Your Body. Your Birth

4 tips 👇

I'm Jess, a Pelvic PT & Birth Coach. I'm on a mission to help you prepare & protect your pelvic floor.

👇Based on research & what I've learned in my postdoc training. And, from working with 1000s of women!!

💗Birth Plan Ideas
👉I can also teach YOU this in detail! Comment "protect" to start the EXACT coursemy clients and now 1025+ online clients have followed 👏.

#1 I'd like to avoid an episiotomy
👉episiotomies are surgical cuts through your pelvic floor muscles.
👉they should NOT be routine and should be used in emergency situations only
👉some research indicates episiotomies may increase your risk for severe tearing

Be curious and question your provider's rates of episiotomy use! It should be used less than 5% of births they attend.

#2 I don't want to be coached on how to push
👉Typically, the birth team will encourage you to "purple push" which increases your risk for tears, hemorrhoids, postpartum prolapse, and incontinence.
👉know alternative push options and practice them!

#3 I want to birth in ANY position that feels right
👉the standard position for birthing (on your back, knees pulled to chest) will actually INCREASE your risk for tears!
👉any other position is better for your pelvic floor. IF you chose to birth on your back, there is a modification that can help!
👉yes, even with an epidural, you should have more options than just "on your back"

Talk with your provider BEFORE the big day on what your birth positioning options are.

🚩They may say, "You can labor however you want, but it's best to birth on your back," and then you can ask, "Who is that best for?"

#4 I don't want anyone yelling "push" when baby is crowning.
👉a slow and steady exit is where it's at!

It may take some tough conversations. But it's worth it, I promise. Often, birth teams aren't thinking beyond the birth and the impact it can have on your pelvic floor.

But I am! And you should, too.

So, make sure to follow along here for more supportive tips.

And comment "protect" and let me show you exactly how to prepare and protect your pelvic floor during birth 🙌

Jess 💚

If you're having a hospital birth, you need to hear this.

(And if you want step by step support through this and other proven ways to reduce tear risk — comment PROTECT and I'll send it all)

Most tearing isn't random.

A lot of it comes down to what happens in the room — and most people don't find out until after.

Here are 4 common hospital practices that can raise your tear risk (and what to ask/do instead):

1. Episiotomies

Still used routinely in some hospitals — even though they're meant for emergencies only.

They can actually increase severe tearing risk.
→ Ask your provider their rate. Over 10%? Have that conversation now, not in labor.

2. Purple (coached) pushing

Breath-holding + hard pushing = massive pelvic floor pressure.

→ Risks: tearing, hemorrhoids, prolapse, leaking. Open-glottis pushing (breathing through it) is a much gentler first move.

3. Pushing the second you hit 10cm

Full dilation ≠ baby is low enough. Pushing too early means more effort, more swelling, more strain.

→ Waiting for your natural urge (laboring down) can protect your floor.

4. Flat-on-your-back position

This literally narrows your pelvic outlet. Less space = more pressure.

→ Almost any other position is more pelvic-floor friendly. Even small tweaks on your back help.

You deserve to know this before you're in the moment.

And how you start prepping now matters, too!

💬 Comment PROTECT and I'll send you details on how I help mamas prep for a lower-tear risk birth from the inside out.

Jess 💚

Tearing isn't as random as you've been led to believe.

I'm Jess 👋, a Pelvic PT who talks nonstop about protecting va**nas during birth on FB 🤣

If you've been quietly worried about tearing… you're far from alone.

That fear you're carrying makes sense.

But here's what most moms never get told:

tearing isn't just bad luck.

There are real, specific factors that make it more or less likely.

The things that actually matter:

👉 How prepared your body is going into birth
👉 Whether your pelvic floor can release (strength alone isn't the goal)
👉 How and when you push
👉 The position you're in while pushing
👉 Your provider's habits and routines

Most moms are handed one instruction: push.
But birth tends to go more smoothly with three things in place:

✨ space
✨ breath
✨ the right support

That's the whole foundation of what I teach here.

If you want practical, body-aware ways to prepare for birth and protect your pelvic floor, comment PREP to learn more about my Pelvic Floor Protection System. 👋

Jess 💚

Here 👇

During birth, you'll want your pelvic floor to respond like taffy 🍬. It needs to be pliable and yield to your baby passing through.

🌟It can stretch 250% more than its original length without injury 🤯. And I can show you exactly how to do this!

I'm Jess, a pelvic PT and birth coach on a mission to help you birth a 🍉 through a 🍑 with minimal impact!

Here are a few examples to prep your pelvis and pelvic floor for birth 👇:

1️⃣ hands & knees rock back: work on sitting back as far as you comfortably can WITHOUT tucking your tailbone under.
👉Pair this with whole core breath and feel the connection to your pelvic floor.

