Pre-Partum Tips

My Prepartum Journey as a PT

Week 27:

I’m 27 weeks pregnant with twin girls! This is my third pregnancy, but first time carrying twins. Sleep is starting to get more difficult, as my body is more uncomfortable and the babies love wrestling at 3 am.

Here are three things I’ve been doing to help improve my sleep quality:

Invest in a quality pregnancy pillow (mine is a flexible C-shaped pillow). This provides support under my belly, behind my back, between my legs, and under my neck all at the same time while I’m sleeping on my side.

Mix organic lavender essential oil with coconut oil and rub it all over my legs, lower back, and neck before going to bed. This has helped reduce instances of leg and foot cramps at night, and has helped me to relax more overall.

Stretching before bed. I’ve especially focused on calf, hamstring, and glute/hip stretches to reduce instances of waking up with leg cramps or really tight and sore muscles.

Getting the best sleep you can during pregnancy is so important, not only to improve cognitive and emotional well-being throughout the pregnancy, but also to improve maternal and fetal health outcomes long-term.

Week 29:

I’m 29 weeks pregnant with twin girls, and my pelvic floor is definitely feeling the weight of the situation (pun definitely intended). I have noticed some difficulty activating my pelvic floor in a standing position due to the increased stress in this area.

Here are a few things I’ve been doing to make sure I am keeping my pelvic floor as strong and healthy as it can be during this last stretch of pregnancy:

Gravity-minimized pelvic floor muscle activation. While I sometimes have difficulty fully activating my pelvic floor against gravity, I can still perform pelvic floor muscle activations while lying on my side at night or in the morning, or even in a hands and knees (quadruped) position.

Full relaxation of the pelvic floor timed with breathing. Being able to relax the pelvic floor is very important during labor and delivery. I make sure to time inhalation (breathing in) with full elongation and relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles.

Hip strengthening. There are days when pelvic floor muscle activation feels uncomfortable or too difficult. Because of the anatomical connection between the hip muscles and pelvic floor muscles, performing some band resisted hip exercises has helped my hips and my pelvic floor feel so much better!