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Since the beginning of time, women have squatted to give birth.
Whether or not you are actually able to give birth squatting doesn't really matter. What matters is practicing this movement throughout your pregnancy. Why? Because of the strength squatting gives you.
Here are the benefits of squatting:
- There is no compression on the vena cava and the aorta, the major blood supply system that runs through the center of your body.
- Squatting mobilizes the entire pelvic region, widening it as much as 25 percent.
- During labour, squatting produces minimum muscle strain, maximum pressure inside the pelvis, and creates a perfect angle of descent for the baby. It makes gravity work for you, not against you.
- Squatting gives the baby optimal oxygen throughout the process and also relaxes the perineum area to lessen the potential for tearing.
Unless you are on bed rest or your baby is breech in the last six weeks of pregnancy, squatting is the best pregnancy exercise. Source: Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful by Gurmukh.
Learn how to squat for labour
Learn how to meditate for labour
Find out how you can prepare for childbirth with the Prenatal Yoga + Childbirth Education series.
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