With all the changes that can happen during pregnancy, it’s easy to feel like you’ve lost control of your body. I’m expecting my first baby in a few weeks, so I get it. Luckily, I had the energy to stay active throughout most of my pregnancy — keeping up with strength training and pilates classes, making the necessary modifications, of course. Still, as my due date approached, I wondered if I had done enough to prepare for birth and postpartum recovery.

So I began to see Gabriela Majcher, DPTOpens a new windowa New Jersey-based physical therapist specializing in the pelvic floor, with about 30 weeks to tackle everything from low back pain and core strength to hip mobility and push preparation. I now feel more confident in my body’s abilities, I know my anatomy better, and my lower back pain is basically non-existent.

Plus, the carryover effects are significant. Doing this prep work can help reduce the risk of incontinence and pelvic pain after childbirth, she says Kristen Lettenberger PT, DPT, CSCS, P&PAOpens a new windowdirector of Bespoke Women at Bespoke Physical Therapy in New York. The bottom line: “Everything you do during pregnancy allows for a better recovery,” adds Majcher.

With that in mind, Majcher and Lettenberger share their favorite pregnancy tips, moves, and practices to help you have the best possible labor and postpartum recovery.

1. Start preparing as soon as possible.

When I told Majcher that pregnancy is like running a marathon, she said that’s exactly how moms should think about a typical 40-week pregnancy, not to mention labor and postpartum.

“You wouldn’t run a marathon without training, so how can you expect your body to respond to all the changes of pregnancy for nine-plus months without training?” says Majcher. “If I said you had to hold a dumbbell, which is getting heavier and heavier, for the next nine months, you’d want to strengthen all your muscles responsible for holding that dumbbell.”

Everything you do during pregnancy helps you recover better.

— Gabriela Majcher, DPT

That’s why she recommends building the muscles around your baby—pelvic floor, core, hips, glutes—to help your body adjust to the extra weight and prepare for labor.

Whether you’re six weeks or six months pregnant, “it’s never too late to support your body during pregnancy,” Lettenberger says. Exercise during pregnancy “may reduce the risk of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, preterm birth and low birth weight,” she adds. “It also improves postpartum outcomes, reducing the risk of prolonged pelvic floor dysfunction.”

2. Adjust your routine during pregnancy.

It helps to think about what to do based on how far along you are in your pregnancy, Lettenberger says. Your first trimester is a great time to educate yourself about your changing body and its needs, and to develop a routine—while monitoring fatigue levels, which can be high these first few months, she says. The second trimester is typically when most women feel more energetic and can exercise more often. This is also when you’ll likely need to start making some modifications to your workouts to accommodate your growing belly and changes in your center of gravity, she adds.

As a general rule, the first and second trimesters are for strengthening the pelvic floor and core, and the third trimester is all about training to release the pelvic floor and open the hips to prepare for labor, explains Lettenberger.

3. Make modifications as needed.

If you’re pregnant, you should get your doctor’s approval before starting any physical therapy or exercise routine.) You’ll want to check what’s right, as advice can vary depending on the complications you have, but mobility and breath work are it’s generally considered safe, Lettenberger says.

And if you have a planned C-section coming up (or end up with an unplanned one), strengthening your pelvic floor and core now can help you recover from this major abdominal surgery, Majcher says. Working with a physical therapist after childbirth can help you get rid of scar tissue, rebuild your pelvic floor muscles, and strengthen your abdominal wall, Lettenberger adds.

4. Try these strengthening moves.

These moves are great for strengthening your core, which can ease back pain during pregnancy. By incorporating Kegels into your ab workout, you’ll also be training that mind-muscle connection, which can help postpartum.

Bird dog

1. Start on all fours with knees under hips and palms under shoulders. Take a breath.
2. Exhale as you extend your right arm and left leg in front or behind you, while performing a kegel at the same time. Pause.
3. Inhale as you release the pelvic floor and return to the starting position on all fours.
4. Repeat on the opposite side, extending the left arm and right leg and performing a kegel at the top of the movement.
5. After you are fully extended, pause before returning to the starting position.

Bear board

1. Start on all fours with knees under hips and palms under shoulders. Your spine should be in a neutral position (not arched or rounded) and your toes should be curled under.
2. Take a breath.
3. Exhale as you lift your knees to float slightly off the floor as you engage your core. Hold here for 10 to 20 seconds, making sure not to hold your breath, before returning to the starting position.

5. Work on releasing the pelvic floor and increasing flexibility in the hips.

As you enter the third trimester, you will have a deeper focus on pelvic floor release and hip mobility. These exercises address both.

Supported deep squat

1. Stand in front of a sturdy rack or pole with a heavy resistance band attached to the top. Grab the band and step back far enough to create enough tension to feel stable and supported. (You can also do this by just holding on to a post or door frame.)
2. Holding the band, inhale and then exhale as you slowly bend your knees to come into a deep squat.
3. Pause at the bottom and think about releasing your pelvic floor muscles to lower them closer to the floor.
4. Inhale as you press through your heels to return to a standing position.

Hip matrix

1. Start in a semi-kneeling position with your left knee on the ground and your right leg placed in front of you.
2. Take a breath. Exhale to step your right leg further in front of you as you push your hips forward to stretch your left hip flexor.
3. Inhale, then exhale as you lift your right leg and lower it back to the floor in a 45-degree position, diagonally across the top right corner of your space.
4. Push your hips forward to stretch your left hip flexor from this angle.
5. Inhale, then exhale as you step your right leg out to the side at a 90-degree angle, performing the same hip flexor lunge. (Note: Your toes and knees should follow the side angles during this movement.)
6. Switch sides to perform a triangular hip matrix by moving the left leg and stretching the right hip flexor.

Adductor rock

1. Start on all fours with knees under hips and palms under shoulders. Extend your right leg straight out to the side with the foot flat on the floor and toes pointing forward.
2. Hinges in the hips to swing the buttocks towards the heels (without a full recline). This should create a stretch in the inner thigh of the right, extended leg.
3. Swing forward to starting position.
4. Continue rocking back and forth. Then switch sides, extending your left leg straight out to the side.

6. Practice breath work, down posture, and work positions.

During the third trimester, you’ll want to start practicing breathing techniques while carrying. (This is relaxing your pelvic floor and releasing those muscles, mimicking how you’d expel a stream of urine…or a baby.) You can do this while in various birthing positions, Majcher says.

By practicing that movement pattern in the third trimester before birth, your brain and body should remember how to do it when it’s time to give birth, she says. This is because your brain and body need at least two to three weeks to make new connections (called neuromuscular re-education).

7. Try a perineal massage.

With the practice of loosening the pelvic floor muscles and hip mobility, around the 34th to 35th week of pregnancy you can generally begin to stretch the perineum, the skin between the vaginal opening and the anus.

Starting a routine perineal massage during the last few weeks of pregnancy has been shown to reduce the risk of tearing, Lettenberger says. With your OB in order, a pelvic floor therapist can show you how to massage and stretch this sensitive area.

Try this: Insert a finger or perineal swab about an inch into the vaginal canal. Press the right side of the perineum and hold when you feel the stretch for 30 to 60 seconds. Repeat on the left side and then on the bottom for the same amount of time. Finally, draw a U-shape with your finger or stick following the sides and bottom of the vaginal opening for 30 seconds.

While you already have a lot on your plate during pregnancy (registry buildinggoing to all your prenatal appointments, choosing a name…), don’t forget to add one more thing to your list: self-care. By doing these exercises, you will help prepare your body and mind for pregnancy, labor and postpartum. I know I’m glad.