Prepare Your Pelvic Floor for Birth: 4 Ways

Birth, Birth Preparation

The pelvic floor plays a large role not only for daily function throughout pregnancy, but also supports childbirth. During labor, the pelvic floor has to release and open to allow for baby to descend and pass through. Read more in this blog on different techniques repair your pelvic floor for birth.

The pelvic floor plays a large role not only for our daily function, such as supporting our pelvic organs, stabilizing our spine with the rest of our deep core musculature, and maintaining continence, it has a large role during birth, as well!

During birth, our pelvic floor needs to be able to release to allow for your baby to descend and rotate through. The pelvic floor also prompts your baby’s head to move into flexion, or for their chin to tuck, so they present smaller. If the pelvic floor has a high tone, or is really tight, or has an uneven tone, such as the left side has a higher tone than the right, then it could affect how labor is able to progress.

Here are a few tips to prepare your pelvic floor for birth!

1. Find a full range of motion in the pelvic floor

The pelvic floor has a range of motion, similar to every other muscle in our body. It can lengthen or stretch, it can shorten or contract, and it can relax. Think about your bicep to help you understand the pelvic floor range of motion. When you straighten your arm, your bicep is lengthening to allow you to achieve that movement as the tricep contracts and shortens. When you bend your arm, your bicep contracts or shortens, as the tricep lengthens and stretches. But, if you bring your arm to a 90-degree angle, your bicep is in between being contracted and shortened, and it is at rest. Our pelvic floor also can achieve the same movements with diaphragmatic breathing.

When we inhale, our diaphragm moves down and increases pressure within our abdominal cavity. This increase in pressure pushes our pelvic floor downward, as it lengthens and stretches. When you inhale, you should feel your pelvic floor, or perineum, increase in pressure and stretch. If you are unsure if your pelvic floor is moving down, place a hand on your perineum, use a mirror, or insert a clean finger to feel your pelvic floor move.

When we exhale, we have two options: we can relax or we can contract up and in. If we are preparing for labor, we want to focus more on the ability to release and relax with our exhalation. Focusing on breathing drills in a variety of positions can be helpful, both with the legs even and staggered. Staggered stances or uneven stances can help focus on the evening the tension in the pelvic floor, as well.

2. Perineal Massage (or Stretching)

Perineal massage, although we would probably call it more stretching than massage, can help prevent tearing during pushing. Tearing could affect pelvic floor function postpartum, so trying to prevent it can be helpful but if you tear, know it is not your fault! Perineal scar mobilization can help postpartum if you do have a perineal tear during birth. When you do perineal massage, the sensation should be similar to if you were pulling your mouth wide with your fingers; that same burning type sensation. If you are unsure, working with a pelvic floor physical therapist could be helpful!

3. Work with a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist (yes, even during pregnancy)

It may be redundant at this point, but working with a pelvic floor physical therapist can help so much with preparing your pelvic floor for birth! They can work on helping you feel a full range of motion with your pelvic floor; teach you how to push; teach you perineal massage; and also support any issues you may be having, such as pelvic girdle pain or leaking urine during pregnancy.

If you want to find a PT near you, look it up on pelvicrehab.com a pelvic floor PT directory.

4. Check out our pelvic floor prep for birth course!

Another educational opportunity to help you better understand how to move your pelvic floor with movement and breathing drills, learn about perineal massage, and some pushing tips with pelvic floor considerations are our prepare your pelvic floor for birth course.

We want to provide you with the tools to have a more empowering birth experience!