When you’re pushing, it’s likely that you will be told to spread your knees WIDE to craete space for your baby in your pelvis. From the outside, this may make sense–if the knees are wide, its easier for us all to see, therefore, it must create more space.
But, not necessarily! Wide knees, or external hip rotation with abduction, tends to DECREASE space in the pelvic outlet (where baby is when you’re pushing). Wider knees tends to create space in the TOP of the pelvis.
So, if you’re pushing, how should you open your pelvis for your baby?? Internal hip rotation with adduction, or knees in, ankles out!
Let’s break down HOW to open the bottom of the pelvis for pushing in this blog.
Open the BOTTOM of the Pelvis for Pushing: Knees In, Ankles Out!
No one movement opens the ENTIRE pelvis, so spreading your knees wide doesn’t make space EVERYWHERE in your pelvis…
If you are trying to open the TOP of the pelvis, you can create more space by spreading your knees wide and bringing the ankles in (external hip rotation with abduction).
In addition, how you orient your pelvis forward or backward could help increase space in the top of your pelvis. An anterior tilt, or arching in the back, makes finding external hip rotation EASIER, so it could help you create more space in the top of the pelvis. As a bonus, an anterior pelvic tilt also changes the angle of the pubic bone which can make it easier for your baby to enter into the pelvis.
If you are trying to open the BOTTOM of the pelvis, you can create more space by bringing the knees in, and ankles out to find more internal hip rotation with adduction. The knees do NOT need to be touching!
Similar to the top of the pelvis, how you orient your pelvis can either help you create more space or limit you. Internal hip rotation is easier to find with a slight posterior pelvic tilt or rounding in the back.
So, if you are pushing, your baby usually tries to navigate the pelvis’s BOTTOM. Therefore, spreading your knees wide to make space for your baby is not helpful–rather you want to focus on knees in, and ankles out to create more space in the bottom of your pelvis!
Watch this video for a visual description of HOW to open the bottom of the pelvis. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel! Your free subscription and views help us provide all this free content, so we thank you!
Knees In, Ankles Out... And What Else??
Knees in, ankles out (internal hip rotation) creates more space side to side in the bottom of the pelvis. And, we can find more internal hip rotation if we posteriorly tuck the pelvis (just a tad).
Is there anything else we need to consider when creating space in the bottom of the pelvis for pushing??
Yes!
We, also need to figure out how to make more space FRONT TO BACK in the outlet for our baby! And a key factor of this is the SACRUM.
The sacrum is the triangular bone on the of your pelvis. This bone can MOVE forward and backward. We want the bottom of the sacrum/tailbone to move backward as you are pushing–and we can do this with lat tension!
As you are pushing, think PULL your legs to YOU or PULL something to engage in the back muscles.
Preparing for Pushing: Prenatal Exercises to Try!
The good news is that you do NOT need to wait for birth to try to figure all of this out. You can prepare during pregnancy with your prenatal workouts! The MamasteFit Prenatal Fitness Programs include exercises to not only keep you strong throughout your pregnancy but also to prep you for birth!
The key muscles that are involved with creating space in the bottom of the pelvis include:
- Hamstrings (back of thighs) pull the pelvis posteriorly and into internal rotation
- Adductors (inner thighs) pull the pelvis into internal rotation and adduction
- Lats (back muscles) can generate tension to pull the tailbone backward
- Pelvic Floor (bottom of pelvis) relaxes to allow baby to pass through easily
There are a lot of exercises that you can do that strengthen the hamstrings, adductors, and lats, such as deadlifts, RDLs, Copenhagen planks, and bent-over rows.
Learning to release tension in the pelvic floor can be more complicated, but this is where the MamasteFit Birth Prep Circuit comes in handy! Our birth prep circuit releases common areas of tension to make it easier for you to open your pelvis for birth–especially the lower half of your pelvis! In this free circuit, we walk you through six exercises that make it easier for you to find that posterior pelvic tilt and internal hip rotation and release tension in your pelvic floor!
Watch this 8-minute birth prep video for a walk-through of different exercises you can do (and explanations of why we chose them) to prepare for pushing. This working includes hamstring, adductor, and lat strengthening with pelvic floor release exercises.
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!
- Prenatal Yoga Classes:
- If you want prenatal yoga, join our prenatal yoga program! This also syncs to your current trimester.
Actually, Create Space in the Bottom of Your Pelvis for Baby: Knees In, Ankles Out!
So, hopefully, by the end of this blog, you understand that “spread the knees wide” does not make space for your baby while pushing–rather we want to focus on knees in, ankles out (which can be done in any position) to create more side to side space in the outlet.
In addition, finding a slight posterior pelvic tilt can make it easier for you to create internal hip rotation AND release tension in your posterior pelvic floor. Add on some lat tension, and the bottom of your pelvis is wide open for baby!
Learn more in our online prenatal fitness programs, childbirth education course, and pelvic floor prep for birth course!
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!
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