Just my personal experience and what worked for me: IMHO, you really want to be doing things to get prepared. I would practice the strengthening aspects of pompoir in moderation and spend extra time and emphasis on relaxing and stretching. Focus on things like reverse kegels and yoga poses: child's pose, happy baby, cat/cow, sphinx and also wide-legged yoga squats.
These will help get your body ready, help to avoid tears and hopefully involve less pushing. Also, learning techniques to breathe properly while exerting yourself will help you out too. After the baby, once you're cleared, then you can start focusing more on building up strength.
Yes that's why I'm here! Thanks! When you say personal experience you mean it helped you birth a baby?
I did all the yoga last time, but not reverse kegals in the focused way that I'm learning about here. I did hypnobirth so I'm pretty good with the breathing aspect. Managed my 8lb9oz baby with a stuck shoulder.
Are you saying to not do anything strength based until postpartum?
It’s great that you were well prepared. Are you planning to use hypnobirth again? No one I know has done this, but seems interesting. Oh and yes, those were things I did for my own preparation for having a baby. I’m suggesting to strengthen, but don’t push it too hard. Keep the main focus on the other aspects I mentioned.
I am sorry but in, but can you share how hypnobirthing helped you during delivery? I am not pregnant but I would like to have children within the couple years, but it seems so scary.
Also congrats on your growing family, wishing you safe and happy pregnancy ♥
Of course! And thank you 🩷
It does all seem scary before you're pregnant, but you have a long time to prepare and it's really not as terrible as some say. It's like nothing else.
I listened to my hypnobirthing tapes for several months before my birth. The one I did was a lovely calming meditation, and full of positive affirmations that helped me feel confident in my ability to birth my baby. I didn't feel much anxiety at all for having prepared to have a positive but intense experience. It was still painful, but I wasn't scared or anxious, and felt like I could surrender to the experience.
The breathing techniques were helpful in the actual birth but I don't remember consciously trying to use them, it just happened. It's a bit of an altered state, it's hard to describe, but you don't experience the pain like normal pain, it's very intense but somehow it ends up being totally manageable and you are just doing it.
Oh I did not know you have given birth. Its amazing how much strenght you got even after delivery then. I have heard its much more difficult to improve strenght after birthgiving. May I ask did you have strong pelvic floor already before delivery, and did it took long time / much effort to get back there? I suppose delivery gives a challenge at least for couple of months? I dont have kids so I dont know, and when I considered having kids, I was afraid of some permanent injuries happening during delivery, as it happens for some women. Inspiring, though, that even after delivery its possible to achieve strong pelvic floor :) I wonder, though, is it yet the 'same' as it was before pregnancy? Feel free to not answer if its too personal. I think these things are not discussed openly enough.
I’m okay with sharing. I usually don’t mention having a kid very often. I had very strong pelvic floor and core muscles before getting pregnant. I had been working on developing myself for around eighteen years at that point. I followed the advice that I gave here in preparation and thankfully everything was fine for us even though I had a precipitous labor.
It’s been seven years since I had my baby and it took a little over a year for me to get back to my previous strength. That included getting my entire body back to the same fitness level I had before. I really wasn’t pushing myself too hard soon after though and went about building up gradually. I’m actually stronger now than I was before birth and I’ve been able to keep adding weight to my lifting kit each year.
I only birthed one baby so my comparison is limited, but I feel pretty strongly that a lot of pelvic floor injury can be reduced by skipping the epidural. If you push to comfort and can feel what you're doing to ease baby out then you're much less likely to do much damage during delivery. Of course things can still go wrong, and some babies are just wrecking balls, but I had no epidural, no stitches, and zero lasting impact on my vagina or pelvic floor muscles (despite having an abdominal diastasis).
Wow! Did you measure your strenght so that you know for sure it was totally the same after delivery? I thought pelvic floor gets some damage even if delivery goes well and I thought its needed to train more to achieve high strenght.
No, it was 14 years ago so we didn't have the technology that I see available now to scientifically measure such things. I'm just going from feeling, but my husband and I were both pleasantly surprised at how quickly I bounced back! There are tons of variables of course, and I'm sure that multiple deliveries would take more of a toll over time, but after 6 weeks my vagina was like nothing ever happened
I felt like I bounced back very quickly after my first 3, then my 4th is taking its toll. Although my 4th was years after my 3rd and in my 30s so I’m definitely less fit than I was in my 20s.
