It is particularly important that you exercise during pregnancy. It is also crucial, however, that you don’t build exercising into a routine that becomes an ordeal or a time-consuming chore. You will want to find ways to tone your body that are as natural as the birthing you are preparing for. Vary the exercises that you do and create a habit of doing them as often as you can as you go about your day-to-day activities.
You’ll discover that many exercises can be practiced incidentally. Some can even be done right on your bed as you awaken in the morning or just before you settle in for the night. If you are accustomed to brisk exercise, consult with your care provider to be sure that this kind of exercise will not compromise your baby’s well-being.
One of the best ways to ensure that you are exercising regularly is to join a prenatal fitness and exercise group. Most of the time, the mothers in these classes are pretty upbeat about their pregnancies and upcoming birthings. Avoid any group that is given to commiserating over bad birth stories.
Walking
Walking is one of the best exercises you can do. It helps to strengthen your breathing, as well as your legs. You don’t have to follow a strict regimen of walking, but you can look for ways to get in a little extra walking time, for example, by parking a distance from the entrance to your work or from the supermarket. Use an entrance that is not immediately adjacent to your destination. Rather than telephoning or taking an elevator to another area, find occasions to walk within the building at work. Walk as often as you can. Be sure that the surfaces you walk on are smooth and safe, and wear sensible shoes. Brisk walking is good from the beginning to the middle of your pregnancy. After that you may want to slow down a bit so that your baby is not jostled too much. When you engage in brisk exercise, your blood is directed to your arms and legs and away from the uterus, meaning that your baby is perhaps not receiving the amount of oxygenated blood that he should. Temper your time and pace.
Avoid Back Strain: Practice Good Posture
As your pregnancy advances, you will want to alleviate back strain by being aware of correct posture. Pregnant or not, a good assist to proper posture is to envision a string passing from a point at the front of the earlobe, down through the shoulders and the hipbone to a spot just behind the ankle bone. Keeping your head in line with this imaginary string will prevent you from “leading with your head,” keep your pelvis tilted back, and help you to avoid stooping as you gain in weight and size.
Don’t lean back with your head behind the imaginary line; it will cause you to project your abdomen forward and will lead to the “pregnancy waddle.” Many women assume this posture, with toes turned outward, as depicted in comedy skits and sitcoms, long before final “dropping” has occurred. Even then, awareness of how you carry yourself and your baby can make a difference in how you feel at the end of a day.
One of the best devices for maintaining good posture and for helping to ensure that your baby will assume a favorable position for birthing is to avoid slouching down into your pelvic area. This is not too easy to do with so many cars being equipped with bucket seats today, but it can be remedied by placing a pillow on the seat so that it is more level. Avoiding recliners is also good advice for the pregnant woman who is interested in achieving an optimal position for her baby at birth.
One of the best ways to practice good posture when sitting is to reguarly sit on a birth ball (also known as an exercise ball). These handy balls can be bought at any number of locations at very reasonable prices, including most sporting goods stores. The birth ball allows you to sit erect, and at the same time tones your inner thighs and pelvic region. Use it at your desk or as a place to relax at home, instead of a chair. The birth ball comes in handy later in pregnancy, and it is a great place to rock during labor. It is one of the best and simplest tools you can buy.
Another exercise that is helpful in relieving back strain is the “pelvic rock.” This exercise helps to avoid back strain, strengthens abdominal muscles, increases the flexibility of your lower back and promotes good alignment in your spine. There are several ways to do the pelvic rock. Instructions for two methods follow.
First Method: Using a sturdy chair or other piece of furniture for arm support and balance, stand approximately two feet from the object. Bend your knees very slightly.
Lean forward from your hips and thrust your buttocks backward. Keep your back straight. Allow your abdominal muscles to relax for a few seconds while you create sway.
Bend your knees a little more and pull your hips forward, tucking your buttocks under as though you were being shooed from behind with a broom. Repeat the procedure several times.
Second Method: You can also practice the pelvic rock or tilt in a lying position during the early months of your pregnancy. Once your baby begins to take on some weight, you will want to avoid lying flat on your back.
On your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, tighten your lower abdominal muscles and the muscles of your buttocks. Your tailbone will rise, pressing the small of your back to the floor. Hold this position for a few seconds and then release the muscles. As you do this exercise, arch your back as much as you can. Repeat the procedure several times.
You will also find this an excellent technique for flattening the abdomen following birthing.
Toning the Inner Thigh and Leg Muscles
Toning your inner thighs and legs is vitally important for successful labor. At the end of your birthing when you are breathing your baby down and out of the birth path, you may find yourself in many positions that will call for you to use your legs in ways that are a bit unusual. The muscles in your inner thigh will need to be ready.
