9 Pregnancy Exercises to Help Prepare for Delivery

Read time: 5 minutes

What to know about exercises that can help prepare your body for labor and delivery

• Learn pregnancy-specific exercises to help support the ultimate workout: labor and delivery!

• Recognize which positions to avoid while pregnant

Childbirth is an amazing, and often strenuous, event in our life. To get ready, you can learn specific exercises to help you prepare for the physically demanding act of delivering your beautiful baby.

How is exercise beneficial during pregnancy?

Regular exercise can help you throughout your pregnancy (and life), with improved strength, flexibility, balance, digestion, and circulation all being added benefits during pregnancy to help:^1,4

• Help reduce back pain

• Ease constipation

• Possibly decrease your risk of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and cesarean birth

• Promote healthy weight gain^1,4

Bonus: Many exercises that can help the body prepare for delivery, require little to no props, take just a few minutes, and can be done in front of the television, while reading, or while working on the computer.

Read about: Exercise During Pregnancy

How much exercise should I aim for while pregnant?

If your pregnancy is healthy, try to engage in 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, such as swimming, walking, prenatal yoga, and strength training, on most (or all) days of the week.³

It is important to discuss your exercise plan with your healthcare provider to get the green light for exercise during pregnancy, especially If you are unsure of whether or not a specific exercise or activity may be a potential risk.⁴

When is it not safe to exercise while pregnant?

Stop exercising and call your healthcare provider if you have any of these symptoms:

• Vaginal bleeding

• Dizziness or feeling faint

• Increased shortness of breath

• Chest pain

• Headache

• Muscle weakness

• Calf pain or swelling

• Uterine contractions

• Decreased fetal movement

• Fluid leaking from the vagina^4,5

Avoid holding your breath while exercising

When exercising, try to avoid the Valsalva Maneuver, or holding your breath while contracting your muscles.¹⁵ It can create a lot of pressure on the uterus. To avoid this, simply remember to breath out during the exertion and inhale during the release.

Avoid lying flat on your back

After your first trimester, do not lie flat on your back, which may reduce blood flow to your baby.^4,5

Instead place a pillow under your back to incline yourself and keep your heart above your naval. Remember to roll to your side and use your arms to push yourself to sitting. Never sit up directly from a prone (lying down) position.¹⁰

Have other questions about exercise, nutrition during pregnancy, or preparing to breastfeed? Reach out to our team of registered dietitian nutritionists and lactation consultants for free! They’re here to help on our free to live chat from Monday – Friday 8am - 6pm (ET). Chat Now!

9 Exercises to help prepare for labor

Before starting any exercise, always chat with your health care provider.

Exercise #1: Tailor sitting

Stretches and lengthens the muscles on the upper insides of your legs, in your back, and in your pelvis.⁸ Improves blood flow to the pelvis and can ease an achy back.⁸

• Sit on the floor straight up on your sits bones (if this position is uncomfortable, add a blanket underneath your buttocks to prop you up).

• Bring your knees up and together and either cross your ankles or put the flats of your feet together (if you choose to cross your ankles, then alternate which ankle is in front after each rest).

• Let your legs fall open so that your outer thighs are parallel to the floor or, if you are very limber, resting on the floor.

• Don’t strain or bounce, instead, let the weight of your legs and knees, and a very small amount of pressure, create a gentle inner thigh stretch.

• Lean forward just a bit from your pelvis while keeping your back and neck straight, which should create a bit more of a stretch. (Don’t curve your head and spine over your legs in the process.)

• For a deeper stretch, place a hand on the opposite knee and turn toward that knee. Put your other hand behind you for balance. Ground yourself in your pelvis and sit tall before you begin to turn to help protect your back while giving you a better stretch. Think of turning with your whole upper body, not leading with your head and neck.

• Rest for 5-10 seconds, switch sides and repeat the sequence for 2-3 minutes.

Read more: Pelvic Floor Muscles and How to Strengthen Them

Exercise #2: Sitting on an exercise ball

Maintains an aligned pelvis, strengths your core, and keeps your baby in the optimal birthing position.¹¹

This may not sound like an exercise, but when you’re carrying an extra 20 pounds or more during pregnancy, proper sitting becomes an exercise in itself!

• Inflate an exercise ball so that when you take a seat your hips are slightly higher than your knees.

• Move your hips in small circles to the right then to the left. Move your hips forward and back as well. Use your tight core to stabilize your movements and not just your legs.

• Use the ball instead of a chair and sit with a straight back throughout the day or switch on and off with your regular chair at home or at work.

Exercise #3: Pelvic Tilts (Cat and Cow Stretch)

Relieves pressure of the upper and lower back by stretching your back while strengthening your abdominal muscles to help prepare for delivery.^6,8 May also help improve digestion, increase circulation, and relieve pressure on other organs compressed during pregnancy.⁸

• Get down on all fours and place your wrists directly under your shoulders. Make sure your knees are directly underneath your hips and your back is parallel to the floor.

• Gently brace your abdominals and pelvic floor to maintain a stable table top posture.