4 is impressive! It makes me sad how many young women just see vaginal damage from giving birth as a given. Of course it happens, but nowhere near always
I’ve experienced the opposite. Myself and most of the women I know didn’t even realize vaginal damage was a thing. (I’m in the US so postpartum care is nonexistent) We grow up being told “this is what your body was made for, just do your kegels and you’ll be fine!” I’ve been teaching my daughters now the importance of taking care of your body and hormones and especially the pelvic floor like I wish someone would have taught me.
I did this while pregnant with my 3rd.
The contractions weren't too bad until the hour and a half before she was born.
I gave birth on my knees. The baby came out very fast.
My other births were nothing like that. I was induced and had epidurals, so had to lay on my back.
I think birthing position makes a big difference.
It definitely does! Mine shot out once I stood up, luckily the midwife was ready and caught him! 😂
So great to hear your positive experience, thank you
Well, I have not given birth and I will not, but I have heard from many moms that this tool really helped them to prepare AND recover from birthgiving :) You can both stretch & relax muscles which helps to prevent injuries in birthgiving, but also train pelvic floor after birthgiving with this. https://www.epino.de/en/epi-no-delphine-plus.html
I have heard that its not recommend to train much strenght when pregnant, so its better to concentrate more on relaxing skills and to handle with pain (for example singing is very good with that). And I think to train mind-body connection with control may be good idea too :) If muscles are too tense, though, drlivery may be much difficult and cause injuries. So it might be good to start train strenght actively after delivery.
I have actually considered buying it myself too even though I have not given birth. It would be handy to stretch gently right after training. Its just too expensive for me, cause I dont know until how much strenght is it possible to train with it (if its too easyn I lose my money). So, if you order it, please let me know is there challenge in some levels, does it require much strenght or is it more for rebuilding strenght after delivery :)
Just my personal experience and what worked for me: IMHO, you really want to be doing things to get prepared. I would practice the strengthening aspects of pompoir in moderation and spend extra time and emphasis on relaxing and stretching. Focus on things like reverse kegels and yoga poses: child's pose, happy baby, cat/cow, sphinx and also wide-legged yoga squats. These will help get your body ready, help to avoid tears and hopefully involve less pushing. Also, learning techniques to breathe properly while exerting yourself will help you out too. After the baby, once you're cleared, then you can start focusing more on building up strength.
Yes that's why I'm here! Thanks! When you say personal experience you mean it helped you birth a baby? I did all the yoga last time, but not reverse kegals in the focused way that I'm learning about here. I did hypnobirth so I'm pretty good with the breathing aspect. Managed my 8lb9oz baby with a stuck shoulder. Are you saying to not do anything strength based until postpartum?
It’s great that you were well prepared. Are you planning to use hypnobirth again? No one I know has done this, but seems interesting. Oh and yes, those were things I did for my own preparation for having a baby. I’m suggesting to strengthen, but don’t push it too hard. Keep the main focus on the other aspects I mentioned.
Definitely going to do hypnobirthing again. Thank you for all the advice, so helpful :)
I am sorry but in, but can you share how hypnobirthing helped you during delivery? I am not pregnant but I would like to have children within the couple years, but it seems so scary. Also congrats on your growing family, wishing you safe and happy pregnancy ♥
Of course! And thank you 🩷 It does all seem scary before you're pregnant, but you have a long time to prepare and it's really not as terrible as some say. It's like nothing else. I listened to my hypnobirthing tapes for several months before my birth. The one I did was a lovely calming meditation, and full of positive affirmations that helped me feel confident in my ability to birth my baby. I didn't feel much anxiety at all for having prepared to have a positive but intense experience. It was still painful, but I wasn't scared or anxious, and felt like I could surrender to the experience. The breathing techniques were helpful in the actual birth but I don't remember consciously trying to use them, it just happened. It's a bit of an altered state, it's hard to describe, but you don't experience the pain like normal pain, it's very intense but somehow it ends up being totally manageable and you are just doing it.
