MamasteFit Birth Prep Workout: Creating Space in the Pelvic Outlet

Birth Preparation, Fitness, Pelvic Floor, Prenatal

Preparing for birth is not only about mental readiness but also about physical preparation. One crucial aspect of this preparation is creating more space in the pelvic outlet (the bottom of the pelvis) to facilitate the baby’s passage during labor. This workout focuses on exercises that promote internal hip rotation and pelvic floor release, which are key to opening the BOTTOM of the pelvis.

You can prepare for birth by including exercises in your prenatal routine that prepare you to open each pelvic level! The pelvis has three main levels:

The Inlet: The top of the pelvis where your baby will enter or engage during pregnancy or labor
The Midpelvis: the middle of the pelvis where your baby will rotate through from the top to bottom during labor
The Outlet: the bottom of the pelvis where your baby will extend under the pubic bone to be born.

The bottom of the pelvis opens more with internal rotation, adduction, and a slight posterior pelvic tilt. This workout focuses on:

Pelvic Outlet Space: Creating more space in the pelvic outlet (bottom of the pelvis) is crucial for the baby’s passage during pushing.
Internal Hip Rotation and Adduction: Internal hip rotation with adduction (knees in, ankles out) helps spread the sitz bones apart.
Hamstrings and Adductors: Strengthening these muscles aids in pulling the pelvis into internal rotation.
Lat Tension and Sacrum Movement: Creating lat tension helps pull the sacrum backward, increasing space front to back in the pelvis. This is best achieved with a slight posterior pelvic tilt.
Pelvic Floor Release: Focusing on releasing tension in the pelvic floor muscles around the sacrum and tailbone is essential.

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Why Focus on the Pelvic Outlet?

The pelvic outlet is the pathway through which the baby passes during the pushing phase of labor. Creating more space in this area can make labor easier and reduce the risk of complications. Key elements in opening the pelvic outlet include internal hip rotation, adduction (bringing the knees in and ankles out), and releasing tension in the pelvic floor muscles.

The Importance of Internal Hip Rotation and Adduction

Internal hip rotation combined with adduction helps spread the sitz bones apart, which is essential for opening the pelvic outlet. Strengthening the hamstrings and adductors (inner thigh muscles) plays a significant role in this process. Additionally, creating lat tension can help pull the sacrum backward, increasing space in the pelvis from front to back.

Pelvic Floor Release

Releasing tension in the pelvic floor muscles, especially around the sacrum and tailbone, is another critical aspect of preparing for labor. These muscles can hold a lot of tension, and focusing on their release can help create the necessary space for the baby’s passage.

20-Minute Birth Preparation Workout: Prepare for Pushing!

In this workout, I will guide you through 20 minutes of exercises that focus on helping you create more space in each level of the pelvis.

This workout includes:

Exercises:
1. Banded Good Mornings:
  - Equipment: Long loop resistance band
  - Focus: Strengthening hamstrings
  - Movement: Place the band around your neck and feet, push hips back, and exhale to come up.
2. Banded Archer Rows:
  - Equipment: Long loop resistance band
  - Focus: Strengthening lats and pelvic floor release
  - Movement: Hold the band, shift weight into one leg, row back with the same arm, and press forward with the opposite arm.
3. Standing Hip Shifts:
  - Equipment: Yoga block
  - Focus: Releasing tension in the back half of the pelvic floor
  - Movement: Stand one foot on the block, shift weight into that hip, rotate belly to thigh, and reach across with the opposite arm.

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

The good news is that you don’t need to wait until birth to figure out how to open your pelvis–you can incorporate exercises throughout your prenatal workouts to create more space!

Prepare for Your Birth with MamasteFit Prenatal Fitness Programs

If you want more daily workouts to support a strong pregnancy as you prepare for birth, join our online prenatal fitness programs!

MamasteFit is unique in that we are one of the ONLY prenatal/postnatal training facilities in the United States. We develop our workout programs from our experience of working with in-person pre/postnatal fitness clients and work closely with physical therapists to refine our programming. In addition, we are birth workers, so we combine our experience as perinatal fitness trainers and birth professionals to ensure that our programs actually support your birth preparation and recovery!

Our prenatal fitness programs are offered in several formats:

40-Week Prenatal Strength Program in the Teambuildr App:
- This program is a self-paced workout with shorter demo videos. This is ideal if you like to workout in a gym setting and prefer a traditional workout delivery format.
- This program syncs to your current week of pregnancy, so you can start anytime, with one-time payment or month-to-month payment options.
- This program has a full and mini version, depending on how much time you have to dedicate to workouts!
Prenatal On-Demand Fitness Program:
- If you prefer to follow a video as you workout at the same time, this workout program will be the best option!
- This program syncs to your current trimester, so you can grab the trimesters you need!
Birth Prep Workout Program:
- If you already have a workout routine or you only want birth prep-focused workouts, check out this program!
- This program includes full-length workout videos to follow as you workout at the same time.
Prenatal Yoga Classes:
- If you want prenatal yoga, join our prenatal yoga program! This also syncs to your current trimester.

Gina Conley, MS