This Exercise Can Make Labor Easier and Speed Up Recovery

It’s unavoidable. And you’ve hopefully accepted the fact that if you plan to get pregnant, you will gain a significant amount of weight. As you will be dining for 2 (or more!) you will inevitably eat more than usual, be less mobile and therefore gain some excess weight. But you’ve accepted this fact and now want to know how to address it. So let’s take a look at a great exercise that you can do to stay in shape so that you can have a strong labour and recover quickly.

One of the key areas to focus is on your stomach area and more specifically your core. Why? Because this is the area that you will be pushing from during labour and we want to make sure it is as strong as possible so you can have as smooth a delivery as possible. So which exercise is one of the most highly recommended? None other than the kegel.

The kegel exercise is performed by lying on your back, knees bent and feet flat on the floor. The goal is to target your pelvic floor. Don’t worry, it’s easy to find. One way is to put a finger inside your vagina and attempt to squeeze the surrounding muscles. What should happen is that you feel your pelvic floor moves upward as your vagina tightens. Another way to do this is to pretend you are peeing and then performing the same action you would to try and stop the flow of urine. Once you have done this, relax your muscles and feel your pelvic floor return back to the beginning position. A word of caution. Do not attempt to do this exercise when you actually have a full or partially full bladder as it may actually weaken the muscle and lead to a urinary tract infection.

Try to do at least 3-5 sets of 10 reps per day at different times of day. As you get better you can try to hold each rep for 4 or 5 seconds, resting for the same period between reps. With practice, you can eventually do this sitting or standing when lying down may not be practical.

The beauty of this exercise is that it is easy to do, safe and will improve your ability to have a smooth delivery. It will also improve your post pregnancy recovery as your muscles will be stronger and better able to recover. Remember that you can always benefit from this exercise, even after you have conceived your child. Best of luck!

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