4 things to start doing to prepare yourself for a vaginal birth

You blinked, and suddenly you're in your third trimester. The birth of your baby is coming up sooner than you can imagine, and you are wondering what you can do to prepare your body for birth. Here are 4 things that you can start doing to get yourself ready, especially if you are hoping for a smooth, natural birth.

1. Get your body moving

Movement, especially in the lower half of the body, creates space in your hips for your baby to move into their optimal position for birth. One of my favourite exercises for pregnancy is Prenatal Pilates, which you can practice anytime, even from the comfort of home. There are specific exercises and stretches which can be very useful for pregnancy, which I teach in my Prenatal Pilates classes. Walking and climbing stairs are other simple ways to incorporate movement into your day, and swimming is also a wonderful option if you have access to a pool.

2. Perineal massage

Doing perineal massage from around 34 weeks of pregnancy onwards can help to prepare your perineum for a vaginal birth and potentially reduce (the severity of) tearing. Through stretching the perineum (the space between the vagina and the anus), it improves the elasticity of the tissues which helps it to soften and become more flexible in preparation for the stretching during birth.

3. Practice relaxing your pelvic floor

   
   

During a vaginal birth, our pelvic floor stretches up to three times its usual length. This means that it is important for your pelvic floor muscles to be able to relax to allow your baby to descend through your birth canal. Many birthing mamas aren't acquainted with their pelvic floor at all, which is perfectly understandable, but now is the time to get to know it if you haven't started. In my Prenatal Pilates classes, I teach you breathing exercises and how you can connect with your pelvic floor to support your birth experience.

4. Eat some dates & drink red raspberry leaf tea

Consuming dates in your last month of pregnancy (week 36 onwards) has been shown to improve cervical dilation and possibly speed up labour, and red raspberry leaf tea (week 34 onwards) can help to strengthen the uterine muscles and tone the pelvic floor in preparation for birth. In my Prenatal Nutrition Consultations, I support you in nourishing your body in pregnancy to provide your baby the optimal start to their health, and to prepare your body for birth and postpartum.

As you are preparing for your last stretch of pregnancy and birth, this is just the beginning of your motherhood journey. You deserve to be cared for as much as your baby, and this is what I deeply believe in, as the founder of Your Mama Tribe. Movement and nutrition are the foundations of what I support mamas with, from pregnancy through postpartum and beyond, and I would love to journey along with you as you transition into the next stage of motherhood. Feel free to get in touch if you would like to explore how we can work together, or take a look at my offers here.

Thinking of birthing without an epidural? Read this blog post: How to have a natural birth without an epidural.