According to Brichter, sitting on an exercise or birthing ball in neutral wide-legged positions prepares the body for labor by increasing blood flow, opening the pelvis, and encouraging cervical dilation. You can also try birth ball exercises such as circular hip rotations, rocking, and gentle bouncing.
Positions to try
Kneeling – you can rest by leaning forward between contractions. Sitting – you can sit astride a chair and lean forward resting on a cushion or pillow, sit on a birthing ball or a beanbag. Use a birthing ball. Supported standing or squatting.
Sitting on the toilet
A relaxed pelvic floor in combination with a supported squat can really help put that needed pressure on your cervix to help encourage dilation.
A gentle stroll will help you relax, but being upright can also potentially help kick-start labour. Gravity and the light movement will encourage your little one to get into the correct birthing position, which is down by your cervix.
Spending most of your time in bed, especially lying on your back, or sitting up at a small angle, interferes with labor progress: Gravity works against you, and the baby might be more likely to settle into a posterior position. Pain might increase, especially back pain.
Squats, asymmetrical movements and low impact cardio can all help induce labor naturally. You'll find all three in today's workout below. Bouncing and performing pelvic tilts on a birthing ball or exercise ball was helpful for me too.
Supported Squats
Stretching the pelvic floor helps your body relax, says Green, who recommends spending up to five minutes a day doing squats once baby is in the head down position. (Don't worry, you don't have to set your stopwatch—you can break up the five minutes into several intervals throughout the day.)
Try being upright
One of your biggest allies is gravity. When you are upright—standing, sitting or kneeling—the weight of your baby presses on the cervix, encouraging it to open. An upright position may also help get your baby into the best position for birth.
The Butterfly Pose
Sit on a flat surface on the ground and keep knees folded and wide open with the sole of your feet together. This is a very common pose for exercises to induce labour even during pregnancy, and you might already be doing this. For additional support, you can place your palms under your knees.
What is the Side-lying Release? The Side-lying Release (SLR) uses a “static stretch” to temporarily and slightly enlarge and soften the pelvis. Stretching the muscle spindles in the pelvic muscles lengthens them for a short time. The SLR can then be repeated every 4 hours in labor if needed.
A bloody show is a common symptom during late pregnancy when a small amount of blood and mucus is released from the vagina. A bloody show occurs because the cervix starts to soften and thin (efface) and widen (dilate) in preparation for labor. When your cervix dilates, it's making room for your baby to pass through.
The later months of pregnancy may leave you feeling tired and sore. However, one of the early signs of labor is fatigue. You may feel extremely tired, even if you have been getting plenty of rest. This is because your body is working hard to get ready for labor and delivery.
There are no signs that your water is going to break; however, most people will be in labor and have contractions before their water breaks. So, if you're in labor and experiencing contractions, your water can break at any moment.
While it may be tempting to attempt breaking your own water. Don't do it, it's not safe. It can be hard to wait for labor to begin on its own, but trying to rupture your own membranes could injure you or your baby and/or expose your baby to infection.
In most cases, however, an epidural will not be given until the mother is at least 3-4 centimeters dilated. Once the mother is fully dilated most doctors and hospitals will consider it too late for an epidural to be given.
Walking around the room, doing simple movements in bed or chair, or even changing positions may encourage dilation. This is because the weight of the baby applies pressure to the cervix. People may also find swaying or dancing to calming music effective.
If a woman is performing self-massage, she may wish to place her fingertips just outside the areola, then massage inward toward the nipple. It is best to massage the nipple gently, in a rolling motion. Massaging one breast at a time to avoid overstimulation. Limiting the duration of the massage.
Belly massage can encourage contractions. Use castor oil and a couple of drops of lavender or clary sage oil and massage your abdomen in a clockwise direction for 5-10 minutes a couple of times per day.