✨️Want more? Comment "breath" and I'll send ya a little something for free 😍

2️⃣ Cat/cow-ish: can you tuck and untuck only from your pelvis and separate the movement from your ribs and spine?
👉Inhale untuck, breathing to your pelvic floor and exhale as you tuck.

3️⃣ Pelvic release with ball: sit on a small, squishy ball, right between your sitz bones.
👉Roll forward/back, side to side and circles, working on breathing and releasing all the way down to the ball.

Your postpartum pelvis will thank you for being prepared for your birth.

Jess 💚

Not everything in birth is about doing more…

Sometimes it’s about letting your body do what it already knows how to do.

Your pelvic floor isn’t meant to force baby out—
it’s meant to open, soften, and yield.
Just like this 🌸

It can stretch up to 2.5x its original length.

And the uterus continues to do its job of pushing baby down and out.

But all that 👆 happens best when you’re not bracing or holding your breath.

Instead👇

✨ Inhale → pelvic floor drops, softens, begins to open

✨ Exhale (open mouth / relaxed throat) → supports that opening + blooming

Think: slow, steady, supported stretch… not force.

This is one of those small shifts that can make pushing feel so much more intentional and less chaotic.

Comment “BREATH” and I’ll send you another visual to help this click even more.

Jess 💚

Intro 📹 getroastedai

Here 👇

To be fair, those forhead veins were already popped out 😂 because I recorded this 6 times prior, but you can see they get worse!

And...

Purple pushing puts a LOT of pressure on your pelvic floor, too.

It may increase your risks for

❌️ perineal and va**nal tears
❌️ postpartum incontinence
❌️ hemorrhoids
❌️ pelvic organ prolapse

Being a new mom 🤱 is hard enough without having to deal with all of that 👆, too.

Here are THREE things I'd highly recommend you do!

1️⃣ comment "push" to learn what you can do instead (I've typed it all up and will send it right over!)

2️⃣ Go to stories to learn more (purple pushing is a standard practice in hospital births, and it may surprise you why!)

3️⃣ FOLLOW along here for more (also important to do ☆BEFORE☆ you comment so you can get my tips sent without a glitch)

I do wanna add this 👇

There is a time and place (possibly!) to use a purple push strategy. For example, prior to using forceps or vacuum or heading into an unplanned Cesarean.

HOWEVER it just shouldn't be the first or only strategy you use in an otherwise healthy, non emergency situation.

Jess 💚

If you’re planning a hospital birth, read this.

I'm Jess 👋, a pelvic PT & birth coach, sharing daily tips to help you birth well and protect your body so...

make sure to hit follow!!

Some “standard” practices can increase your tear risk. Not because anyone is trying to harm you, but because routine does not always mean lowest risk.

And if I'm honest, I'd tell you no amount of perineall massage or warm compress can change that.

Here are 4 things to think about:

1️⃣ Episiotomy
They are meant for rare emergencies.
But in some hospitals, they are still used routinely.

They can increase the risk of severe tearing.

Ask your provider their episiotomy rate. If it’s over 10%, that’s worth a deeper conversation.

2️⃣ Coached (purple) pushing
Holding your breath and pushing hard increases pressure on your pelvic floor.

That can raise your risk for:
• tearing
• hemorrhoids
• prolapse
• leaking

Start with open-glottis pushing (breathing through your pushes). More force may be needed sometimes, but it shouldn’t be the first move.

3️⃣ Pushing at 10 cm
Just because you’re fully dilated doesn’t mean baby is low enough.

Pushing too early =
• ¹ pushing
• more strain
• more swelling

Waiting for the natural urge to push (laboring down) can protect your pelvic floor. It has pros and cons so talk to your provider.

4️⃣ Birth position
On your back with knees pulled up creates less space at the outlet.

Less space = more strain.

Almost any other position is more pelvic-floor friendly. And even on your back, small tweaks can help.You deserve to know this before you’re in the moment.

If you’re pregnant and want practical, body-aware birth prep:

👉 Follow along!

Jess 💚

Apparently I’ve been saying it wrong all these years 🥺🤦‍♀️

Please comment "PUBLIC" below if you still find my public floor content helpful!

Jess 💚

I say this as a pelvic PT.

I've supported so many women through healing after a tear.

Perineal massage isn't bad. And might even help!

But it's become the one answer everyone gives when you ask how to protect your va**na during birth.

And that leaves out the things that actually move the needle more. And massage alone can't touch most of them.

Real protection means understanding how all of these work together. Most birth prep classes never get there.

Comment BEYOND and I'll walk you through the risk factors that matter beyond perineal massage.

Your v@gina thanks you 😘

Jess 💚