Breathing Exercises During Pregnancy Third Trimester

You are in your last three months. Your belly is big. Your back hurts. Your feet look like balloons. And on top of all this, you feel you cannot breathe properly. You climb two steps and you are tired. You try to sleep but you cannot find any good position. You feel something is sitting on your breathing exercises during pregnancy third trimester.

This is very common. Do not worry.

Your baby is growing inside you. That baby pushes everything upwards. Your stomach goes up. Your lungs get less space. So you feel breathless. This is not a disease. This is just pregnancy doing its work. But you can help yourself. You do not need any medicine. You do not need any machine. You just need to learn how to use your own breath. Your breath is free. Your breath is always with you. And your breath can make these last three months much easier.

I will tell you five simple exercises. These are not hard. These do not need any special clothes. You can do these sitting on your bed. You can do these lying on your sofa. You can even do these while watching your favourite show on phone. But before we start, one rule. Show this article to your doctor. Ask your doctor if you can do these. Most doctors will say yes. But some women have problems like low placenta or bleeding. For them, some positions are not safe. So ask first. Then do.

What Changes Inside Your Body Now?

Let me explain in very simple words.

Your lungs are two spongy bags inside your chest. When you breathe in, they fill with air. When you breathe out, they become empty. This is normal. But now your uterus is big. Your uterus is the bag where your baby lives. This bag has grown a lot. It pushes up. It pushes your stomach up. It pushes your lungs up from below. So your lungs cannot open fully. That is why you take small quick breaths. Also your blood has increased. Your body made almost two litres of extra blood by now. This blood needs oxygen. So your heart works harder. Your heart pumps faster. All this makes you feel more out of breath. This is not harmful for the baby. Your baby gets oxygen first. Your body gives everything to the baby first. You get whatever is left. So you feel the shortage, not the baby. That is the good news. Your baby is safe.

But you do not have to suffer. These exercises will help you feel better.

Three Rules Before You Start

Rule one. Never force your breath. Let it be gentle. If you force, you will get dizzy. Dizziness is dangerous in third trimester. You can fall. So keep it soft.

Rule two. Breathe from your nose only. Mouth breathing dries your throat. It also makes your heart beat faster. Nose breathing is slower and better. It also cleans the air before it goes to your lungs.

Rule three. Stop if anything feels wrong. If your stomach becomes very hard. If you see stars or dots before your eyes. If your head starts spinning. If your ears start ringing. Stop immediately. Lie down on your left side. Drink some water. Then try again after one hour. If the problem comes again, do not do that exercise. Ask your doctor.

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The Best Way to Sit or Lie Down

Indian homes have hard floors. Sitting on hard floor for long time is not good in third trimester. Your tailbone hurts. Your legs go numb. So use a thick mat or a folded old bedsheet. Keep a small pillow under your bottom. This lifts your hips a little. Your belly gets some space.

If sitting on floor is too hard, then sit on a chair. Any normal dining chair works. Keep your back straight. Do not lean back fully. Keep your feet flat on the floor. Do not cross your legs. Keep your hands on your thighs. Keep your shoulders relaxed. Do not pull your shoulders up like you are scared.

If you want to lie down, never lie on your back. Lying on back presses a big blood vessel. This vessel brings blood to your baby. Pressing it is bad. So always lie on your left side. Bend your knees slightly. Keep one pillow between your knees. Keep another pillow under your belly. This is the most comfortable position for third trimester.

Now let us start the exercises.

Exercise One: Slow Belly Breathing

This exercise teaches you to use your belly, not your chest.

Lie down on your left side. Keep one hand on your belly. Keep the other hand on your chest. Close your eyes.

Now breathe in from your nose. Take three seconds to breathe in. Feel your belly rise. Your belly should push your hand upward. Your chest should not move. Keep your chest still.

