Relaxation is still a very important part of your pregnancy workout. If you've become attached to one particular position for exercise, work very hard on trying other positions. You can even learn to do mental and emotional relaxation while sitting at your desk or on a birth ball.

Involve Your Partner

See if you can get your partner to help you do your relaxation exercises. This will help you as you prepare to work together during the labor and birth of your baby. Try to do this several times a week, and not always at bedtime.

If you can have your partner help you with the relaxation, also try to “write” a scenario together for you to be led through during a relaxation session. By doing this together, you can find one that works well for both of you. This way, no one winds up rolling in laughter on the floor during labor.

One technique you can do is to have your partner remind you of a favorite vacation, romantic dinner, or any other nice time you've had together. Remember to hit all of your senses when you write this scene. It should include how you felt physically, what you were wearing, what sounds you heard, smells that were present … basically anything you can remember. This works better if it's something that you've actually lived through.

Another idea is to have your partner tell you about the birth of your baby. I call this the ideal birth exercise. While this exercise is not one that you've actually lived through, the repetition of this scene can help you refine your ideal birth and become more accepting of alternatives. This also plays to the power of positive thinking. By reminding yourself of a healthy, positive experience, you can actually help make that a reality and feel more comfortable with the experience to come.