How Antenatal Physiotherapy Can Support Your Pregnancy and Birth
Pregnancy is an incredible journey, but it can also bring physical challenges as your body adapts to nurture new life. Many expectant mothers experience back pain, pelvic discomfort, postural changes, or pelvic floor issues as pregnancy progresses. Antenatal physiotherapy offers a holistic approach to support your body, reduce discomfort, and help prepare your body for labour and recovery.
What is Antenatal Physiotherapy?
Antenatal physiotherapy focuses on safe, tailored exercises, education, and hands-on techniques to help women manage the physical demands of pregnancy. It goes beyond simple exercise routines—physiotherapists use evidence-based strategies to ease discomfort, improve strength, and enhance mobility, ensuring your body is supported throughout pregnancy and into motherhood.
Managing Common Pregnancy Discomforts
As your baby grows, the extra weight and hormonal changes can cause strain on your back, hips, pelvis and increases pressure on your pelvic floor. Many women experience:
Lower back pain from postural shifts and hormonal changes
Pelvic girdle pain (PGP) often makes walking or turning in bed uncomfortable
Pelvic floor issues, including stress incontinence and prolapse
Antenatal physiotherapy can address these concerns through gentle, targeted exercises, stretches, and manual therapy. Your physiotherapist may also recommend supportive aids such as pelvic belts or compression garments to relieve strain on your joints.
Preparing Your Body for Labour
Labour is a physical event, and just like any athletic challenge, preparation makes a difference. Antenatal physiotherapy helps condition your body for childbirth by:
Strengthening pelvic floor muscles to support your bladder, bowel, and uterus during pregnancy and aid recovery afterwards
Improving core stability to help reduce general pain and assist with recovery of diastisus recti postpartum
Education on perineal stretching/massage which can help to reduce the risk of more severe perineal tearing (Abdelhakim et al, 2020)
These proactive strategies can increase your confidence, reduce anxiety, and give you tools to use when it matters most.
Supporting Pelvic Floor Health
The pelvic floor plays a crucial role during pregnancy and birth. Weakness or tension in these muscles can lead to bladder leakage, discomfort, or challenges during recovery. Antenatal physiotherapy can teach you how to properly engage and relax your pelvic floor. This is particularly important for labour and delivery but also supports postpartum healing and reducing the severity of long-term issues such as incontinence or prolapse.
Emotional and Mental Well-being
Beyond physical benefits, antenatal physiotherapy can have a positive effect on mental wellbeing. Regular movement and exercise boost endorphins, improving mood and reducing stress. Many women find that learning about their bodies and practising exercises tailored to pregnancy provides a sense of empowerment and reassurance.
Continuing Care After Birth
The benefits of antenatal physiotherapy don’t stop at delivery. At Wholesome Physiotherapy we offer a 6-week postnatal appointment in which we discuss your birth, complete an assessment of your abdominal and pelvic floor muscles which then helps to create a tailored exercise program to assist you with regaining strength postpartum. By building a relationship with a physiotherapist during pregnancy, you already have a trusted professional to guide your postpartum journey.
Final Thoughts
Pregnancy may be filled with physical changes, but you don’t need to navigate them alone. Antenatal physiotherapy provides tailored support that helps you stay comfortable, prepare your body for labour and birth, and promote a smoother postpartum recovery. By addressing both physical and emotional wellbeing, it empowers you to approach pregnancy and childbirth with greater confidence and resilience.
If you’re expecting, consider speaking to a women’s health physiotherapist about how antenatal physiotherapy can support you. Investing in your body now can make a world of difference during pregnancy, birth, and beyond.
References: Abdelhakim et al 2020, Antenatal perineal massage benefits in reducing perineal trauma and postpartum morbidities: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.