• Inhale and gently lift your chest up while looking slightly in front of you. Hold the position for a few seconds while gently breathing and letting your belly relax and fall towards the floor.

• Exhale and round your upper back by pulling apart your shoulder blades while very gently drawing your belly inward without compressing your baby belly. Gaze between your legs focus on stretching the muscles of your upper back and neck.

• Repeat this exercise 5-10 times daily to achieve the relief you need.

Read more: Exercise: Strengthening and Protecting your Core during Pregnancy

Exercise #4: Squatting

Strengthens your legs and core while helping prepare you for labor.^6,12,13

• Fold a thin blanket, ideally the thickness of a yoga blanket.

• Place your heels on the edge of the blanket with feet wider than your shoulders (to allow plenty of room for your belly), with your toes pointed out 30 degrees (think pointing toward 11:00 and 1:00 o’clock) and your hands on your hips for balance.

• Inhale and slowly bend your knees while lowering your tailbone toward the floor (imagine you’re sitting down into a chair). Drop down as low as your body feels comfortable and hold for a few breaths while maintaining a good neutral posture.

• Slowly rise back to standing.

• Repeat 5-10 times and build up to several sets of 5-10 repetitions.

Exercise #5: Side-Lying abductor lifts

Improves your balance and strength to accommodate a larger belly during your second and third trimesters.^6,9

• Lie on your left side and cradle your head in your arm. If you’re in your second or third trimester you can place a small pillow or blanket underneath your back for support.

• Lift your top leg as high as you comfortably can without putting any strain on your lower back.

• Hold your leg at the top for a few seconds and focusing on contracting the muscle of your outer upper thigh.

• Slowly lower the leg.

• Complete 10 repetitions on the left side, switch to the right side and repeat.

• Build up to 2-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions per side.

Exercise #6: Reverse and side lunges

Improves balance, strengthens legs, hips, and core, and encourages your baby into an optimal birthing position.^6,13

• Keep in mind that lunges are most appropriate in the 1st and 2nd trimesters and may become too difficult in the 3rd trimester as your belly grows (using a chair for support will help).

• Start with reverse lunges. Hold the top of the back of a chair, gently brace your core while keeping your torso upright and begin to lunge back about 12 inches while keeping your back knee slightly bent and the front foot securely on the floor.

• Alternate legs and repeat each leg 3-5 times, working up to 5-10 repetitions per side.

• As you build strength, move on to side lunges. Hold the top of the back of a chair, gently brace your core while keeping your torso upright and begin to step to the right side while bending your right knee as your foot securely lands on the floor. Keep your left leg straight but not locked. Hold your position at the bottom for a breath and keep your right knee behind your toes while slightly sitting back as in a chair (similar downward position as a squat).

• Alternate legs and repeat each leg 3-5 times, working up to 5-10 repetitions per side.

• With both moves, start with small lunges to maintain your balance and then gradually increase the lunging distance.

Exercise #7: Knee planks

Strengthens the muscles in your abdominal, lower back, and backside.¹¹

• Lie on the floor facing down and position your elbows beneath your shoulders.

• Lift your torso off the ground and keep your knees in contact with the floor.

• Hold your body straight through gentle abdominal bracing. Try to maintain a straight line from your head and neck down through your back.

• Work up to holding this position for 10-20 seconds at a time (or more!).

Exercise #8: Alternating heel slides

Strengthens core muscles (pelvic floor, lower abdominals, and lower back).¹⁴

• Lie on the floor facing up while supporting your body weight on your elbows or a rolled-up blanket or pillows under your upper back to avoid lying flat on your back.

• Bend both of your knees and place your feet flat on the floor, close to your backside.

• Engage your pelvic floor and alternate sliding your heels away from your backside until your leg is outstretched.

• Repeat 10 repetitions per side.

Exercise #9: Oblique side stretches

Stretches your spine and lateral abdominal muscles, which often become sore and overworked during pregnancy.⁶

• Sit on the floor straight up on your sits bones (if this position is uncomfortable, add a blanket underneath your buttocks to prop you up).

• Bring your knees up and together and either cross your ankles or put the flats of your feet together (if you choose to cross your ankles, then alternate which ankle is in front after each rest).

• Sit with a straight spine and gently brace your abdominals.

• Place your left hand on the floor about 6 inches away from your left hip for support. Lift and straighten your right arm close to your ear and stretch over to the left until you feel a soft stretch on your right oblique.

• Repeat on your right side. Aim for 2-3 repetitions on each side.

Let's Chat!

We know parenting often means sleepless nights, stressful days, and countless questions and confusion, and we want to support you in your feeding journey and beyond.

Our Happy Experts are a team of lactation consultants and registered dietitian nutritionists certified in infant and maternal nutrition – and they’re all moms, too, which means they’ve been there and seen that. They’re here to help on our free, live chat platform Monday - Friday 8am-6pm (ET).Chat Now!

Read more about the experts that help write our content!

For more on this topic, check out the following articles:

Exercise For Non Exercisers at Every Stage

Exercise Warm-Ups and Cool Downs

Light Exercises to Help You Through Bedrest

Tips For Postpartum Exercises When Short On Time