Then breathe out from your mouth. Take six seconds to breathe out. Feel your belly fall down. Your hand will also come down. Let all the air leave your belly. Do not leave half air. Leave everything. Then wait for two seconds. Do not breathe in immediately. Let your body rest for two seconds. Then breathe in again for three seconds. Breathe out for six seconds. Keep doing this. Do this for five minutes only. After five minutes, breathe normally for one minute. Then do again for five minutes. When will you feel the benefit? Right away. After two rounds, your shoulders will drop. Your jaw will relax. Your heartbeat will become slower. You will feel your whole body become loose. Do this exercise when you feel very tired. Do this when you come back home from outside. Do this before sleeping.

Exercise Two: Four Part Breathing

This exercise is very good for your mind. Third trimester brings many worries. Will the delivery hurt too much? Will the baby be fine? What if I cannot handle the pain? These thoughts keep running in your head. They make your body tight. A tight body feels more pain.

• This exercise has four parts. Each part takes four seconds. So total one round takes sixteen seconds.
• Sit on your chair or your mat. Keep your back straight. Keep your eyes open or closed. Your choice.
• Part one. Breathe in from your nose for four seconds. Fill your lungs slowly. Do not fill them fully. Fill them comfortably.
• Part two. Hold that breath for four seconds. Do not close your nose with your fingers. Just stop breathing gently. Do not make any face. Keep your face normal.
• Part three. Breathe out from your mouth for four seconds. Let the air leave slowly. Do not push. Just let it come out.
• Part four. Wait for four seconds. Do not breathe. Your lungs will be empty for four seconds. This feels strange at first. But you will get used to it.

Then start again from part one.

Do this eight times. That means eight rounds. After eight rounds, you will feel a clear calmness in your head. Your thoughts will slow down. Your heart will feel breathing exercises during pregnancy third trimester.

Do this exercise before going to the hospital for any checkup. Do this when you wake up in the middle of the night and cannot go back to sleep. Do this when your mother in law says something that makes you angry.

Exercise Three: Small Lip Breathing

This is for those moments when you feel you cannot get enough air. You feel like you are choking. You feel like you will faint. This happens often in third trimester. Especially after eating a big meal. Or after climbing stairs. Or after talking for too long.

This exercise is very simple. It works in one minute.

Close your lips like you are going to blow on hot tea. Keep a small opening in the middle. Not too small. Just enough that air can come out slowly. Now breathe in from your nose for two seconds. Very short breath. Do not take a deep breath.

Then breathe out from your small lip opening for four seconds. The air will come out like a soft wind. Do not force. Let the air flow on its own. Do this ten times. After ten breaths, your panic will go away. Your chest will feel lighter. You will feel you have enough air again. Why does this work? Because when you breathe out through small lips, the air moves slowly. Slow moving air keeps your air tubes open. Open air tubes let more old air leave your lungs. When old air leaves, fresh air can enter easily. That is all. Keep this exercise in your mind always. Whenever breathlessness comes, do small lip breathing. Do not take deep fast breaths. Deep fast breaths make things worse. Small lip breathing makes things better.

Exercise Four: Breathing for Labour Day

This exercise prepares you for the hospital. Labour pain is not like leg pain or back pain. Labour pain comes and goes. It comes like a wave. It grows slowly. Then it becomes big. Then it goes away. Your breathing should also come and go like that. Sit in your comfortable position. Keep your hands on your lower belly. Close your eyes.

Take a slow deep breath from your nose. Take four seconds for this. As you breathe in, feel your belly fill from the bottom first. Then the middle fills. Then the top fills near your chest. This is like pouring water into a glass. Bottom fills first, then top. Then breathe out slowly from your mouth. Take eight seconds for this. As you breathe out, make a very soft sound like "aaa" from your throat. Do not open your mouth fully. Keep lips slightly closed. The sound should come from your throat only. Not your mouth.

Keep doing this. In four seconds, out eight seconds. With soft aaa sound. On the labour day, when a pain starts, you will take a deep breath in. Then you will breathe out slowly with the aaa sound. This will stop you from holding your breath. Women hold breath during pain without knowing. Holding breath makes pain worse. Letting breath out slowly makes pain easier. Practice this every single day. Do ten rounds every evening. By the time your delivery comes, your body will know this breathing pattern by heart. You will not have to think. Your body will just do it.