Oh I did not know you have given birth. Its amazing how much strenght you got even after delivery then. I have heard its much more difficult to improve strenght after birthgiving. May I ask did you have strong pelvic floor already before delivery, and did it took long time / much effort to get back there? I suppose delivery gives a challenge at least for couple of months? I dont have kids so I dont know, and when I considered having kids, I was afraid of some permanent injuries happening during delivery, as it happens for some women. Inspiring, though, that even after delivery its possible to achieve strong pelvic floor :) I wonder, though, is it yet the 'same' as it was before pregnancy? Feel free to not answer if its too personal. I think these things are not discussed openly enough.
I’m okay with sharing. I usually don’t mention having a kid very often. I had very strong pelvic floor and core muscles before getting pregnant. I had been working on developing myself for around eighteen years at that point. I followed the advice that I gave here in preparation and thankfully everything was fine for us even though I had a precipitous labor. It’s been seven years since I had my baby and it took a little over a year for me to get back to my previous strength. That included getting my entire body back to the same fitness level I had before. I really wasn’t pushing myself too hard soon after though and went about building up gradually. I’m actually stronger now than I was before birth and I’ve been able to keep adding weight to my lifting kit each year.
I only birthed one baby so my comparison is limited, but I feel pretty strongly that a lot of pelvic floor injury can be reduced by skipping the epidural. If you push to comfort and can feel what you're doing to ease baby out then you're much less likely to do much damage during delivery. Of course things can still go wrong, and some babies are just wrecking balls, but I had no epidural, no stitches, and zero lasting impact on my vagina or pelvic floor muscles (despite having an abdominal diastasis).
Wow! Did you measure your strenght so that you know for sure it was totally the same after delivery? I thought pelvic floor gets some damage even if delivery goes well and I thought its needed to train more to achieve high strenght.
No, it was 14 years ago so we didn't have the technology that I see available now to scientifically measure such things. I'm just going from feeling, but my husband and I were both pleasantly surprised at how quickly I bounced back! There are tons of variables of course, and I'm sure that multiple deliveries would take more of a toll over time, but after 6 weeks my vagina was like nothing ever happened
I felt like I bounced back very quickly after my first 3, then my 4th is taking its toll. Although my 4th was years after my 3rd and in my 30s so I’m definitely less fit than I was in my 20s.
4 is impressive! It makes me sad how many young women just see vaginal damage from giving birth as a given. Of course it happens, but nowhere near always
I’ve experienced the opposite. Myself and most of the women I know didn’t even realize vaginal damage was a thing. (I’m in the US so postpartum care is nonexistent) We grow up being told “this is what your body was made for, just do your kegels and you’ll be fine!” I’ve been teaching my daughters now the importance of taking care of your body and hormones and especially the pelvic floor like I wish someone would have taught me.
I did this while pregnant with my 3rd. The contractions weren't too bad until the hour and a half before she was born. I gave birth on my knees. The baby came out very fast. My other births were nothing like that. I was induced and had epidurals, so had to lay on my back. I think birthing position makes a big difference.
It definitely does! Mine shot out once I stood up, luckily the midwife was ready and caught him! 😂 So great to hear your positive experience, thank you
Well, I have not given birth and I will not, but I have heard from many moms that this tool really helped them to prepare AND recover from birthgiving :) You can both stretch & relax muscles which helps to prevent injuries in birthgiving, but also train pelvic floor after birthgiving with this. https://www.epino.de/en/epi-no-delphine-plus.html I have heard that its not recommend to train much strenght when pregnant, so its better to concentrate more on relaxing skills and to handle with pain (for example singing is very good with that). And I think to train mind-body connection with control may be good idea too :) If muscles are too tense, though, drlivery may be much difficult and cause injuries. So it might be good to start train strenght actively after delivery.
Yes I'd heard the same and I thought you would be the ones in the know! That device looks interesting, thanks!
I have actually considered buying it myself too even though I have not given birth. It would be handy to stretch gently right after training. Its just too expensive for me, cause I dont know until how much strenght is it possible to train with it (if its too easyn I lose my money). So, if you order it, please let me know is there challenge in some levels, does it require much strenght or is it more for rebuilding strenght after delivery :)