Pregnancy is a time of both enjoyment and stress. The last weeks of pregnancy that to around 40 weeks are often uncomfortable, and most of the pregnant mothers wanted to induce labor and devilry to the baby.
Exercise during pregnancy is not only good to keep you and your baby healthy but also prepare the body for the induce labor. Regular exercises make the muscles and ligaments in the pelvis to get through delivery with lesser effort in order to deliver a baby. Along with positioning the baby optimally for childbirth, prenatal exercises helps to open up your pelvis.
In this article, we will focus on how doing squats to induce labor and how to do squats to induce labor.
Does Squats Help To Induce Labor?
- ImageSource: thetoddle.com
As per the American Pregnancy Association says that squatting can open your pelvic outlet by 10 percent in order to induce labor.
- Doing squat to induce labor, creates more room for the baby to move down into the birth canal.
- During the third trimester, squats to induce labor helps to strengthen your leg muscles. Strong legs are a must an important aspect when it comes to labor and the final push to give birth.
- As per a study conducted by Gardosi And colleagues, on squatting, the primitive style, in the studies it is founded that squats during pregnancy can decrease your labor time (R) by 11 minutes. That’s a long time when you are in active labor.
- Squatting during pregnancy help to eases constipation and pressure on the pelvic floor which acts as a blessing during the last few weeks of pregnancy in delivery a baby.
- As per the American Pregnancy Association (R) any kind of exercise during pregnancy, but especially doing squats can help:
- reduce backaches
- reduce constipation
- reduce swelling
- prevent or manage gestational diabetes
- increase energy
- improve mood
- improve posture
- improve sleep
- promote muscle tone, strength, and endurance
- As per the research study (R) in 2014 investigated the impact of exercise on pregnancy outcomes among pregnant women also have several benefits that include mental health benefits-
- positive impact on body and mind
- increased self-confidence
- increased sense of control
- immediate positive feedback and effect on lifestyle
- increased quality of life
How To Do Squats To Induce Labour?
One of the easiest exercise that you can do during pregnancy to induce labor. You should know the right way of doing squat to induce labor, here are a few steps-
- Stand straight and keep your feet shoulder length apart.
- Lower your body, as if your hip is just a few inches above the floor.
- Make sure the knees are not in front of the feet when you lower the body
- Lift your body up again and repeat the same.
- Keep the feet firmly on the floor throughout the exercise of doing squats.
- Try to breathe in when you lower your body and breathe out when you come up.
- Take the support of a wall or an exercise ball, if you find it difficult to do it while exercising to induce labor.
- Do it as much and as many numbers of times you are comfortable with it.
Check Out These How To Do Squats To Induce Labor
5 Pregnancy Safe Squat Exercises To Induce Labor:
1. Bodyweight Squats:
The weight of the body may offer enough resistance for you to work out effectively during pregnancy. you can always add weight by holding dumbbells or by setting a barbell across your shoulders in order to do body weight squats.
How To Do:
- Stand with feet shoulder width apart.
- Hold your arms straight out in front of your body for balance in case you don’t have weights or a bar.
- Lower yourself into a squat position. Make sure you’re comfortable while keeping your back straight, weight in your heels, and knees behind or in line with your toes. Go as far as you can.
- Then return to the starting position, which can squeeze your glutes on the way up.
- Repeat it for 3 sets of 15 to 20 repetitions.
2. Sumo Squats:
This is another amazing squats during pregnancy which works great for the inner muscles of the thighs and glutes. It’s also an excellent stretching exercise to open up the hips to induce labor.
How To Do:
- Step out into a wide stance with your feet which would be greater than shoulder width apart and toes pointing outward, with knees tracking in line with the toes.
- Lower yourself into a squat position. And go as far as you’re comfortable while keeping your back straight, weight in your heels, and knees behind or in line with your toes in to perform this kind of squat.
- Make your legs turned out throughout the movements and your knees do not cave in toward each other.
- Return to the starting position by squeezing your glutes on the way up.
- Repeat it for 3 sets for about 10 to 15 repetitions.
3. Squats Against Wall with Exercise Ball:
This squats exercise increases the level of instability to further engage the core muscles during the squat movement. This squat helps to induce labor.
How To Do:
- Stand against a wall with an exercise ball between the wall and your lower back
- Place feet shoulder width apart.
- Make your arms straight out in front of your body for balance.
- Contract your abdominals by pulling in your bellybutton
- Lower yourself into a sitting position and keep your back straight and shoulders back.
- Your feet should be far enough away from the wall to maintain a 90-degree angle at the knee when in a full squat if you have a lot of pressure on your knee.
- Return to starting position and squeeze your glutes on the way up.
- Repeat it for 3 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions.
4. Deep Squat Hold with Pelvic Floor Contraction:
This form of doing squats to induce labor helps the pelvic floor a group of muscles that act like a sling supporting the bladder, uterus, and other organs. Pelvic floor muscles may also help during a delivery. The steps include in order to do squat that hold pelvic floor contradiction are-
How To Do:
- Stand facing a wall with your feet in a wide sumo squat position.
- Squat as far down you can. Just go the way down to the ground, but be careful not to overstretch and do if you are comfortable.
- Keep your arms extended in front of you. hold onto the wall for balance, if you want.
- Do a Kegel exercise at the bottom of your squat and squeeze your pelvic floor as if you were trying to stop the flow of urine.
- Hold the squats for 10 seconds and return to stand back straight.
- Repeat it 5 times.
5. Chair Squats:
This one is a great modification for women who have compromised balance during pregnancy. The easiest squats to do during pregnancy to induce labor.
How To Do:
- Stand 1 foot away from a chair that is braced so it cannot move out from under you (for example, against a wall), with feet shoulder width apart.
- Sit back into the chair, lightly resting your bottom on the chair for 1 to 2 seconds.
- Stand back up using your gluteus muscles to initiate the movement.
- Perform 3 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions
Squatting is a kind of exercise that you can do at any point of your pregnancy trimester. In the initial stage of pregnancy, it will help you build a strong core to help carry your baby to term, and later it will help you induce labor. So try to do a bit of squat in order to have a healthy baby and you can too be fit even after delivery. Make sure of one thing if you are comfortable then only you do, otherwise leave it.
