Third Trimester Exercises to Prepare for Labor
Congratulations on making it into the third trimester! I am sure the bump is bumping and you are starting to feel a lot more pregnant these days. Third trimester can get you to start thinking about the finish line (labor and delivery). Energy levels can start to diminish, and new aches and pains can start to develop. All of this is very normal and expected.
The primary workout focus as you move into the third trimester is to start adding more specific movements that help combat pregnancy posture changes, and pelvis mobility exercises that can be helpful to prepare your body for birth.
Disclaimer:
All of this information provided is based on my own opinion as a pelvic floor physical therapist, research I have done surrounding this topic, and my own personal experience going through pregnancy. This information is meant for a pregnant person that has no risk factors, and has been cleared by your OB/midwife for exercise. Any nutritional advise I give is based on personal experience and I recommend working with a dietician who specializes in prenatal care. You should always listen to your own body, and if any of my suggestions don’t feel right, don’t do it. I highly recommend working one-on-one with a pelvic floor physical therapist that works with pregnant women to get a more customized approach to your exercise plan (even if you only go for one session).
Strength Training Workouts for Third Trimester
Staying strong in your legs, core, and upper body is helpful to feel good for the remainder of pregnancy, can help your stamina during labor and delivery, and can help expedite the postpartum recovery process (somewhat).
Continue focusing on the modifications that are discussed in the First Trimester Blog and continue focus on working the functional training discussed in the Second Trimester Blog. Add modifications as necessary (that belly will start getting in the way with things!). Listen to your body as you move through the third trimester. This may mean lifting less weight, performing less repetitions in your set, or running less mileage (or run slower). Your body is working harder by the day as your belly grows. Respect it. Any amount of workout you are able to do is a great achievement!
Stretches to Include in Third Trimester
Lat Stretch
Hip flexor stretch
90-90 hip stretch
Gentle self massage with a soft ball or roller: glutes, calves, low back, pelvic floor
Photo by Brass Tacks Branding
Exercises that promote improved pelvic mobility and optimal baby positioning for childbirth
Spinning Babies Forward Leaning Inversion: learn more about the benefits of this exercise through their website
Knees wide, deep squat for baby engagement into the pelvic inlet
Half kneeling inner thigh stretch for mid-pelvis mobility
Pelvic tilts on hands and knees with yoga block under one knee for posterior hip expansion, and pelvic outlet mobility
Pelvic floor breathing: thinking about length through the pelvic floor, you can not do this enough! You can do this in any position that is comfortable to you (lying down, seated, childs pose, deep squat). The goal is to think about breathing down into the low back and pelvic floor on your inhale. Exhale you should just be relaxing back to baseline (not contracting anything).
NO Kegels: kegels do not prepare your pelvis for birth. They are not all bad, and can be helpful to help keep the pelvic floor muscles responsive which can be helpful during pregnancy. But in terms of preparing for birth, we want to focus on length and breath and relaxation in order to help the pelvic floor muscles get out of the way for the baby.
Common Third Trimester Symptoms:
As the weight of the baby increases, and your belly grows, postural changes start to occur. Your body also has increased the production of the hormone relaxin. This increases the amount of movement your ligaments stretch in your body (to prepare for birth). This results in more movement in all joints in your body than you are used to. Personally I noticed this in my hip joints immediately, and increased popping and clicking in my SI joint. This can sometimes result in pain due to the body doing something more than it is used to doing.
Common symptoms in third trimester include but are not limited to:
Low back pain
SI Joint Pain
Pubic Symphysis Pain (or SPD) (learn more about how to manage pubic symphysis pain in our blog “Top 3 ways to Reduce Pubic Symphysis Pain in Pregnanc”
Round ligament pain
Hip pain
Sciatica
Heel pain or plantar fasciitis
Rib pain
Aches and pains are often an accepted right of passage of pregnancy, but know there are many ways pelvic floor physical therapists can do to help minimize and potentially eliminate your symptoms. Sometimes it can be as simple as using an SIJ belt to give you more temporary stability, and other times it can get more complicated and we need to focus on exercises to help correct muscle imbalances around the pelvis.
My personal third trimester journey
I feel all of the things this pregnancy, which varies greatly from my first pregnancy. Part of it is absolutely because I chase after a toddler in my free time outside of work. Carrying him across a parking lot when I know my body is telling me it is a bad idea but you do it anyways…
But another big change this time around is how big my belly got this time around. My abdominal muscles (and honestly a lot of my body) felt immediately very pregnant even in first trimester. My body remembers what it is to be pregnant, and it responded accordingly. With this I felt a more challenging time keeping my pelvic floor and core engagement in workouts and more movement in my hips and pelvis.
Overall it took less to cause aches and pains. Pains I only really experienced the last month of pregnancy in my first pregnancy, were happening in my early second trimester. My body always feels better when I do my physical therapy exercises, and when I don’t over do it too much. Some days are good, and some days I just have to rest more. This has also been an insanely hot summer in New Hampshire which does not help anything.
Being a pelvic floor physical therapist did not make me invincible to the aches and pains of pregnancy. I am very much with you all!
Things that helped me combat all symptoms:
PT exercises: gentle stretching, the spinning babies inversion, body weight strength training, low level core exercises to keep my stabilization where it needs to be
Heat: hot shower at the end of the day, heating pad at night before bed
Belly band- only really helped if I took a long walk when I knew my body wasn’t ready
Supportive footwear- I ditched the barefoot shoes this pregnancy and embraced a good supportive sneaker or Birkenstocks. This gave my hips and pelvis a little more help. But I am very much looking forward to get back to my barefoot shoes, my feet and body always feel so much better when I do.
The birth sling: I am not sponsored, but this thing has been amazing to take some body weight off and help me get into different stretches without pain
Pelvic floor release with a pool noodle or towel roll (see picture above)
How we help women in the third trimester at Anchor Physical Therapy & Performance
Troubleshooting aches and pains to give you corrective exercises to minimize or eliminate pain
Teach you exercises that help prepare the pelvis for birth
Teach you how to push for labor
Prepare you for the early postpartum period
Lauren LePage, PT, DPT
