2 Tools To Help With Perineum Stretching

Have you heard of perineum stretching?

Perineum stretching is stretching of the muscles and soft tissues of the perineum.

The perineum is the anatomical name for the place between the vagina and the rectum.

This is the most common place that moms tear during vaginal child birth.

The top of the pelvis, and vagina, is made up of bones, your pubic bone and the front of the pelvis. So the bottom of the vagina is where the tissues are going to stretch the most during childbirth and are most likely to tear.

I recommend to all my moms to do perineum stretching during the final weeks of pregnancy, in order to prepare those tissues for birth and to work out any tightness before labor and delivery.

I recommend all my pregnant clients to start doing perineum stretching around 34 or 35 weeks of pregnancy, and then to try to do the perineum stretching 3 times a week for only about 5 minutes each time.

I tell them any amount of stretching they do before labor will be helpful, even if it isn't this often.

However, sometimes it is really difficult to reach around the pregnant belly to get to the pelvic floor muscles to stretch them.

There are a few options for perineum stretching:

1. Stand with a leg up and reach from behind

2. Have your partner do it for you

3. Use a tool to help you

There are two tools to help with perineum stretching available to help you:

1. Pelvic wand (use code Carri for discount at checkout)

2. Perimom (I don't have a discount code for this)

The pelvic wand is curved so it acts like an extension of your arm and then you can use it to sweep around the sides and bottom of the vaginal entrance to stretch the tissues.

The Perimom is a straight bar with what looks like a scoop at the end. It is a little bigger and meant to just be inserted and then give a little pressure to stretch. Less things for you to do.

In the clinic when I give my clients the option they all choose the pelvic wand because they say the Perimom looks intimidating.

If you want more tips to prepare for birth, download my FREE birth guide here.