Written by

Gina Conley, MS

November 20, 2023

5 Birth Partner Supported Birth Prep Exercises

Birth Partner, Birth Preparation, Fitness, Prenatal

You can prepare for birth WITH your partner! A lot of the focus during pregnancy is on YOU–prenatal workouts, prenatal appointments, prenatal nutrition… but you may be wondering how you can incorporate your partner into your preparation too. I know my husband wanted to support me, but sometimes just didn’t know what to do. Your partner can help assist you in these exercises so that you can move deeper to release tension as you prepare for birth, together!

5 Partner Assisted Birth Preparation Exercises

Here are five prenatal exercises you can do with your partner to prepare for birth. They include:

Back Expansion Breathing Drill: This releases tension in the lower back and backside of the body. During pregnancy, we tend to favor a more extended position, so this can help bring a TON of relief into the lower back.
Supported Standing Hip Shift: This exercise releases tension in the posterior pelvic floor, an area we tend to hold a lot of tension.
Supported Hip Flexor Stretch with Side Body Opener: This exercise helps you open the top of the pelvis more, by releasing the hip flexors, and your partner can help you move deeper into this stretch.
90/90 Side Body Opener: Similar to the previous exercise, your partner can apply traction to move you deeper into the release.
All Fours Hip Shifted Pelvic Tilts: You can press your knee into your partner’s ankle to shift you deeper into the hip for more of a posterior pelvic floor release.

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A post shared by Gina, MS, & Roxanne, RN, BSN (@mamastefit)

1) Supported Back Expansion Breathing Drill

During pregnancy, we tend to favor a more extended posture, where you are arching in your back. This can make it harder to open in our backside–and the inability to change positions is what tends to cause discomfort during pregnancy. Additionally, being able to find a rounded back position (posterior pelvic tilt) is crucial to being able to open the top of your pelvis to help your baby engage AND also to open the body of the pelvis by making internal rotation easier to achieve.

Start by holding onto your partners hands, then shift back into a seat while rounding in your back. You should feel a stretch in your backside as you round.

Watch the YouTube video below for a more detailed explanation of how to do this exercise, but instead of holding onto a sturdy structure, hold your partner’s hands!

If you aren’t subscribed to our YouTube Channel, head over there to click subscribe–comment on our latest videos to let us know what other videos you want us to release! It’s a free way to support us!

2) Supported Standing Hip Shift

Next, we have the supported standing hip shift. But instead of holding onto a sturdy structure, you hold onto your partner’s hand. The supported standing hip shift exercise props your elevated hip into an internally rotated position which releases the posterior pelvic floor of this hip (back side of the pelvic floor). This tends to be an area of a lot of tension, so this targets this!

Start by placing one foot on top of the yoga block, then hold onto your partner’s hand with the opposite hand.
Hinge your hips backward, to feel a stretch in the hamstrings and glute, as you rotate your belly to your thigh.
Keep weight in the big toe as you rotate.
Then round slightly in your back, and breathe here for 5-10 full breaths.

Watch the YouTube video below for a more detailed explanation of how to do this exercise, but instead of holding onto a sturdy structure, hold your partner’s hands!

Curious on HOW your partner can support you during birth?? Join our childbirth education course! In our online course, we include videos on what exactly your partner can do, such as how to do counter pressure, and how do support you in various labor positions, and we explain the science of birth so they can feel confident in knowing what is even going on. We constantly get feedback that birth partners LOVE our course because they leave feeling that they have tangible tools to use during birth support! They love learning pelvic mechanics, how different movements change the space in the pelvis, and how to apply different comfort measures.

I’ve been meaning to send you both and note on your course. I purchased the education course plus vbac to prep for my 2nd birth. The course was everything I had been looking for during my 1st pregnancy but wasn’t able to find, and my husband said the same thing! My first birth was an unmedicated birth center labor, hours of pushing resulting in a hospital transfer and C-section. When I became pregnant again I was determined to educate myself properly to have a vbac. I had been following your Instagram and saved so many of your posts and decided to purchase your course. The education of the physiological process of labor and the possible interventions was everything I wanted/needed! I had “period cramps” all day on 10/4, contractions started that night when I went to bed with a trickle of waters. By 3:30am I woke up my husband to head to the hospital where we arrived at 5am and I was already 9cm! I was in transition during the 45 minute car ride and had no idea I was that far along. I had decided on an epidural but since I was so far along it only took the edge off of contractions. After an hour of pushing baby girl was born on 10/5 at 11:30am!

Labor with baby girl last week went way faster than expected - started at 9pm and she was here at 11:50pm! Barely made it into triage and no time for an epidural which was my birth plan. Thanks to your course/content I felt in complete control, my husband knew what counter pressure to offer and when, I could tell where I was based on my temperament, and moved through my contractions based on baby’s station. Baby girl was here in 3 pushes and I’ve never felt stronger 💪🏻. Thank you for all you do!

