will be able to give you the right exercise prescription to minimize pain and strengthen your body to prepare for D-Day!
Doula - Doulas are specialized birthing coaches. They are there for physical and emotional support. It is so important to have a thrive tribe surrounding you so that all of your wants and needs are properly voiced and heard. While physicians are well trained in obstetrician care, you know your body and you know your needs better than anyone else does.
Consider natural childbirth - I am pro choice to my core. I believe all women should have the choice to do natural birth, hospitalized birth, heavily medicated birth, adoption, abortion, or whatever is necessary for the patient. We need to support and empower women to have the choice to do what is best for them. With that said, through my clinical experience I have seen better outcomes with patients who have gone the more natural route when it comes to child birth. Epidurals may cause back pain and lack of sensation in perineal area leading to worse vaginal tearing. Midwifes are well trained and very supportive. Women have been giving birth for centuries. It is a very natural and innate process. When we are in the moment our maternal instincts will take over and we will know exactly what to do. Women are made for this!
Perineal stretching - Entering 3rd trimester it is a good idea to start some perineal massage. You or a partner can gently stretch the tissue of the vaginal opening. Imagine the vaginal opening as a clock. Straight down is 6 o’clock and straight up is 12 o’clock. We can stay away from 6 and 12, and we can gently stretch areas 7-9 and 5-3. Pull gently down and out towards your inner thigh with your thumb or a partner may use their index finger or two fingers.
Pelvic relaxation or the ‘basement’ as I prefer to call it. Practice doing a kegel and then allow your muscles to completely relax after the kegel contraction. If you are having difficulty with this you can read the Vagician blog on PFM relaxation or visit a PF PT who can help you with PFM relaxation.
Relaxation is key. If we go into the birthing process with an activated nervous system, our body will jump into the fight or flight sympathetic response. High levels of stress or anxiety or fear will increase this response. It is important for us to practice whole mind-body relaxation and deep breathing to allow our system to relax. If we cannot relax and reach the calm, parasympathetic nervous state it will be harder for our bodies to achieve the natural psiological response needed for the birthing process. The more relaxed and calm we can be, the more relaxed and functional our muscles will respond the easier it will be for our baby to make their way out. The more stress, anxiety, and fear we feel, the more difficulty the birthing process will be. So what we can do to prepare is practice deep breathing, meditation, and mindfulness! Download the app ‘Insight Timer’ and start with 5 min of meditation and deep breathing every day with an emphasis on pelvic floor and whole body relaxation.