As you enter your final trimester, you may wonder what to do for birth preparation! If you’re like me, you remember that you will eventually not be pregnant anymore and should start focusing on your birth prep! Some of my favorite ways to prepare for birth include incorporating more mobility movements into my daily workout routine to improve hip and pelvic mobility and make it easier for my baby to navigate through my pelvis.
In this blog, I’m going to share five mobility exercises that I am doing in my third trimester to help improve my hip mobility as I prepare for birth!
Birth Preparation Mobility: Open the Pelvis for Birth
When preparing for birth, we want to incorporate a variety of hip positions so that we open each pelvic level. There are three pelvic levels that all open with different types of hip movements. If you want to dive deeper into pelvic mechanics, join our online childbirth education course, where we go more in-depth into what type of movements open each pelvic level and WHEN to do each laboring position.
The pelvis has three levels:
- The top of the pelvis is known as the pelvic inlet. This level opens more with external hip rotation, abduction (wider knees), and pelvic tilting.
- Exercises like a deep squat or pigeon pose can prepare to open this pelvic level.
- The middle of the pelvis is known as the midpelvis. This level opens more with asymmetrical hip movements, so one leg is externally rotated and the other internally rotated.
- Exercises like the 90/90 and hip shifts are great for opening the middle of the pelvis.
- The bottom of the pelvis is known as the pelvic outlet. This level opens more with internal hip rotation and adduction, or knees in, ankles out.
- Exercises like the hero pose are great for opening the bottom of the pelvis.
There are so many exercises you can incorporate into your workouts to create space in each pelvic level–but it is important that you include movements that involve:
- Bilateral external hip rotation (both legs wide)
- Asymmetrical hip movements
- Bilateral internal hip rotation (knees in, ankles out)
We include these hip movements and more in our prenatal fitness programs. Our prenatal fitness programs are designed to keep you strong and pain-free as you prepare for birth. After years of working exclusively with in-person prenatal clients and supporting in-person births, we have developed our programs. In addition to our professional experience, we consult pelvic floor physical therapists on their opinions to develop our comprehensive programs!
Mobility Exercises to Open the Top of the Pelvis
1) Deep Squats
The top of your pelvis is where your baby will enter or engage to begin their journey through your pelvis for birth. The top of the pelvis opens more with wider knees (external hip rotation with abduction). Movements like a deep squat incorporate both of these hip movements to create space more side to side in the top of the pelvis.
Add support with a yoga block under your hips, and/or a rolled-up yoga mat under your heels if ankle mobility is limited.
2) Pigeon Pose
The full pigeon is another inlet opening mobility exercise that emphasizes external hip rotation. I find this variation is usually more accessible during pregnancy than the half pigeon. In this position, add a yoga block under the knee if it’s lifted off the bottom ankle for more support.
Check out our prenatal yoga birth prep workout on our YouTube channel. We publish new workouts weekly on our YouTube for both pregnancy and postpartum! Be sure to subscribe to get notified whenever we release new videos.
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.
Mobility Exercises to Open the Middle of the Pelvis
The middle of the pelvis is where your baby rotates. Your baby will change through three different positions in the midpelvis! There is a lot of wiggle and rocking to help your baby navigate this space, as it also tends to be the narrowest. Asymmetrical hip positions help to open this pelvis level–think one leg is doing something different than the other leg. Let’s explore two of my current favorites for midpelvis opening!
3) 90/90 Variations
The 90/90 is one of my favorite asymmetrical hip mobility exercises, as we can do so many variations! I have been enjoying the 90/90 side camel, including external and internal hip rotation with a side body opener and hip flexor release. You can also switch from side to side to add more movement.
Another way to enhance this movement is to add a yoga block under the back ankle to bring that leg into a more profound internal hip rotation. You can even do the 90/90 side camel with the yoga block under the ankle.
4) Hip Shifts
Another favorite of mine has been hip shifts. Hip shifts target pelvic internal rotation, which differs from the internal hip rotation in the 90/90. Hip shifts move the tailbone/sacrum away from the internally rotated side to stretch the posterior pelvic floor, improving sacral movement during birth.
We incorporate hip shifts into almost every workout in our prenatal fitness program because of how beneficial these movements are not only for birth preparation (releases tension in the pelvic floor and opens the lower pelvis) but also for prenatal comfort. Hip shifts are essential for glute and pelvic floor function and hip stability.
In the all-fours hip shift, you will place a yoga block under one knee and then shift your weight towards the elevated knee. This shift will bring the elevated hip into the internal pelvic rotation, which stretches the posterior pelvic floor.
Mobility Exercises to Open the Bottom of the Pelvis
The bottom of the pelvis opens more with internal hip rotation (knees in, ankles). This is essentially the opposite of the top of the pelvis, where we want the knees to be wider.
This is a common misconception with opening the pelvis, particularly when pushing–you may be told to spread your knees wide to make space for the baby. But, spreading your knees wide can decrease space in the pelvic outlet! It can be physically easier to see the vagina in a wide-legged position, but the pelvic bones move closer together in the outlet with wide knees.
5) Heros Pose
The hero’s pose and rock back can be a great exercise to help create space in the bottom of the pelvis. Sit on a yoga block to elevate the hips (you can remove the block for a more profound sensation). Then you can rock back and forth with this internal rotation–hopefully becoming more comfortable in this position as you near your due date!
Prepare for Birth: Mobility
Mobility exercises are a great way to prepare for birth, especially when feeling more fatigued in the final weeks of your pregnancy. Be sure to include exercises that incorporate a variety of hip positions–bilateral external hip rotation, asymmetrical, and bilateral internal hip rotation. If you aren’t sure what else to do, join our online prenatal fitness programs! There are even options to participate in the third trimester!
Prenatal Support Courses
Learn the science of pregnancy and birth to take the mystery of labor away! Understand why you are feeling what you feel, and learn strategies to confidently move through pregnancy and birth!
- 9h+ of Video
- Support Group
- Close Captioning
- 5 Workouts/Week
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- Self-Paced
Instructor
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Workout on-demand with our prenatal fitness workout videos! Each workout is 30-40 minutes to follow along as you exercise at the same time!
- Birth Prep
- All Trimesters
- Mobility Work
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GINA
Find comfort and relief from pelvic girdle pain throughout your pregnancy and postpartum period! This program incorporates myofascial sling focused exercises to stabilize across the pelvic girdle joints.
- 3 Weeks
- On Demand Workout Videos to Follow