MamasteFit’s Childbirth Education Course is amazing! My husband and I watched the course together. We purchased it during the first trimester and started it soon after, with the intent of rewatching it closer to birth. We found it to be so helpful! The videos and sections are easy to access and watch for whatever time you have that day. Gina and Roxanne explain things wonderfully and make sure to recap what’s been gone over in each video. We went to each appointment with our provider armed with questions. We wanted to be prepared for any direction birth could go. We asked questions about what a c-section might look like, different pain management options during labor, what to expect for different exams, and several other questions that came up during the course. I appreciated having the knowledge of what questions I wanted to ask and asking them early so if I needed clarification closer to birth I could revisit them. We liked having snack ideas, labor positions, and comfort measures that we could quickly access. I appreciated the suggestion of having a word or phrase only my partner knew if I truly wanted an epidural or not. I found some of the comfort measures and mental birth prep tips they recommended to be great!! We revisited the sections we thought we needed in the final weeks of pregnancy. We felt prepared and calm for any way birth would go. I am grateful for all the knowledge this course provided! I believe that all the information in this course helped me stay calm during labor and navigate being unmedicated to then deciding if a vacuum was the right next step and ending in an eventual c-section. Thank you so much!

I so appreciated having your page and birth education course with my second pregnancy!!! Made such a difference! With my first, I planned for a natural birth with a midwife at a birth center. At 41.4 weeks, I developed preeclampsia and had to be induced. I ignored everything that could be a complication in pregnancy (bc that just wouldn't happen to me W) so I went in verrrry uniformed and frustrated with this new and sudden change in my birth plan. If only I would have educated myself, that birth could have gone a lot differently! With my second, I made sure to get more education on Allll the things that could happen (thanks to your course) and was induced again for hypertension at 38weeks with my second. Because I was armed with info and had my doula + husband who supported me, I was able to have an amazing unmedicated induced delivery with a completely different mindset from my first! I never thought I could have such a magical experience in the hospital, but I did and it was thanks to the prep + support I armed myself with this time around Looking forward to taking the course again with this 3rd pregnancy

3) Supported Half Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch

Another exercise that helps you find a posterior pelvic tilt (remember this tends to be harder to do during pregnancy) is the hip flexor stretch. The hip flexor tends to PULL the pelvis forward into an anterior pelvic tilt (arched back position), so releasing them can make it easier to find that more rounded position that opens the top of the pelvis (helps baby engage) and makes it easier to open the bottom with internal rotation (hope you’re seeing a trend here).

Start in a half kneeling position, with your partner’s knee press into your forward leg’s hip.
Tuck the butt under, and push your hips forward to feel a stretch in the front side of the down leg.
Reach overhead, as your partner grabs your hand to pull you deeper into the position.

Watch the YouTube video below for a more detailed explanation of how to do this exercise, but practice incorporating your partner into this exercise! The side body release feels so good with some extra support.

4) 90/90 Side Body Opener with Partner Assist

Another side body opener is the 90/90 side body opener! The thoracic spine and rib cage play a big role in how the pelvis can position itself–and how your pelvis is positioned influences your pelvic floor tension AND how well you can open your pelvis.

For example, if your rib cage is compressed on the right side, it can cause your pelvis to rotate towards the right in response to the rib cage’s position. So, if we release this side body tension, it can make it easier for your pelvis to also change positions (the best position is the next one you can move into, after all).

Start in a 90/90 position with one leg in front and the other rotated behind you.
Your partner will press into the forward leg hip crease to keep it down, as they pull the same side arm overhead and to the side.

5) All Fours Hip Shifted Pelvic Tilts with Partner Assist

The last exercise (for this blog) is the all-fours hip-shifted pelvic tilts with partner assistance. The hip-shifted pelvic tilts help to add pelvic mobility, and pelvic floor movement and release the posterior pelvic floor. It’s an all-around great exercise to include in your weekly (or even daily) prenatal routine.

Your partner will stand to the side of you, and you will press your lower knee into their ankle. This will turn your glute on a bit more and help drive you over the elevated hip. This glute activation also shifts your pelvic position to move deeper into this release!

Watch the YouTube video below for more of a breakdown on how to do this exercise, but instead of using a wall, try it with your partner! This is one of the favorites in our in-person childbirth education course.

There are tons of way for your partner to support you throughout your pregnancy and birth–and they probably DO want to support you but aren’t sure what to do. Try these exercises, and check out our online childbirth education course (or our in-person one if you’re local to us) for more ways that your partner can be a part of your birth preparation.