Exercise Five: Breathing to Remove Swelling

Many women have swollen feet in third trimester. Their shoes do not fit. Their ankles look like potatoes. This happens because blood flow becomes slow. Slow blood means water stays in your feet instead of going back to your heart.

This exercise helps push that water back.

Lie on your left side. Keep your feet slightly higher than your body. You can keep a thick pillow under your feet. Now do the slow belly breathing we learned first. Breathe in for three seconds. Breathe out for six seconds. But add one thing. When you breathe out, imagine the breath is moving from your feet to your chest. Imagine all the water from your feet is flowing up. This is a mind trick. But it works. Your blood moves with your breath.

Do this for ten minutes every evening. Keep your feet up the whole time. After ten minutes, you will see your feet look less swollen. The skin will feel less tight. Your slippers will fit better. Do this every day without missing. Swelling will not go fully away. But it will be much less. And you will feel lighter.

When You Must Stop Everything?

These exercises are safe. But some signs mean you should stop and call your doctor.

• If you see any blood. Even one drop of blood. Stop everything. Call your doctor. Go to hospital.
• If your lower back hurts badly and the pain does not go away even after changing position. This can be a sign of early labour.
• If you feel a sudden strong pain in your upper belly on the right side. This can be a liver problem. Some women get this in third trimester.
• If your head hurts very badly and you see flashes of light. This can be high blood pressure.
• If the baby stops moving or moves much less than before. Do not wait. Go to hospital.
• If you have trouble breathing even when you are resting. If you cannot complete a sentence without gasping for air. This is not normal pregnancy breathlessness. This needs a doctor.
• So remember. These exercises help you feel better. But they are not treatment for any problem. If something feels wrong, stop and call your doctor.

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How to Remember to Do These Every Day?

Most women do these exercises for two days and then forget. That is normal. Pregnancy brain is real. You forget everything. So use these small tricks. Keep a small bottle of water near your bed. Every time you see that bottle, do one round of belly breathing. Just one round. That is enough.

• Keep a rubber band on your wrist. Every time you feel the rubber band, do small lip breathing for five breaths.
• Do labour breathing every time you go to the toilet. Yes, every single time. Within three days, it will become a habit.
• Do four part breathing every time you finish your meal. After lunch, after dinner, after evening tea. Just four rounds.
• Do not try to do all exercises together for one hour. That will tire you. Spread them through the day. Two minutes here. Three minutes there. This works much better.

What Real Women Feel After Doing This?

• I have seen many women do these exercises. After one week, they tell me the same things.
• They say their sleep is better. They wake up less number of times at night. When they wake up, they go back to sleep faster.
• They say their worry is less. The fear of delivery becomes smaller. They feel more ready.
• They say their breathlessness is less. They can walk to the corner shop without stopping.
• They say their swelling is less. Their rings fit better. Their shoes fit better.
• They say the false labour pains feel less intense. They can handle them better.

So this is not just talk. This really works. But you have to do it every day. One day will not change anything. Seven days will change a lot. Thirty days will change everything.

A Small Request to You

You are doing a big job. You are carrying a new life. That is hard work. Nobody sees this work. Nobody gives you a salary for this work. But your body knows. Your body is working day and night.

So be kind to yourself. Do not push yourself too hard. If you are too tired, skip the exercises. If you are not in the mood, skip. There is no police. There is no exam. You are not going to fail.

But whenever you have five minutes free, just breathe. Breathe slowly. Breathe deeply. That itself is enough.

Your baby feels every breath you take. When you breathe calmly, your baby feels calm. Your heartbeat slows down. Your baby's heartbeat also slows down. You both become peaceful together.

So keep breathing. Keep resting. Keep loving your big belly. Your baby will be in your arms very soon. And then these breathing exercises will help you again. New mothers also get tired. New mothers also need calm breathing. So what you learn now will help you for many more months.