Written by

Gina Conley, MS

December 18, 2025

Pelvic Floor Balance for Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum

Birth Preparation, Fitness, Pelvic Floor, Prenatal

When most people think about the pelvic floor, they think about strengthening—doing Kegels and squeezing more. But the truth is, a healthy pelvic floor isn’t just about strength. It’s about balance.

In this workout, we focus on restoring pelvic floor balance by offloading tight, overactive areas while strengthening underactive portions. This approach supports a more comfortable pregnancy, prepares your body for pushing during birth, and helps you transition more smoothly into postpartum recovery—because yes, you still have a pelvic floor after birth.

I’m Gina, perinatal fitness trainer, birth doula, and mom of four, and I’m joined in this workout by my sister and MamasteFit co-founder Roxanne, who is a midwife, mom of three, and currently pregnant with baby number four. These are the same movements we’ve both used in our own pregnancies and postpartum journeys, and the same strategies we teach our clients every day.

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Understanding Pelvic Floor Quadrants

The pelvic floor isn’t one single muscle—it’s made up of different quadrants, and each quadrant responds differently depending on your posture, hip position, pelvic alignment, and rib cage positioning.

For many pregnant people, common postural patterns create:

Overactivity and tension in the right anterior and left posterior pelvic floor
Underactivity in the left anterior and right posterior pelvic floor

In this workout, we intentionally release the tight areas and strengthen the underactive ones so the pelvis can move freely—something that’s essential for baby’s descent and rotation during labor.

If the quadrant concept feels confusing at first, don’t worry. Each movement below is designed with a specific purpose, and awareness builds as you move.

What You’ll Need

All you need is:

A yoga block
or
A small stack of books

We’ll complete two rounds of this pelvic floor balance workout.

Round One: Releasing Overactive Areas

1. All Fours Hip Shift – Left Posterior Pelvic Floor Release

Place the yoga block under your left knee and shift about 80–90% of your weight into that left side. You should feel stable enough that lifting the right knee wouldn’t change much.

From here:

Exhale, pull your belly to your spine, and round your back
Inhale, drop your belly and look forward
Continue slow pelvic tilts while keeping weight shifted left

This movement stretches the space between the sacrum and pelvis, helping to offload the left posterior pelvic floor, which often holds excess tension. It can be especially helpful if you’re experiencing:

Left SI joint pain
Tailbone discomfort
Constipation

2. Hip Shift with Wider Knees – Right Anterior Pelvic Floor Release

Remove the block and widen your knees slightly beyond hip width. Shift your weight back to the left, allowing the right groin and inner thigh to lengthen.

Options to deepen the stretch:

Externally rotate the right foot
Hold an arched position and breathe
Or continue pelvic tilts

This targets the right anterior pelvic floor, an area that tends to be overactive due to posture and daily movement patterns.

Round One: Strengthening Underactive Areas

3. Right Hip Lift – Right Posterior Pelvic Floor Strength

Place the yoga block under your right knee and shift most of your weight into that side.

From here:

Exhale and lift the left hip
Hold for one full breath cycle
Inhale to lower

As the right hip externally rotates, the right posterior pelvic floor must contract to control the movement. This area is often lengthened and underactive, making strengthening essential—not just releasing.

4. Side-Lying Adductor Strength – Left Anterior Pelvic Floor

Lie on your right side, with the right leg in front for support and the left knee on the block behind you.

Key cues:

Press down into the left knee to activate the inner thigh
Lift the hips and slightly tuck the pelvis
Option to hold or add slow knee lifts with the top leg

This movement strengthens the left anterior pelvic floor, another area that commonly needs more activation to restore balance.

Round Two: Adding Birth & Pushing Preparation

In round two, we repeat the same exercises but introduce breathing strategies for pushing.

Gentle Bearing Down Practice

In the hip-shifted positions:

Inhale deeply into your back
Exhale and gently bear down into the pelvic floor (about 20% effort)

This is not a max-effort push. Think gentle pressure—just enough to feel downward movement. This helps you:

Learn how to lengthen the pelvic floor
Coordinate breath with pelvic movement
Prepare for effective pushing in labor

You can also practice this type of breathing on the toilet, which often provides helpful feedback.

Why Strength and Release Matter

Muscles can only pull, not push. If we only focus on relaxing and releasing without strengthening, the pelvis loses its ability to change positions effectively. During labor, your pelvis must move and adapt to support baby’s descent and rotation.

Balanced pelvic floor function means:

Better movement
More efficient pushing
Improved postpartum recovery

Support Beyond This Workout

If you enjoyed this workout and want continued support throughout pregnancy and beyond, we offer several prenatal fitness options:

On-Demand Prenatal Workouts
Video-based workouts synced to your week of pregnancy, including strength, core, pelvic stability, pelvic floor, and birth prep
Prenatal Strength Program (App-Based)
A self-paced program incorporating barbell work, pelvic floor training, and birth preparation

As a thank you for being part of our community, use code YOUTUBE10 for 10% off any online program.