Position One: The best effect in toning can be derived from sitting on the floor or in the middle of a bed with the soles of your feet together. Lean slightly forward and place your hands on your ankles. With your elbows resting on the inside of your knees, gently press your elbows onto your knees. Do not apply force as you stretch these important groin muscles. As you do this exercise over time, gradually and gently pull your heels toward your crotch until your heels and your crotch meet and your knees almost rest on the floor. Do not rush to make this happen. Take it slowly. Once you have achieved this muscle tone, you should straighten your back during subsequent practice sessions.
You can do this exercise alone, but it’s more fun to get your birthing companion involved. Using the same technique as described previously, have the birth companion assist from behind you by placing his or her hands under your knees, pressing upward to create resistance. While this is happening, you gently press down on your knees. Then have your birth companion press downward on your knees while you bring your legs upward and push against the pressure.
Position Two: Resting on your tailbone with your knees bent and raised upward toward your shoulders, place the palms of your hands against the inner part of your knees and push your knees outward. Bring your knees together again and then push them apart. Do this about ten times in each practice session.
When you reach for low objects or lift an object or a small child, bend with your knees, rather than from the waist. Do not attempt to lift heavy objects.
The Leaping Frog
The Leaping Frog position comes to us from midwives in the Virgin Islands. This easy, forward squat is used in many places in the world. Not only does this position help to tone your muscles, but it also provides you with one of the best positions in which to labor during the birthing phase.
While women in other cultures regularly use a squatting position for birthing, you must remember that these women use this posture for much of what they do on a daily basis. Western women are not naturally inclined to squatting, so this posture needs practice. There are two ways of assuming the Leaping Frog stance—with your arms thrust forward inside your spread knees or with your arms behind you at the side of your hips. The second position is an ideal position to assume for birthing as it relieves all pressure from the buttocks, and provides open and clear access for both baby and attendant. The time that you spend in practicing this modified form of squatting will be well spent.
Assuming the Leaping Frog position during labor offers benefits for both you and your baby when you are Birth Breathing. Just a few of the benefits of the Leaping Frog are:
• Widens the pelvic opening
• Relaxes and opens the perineal tissues
• Helps to avoid tearing and lessens the need for an episiotomy
• Relieves strain in the lower back
• Increases the supply of oxygen to your baby
• Shortens the birth path
• Allows you a clear view of your baby’s birth
• Makes good use of the effect of gravity
Though I recommend the Leaping Frog position, attempting to adopt it for any length of time when your muscles are not adequately toned could result in pain or injury to your leg muscles. If you choose to birth with your arms behind you, you will want to tone your arm muscles. It’s worth spending some time in practice as it is an ideal birthing position.
Technique
When first practicing the Leaping Frog position, you may need some help in the way of support to get down into the proper position. Your birthing companion can help by standing behind you so that you can lean your back against his legs while he holds your hands for balance. The companion can also stand in front of you to assist as you slowly lower your body into position.
From a standing position with your feet spread about a foot and a half apart, assume a squatting position on your toes with your knees spread outward. Place your hands on the floor on either the inside or the outside of your legs.
A variation of this position is to assume a kneeling position with your legs spread wide and to the side. Lower your body onto your legs, with your buttocks resting on your heels. Place your hands in front of you. This position can be converted into an all-fours stance by simply moving your hands farther front and raising your buttocks as you bring your body forward into a Hands-and-Knees position. This is an excellent position to use for birthing, as well. During birthing, you may wish to place pillows beneath your hands and knees.
Pelvic Floor Exercises
Not enough attention is paid to pelvic floor exercises, sometimes called Kegels. They are among the most important of all the prenatal muscle toning. Designed to tone and strengthen the muscles used during the birthing phase of labor, these exercises involve the network of muscles that form a figure eight around the entire vaginal and anal region.
Toning the pelvic floor muscles also serves the very important function of quick return to their normal size after labor and can be helpful in preventing some of the urinary problems connected with aging. Control of this area can actually enhance lovemaking after having a child. You will enjoy the confidence derived from well-toned anal and vaginal sphincters as your pregnancy advances and there is more pressure on the bladder and bowel.
Technique
In a sitting position, start by contracting the lowest muscles of the anal and vaginal tracts as tightly as you can. Keep tightening the vaginal muscles until you can feel the contracted muscles all the way up into the top of the vagina. When working with anal muscles, draw in until you get the sensation of pulling the anus into the rectum. It is helpful, though not necessary, to count from one to ten as you do these exercises, tightening a little more with each number. When you have tightened the muscles in the area, hold the contraction for a few seconds and then release slowly.
These muscles are the same ones used to stop the flow of urine. To see if you are doing this exercise correctly, attempt to stop the flow of urine while you are urinating. Do not continue to do this once you have established that you are doing the exercise correctly. To do this more than is necessary could result in a urinary tract infection. Be sure to practice this exercise several times a day, doing the exercise five to ten times at each practice. Frequent practice is all to your benefit. These exercises can be done easily at any time, anywhere, whether at work or at home, while driving or while walking. The important thing is to DO IT.