Squats*

*I KNOW you know what these are!

One of the best positions to give birth in is squatting. It allows the pelvis to open up about 10% more than in any other position and also gets full participation from gravity. However, since the pushing phase can last a few hours, don't expect to just squat down when you're ready to deliver. You need to practice starting yesterday. No, no, no, don't get discouraged, starting today :). If you already have a child, chances are you squat down quite a bit to get down to his or her level on a daily basis. Yes, this is one area where I have drastically improved since last time around!

You can start small, you just want to be able to increase your stamina by the time your due date rolls around. (I could go look up the information in my Bradley book for their guidelines, but it's upstairs and I'm lazy, instead, go sign up for a Bradley class)

If you are planning on giving birth in a hospital, make sure to ask if they have squat bars. These are medieval-looking contraptions that allow for a bar to be secured at the base of the labor bed so you can squat down there. (Don't get me started on why they just won't let you squat on the floor instead of balancing precariously on the edge of a narrow bed) A lot of hospitals do have them now. Of course, you could always just stay off the bed during the long stretches of time when nobody is bothering to check on you anyway. Birth centers and home births won't have any problems with this.