At what point does walking help the labor process?

lkaylee721

I'm not in labor yet, I'm just asking about it helping with dilating and all those things.. Is there a certain amount of time, like. An HR a day at a certain pace or pretty much any amount of walking/standing upright helps?

danieliza1127

From what I've read, it's just the walking and standing that helps the baby drop lower into position and helps your cervix dilate, mostly due to gravity.  It won't induce labor though unless you're already ready anyway.  I've read that walking up and down stairs or on a curb with one foot on the curb and one on the street also helps for getting baby into position. 

PepperStick

Like PP said, just walking/standing in general will help. With DD, I wasn't dilated at all at 39ish weeks. I went for a walk everyday after that for like 15 minutes, a week later I was dilated to 1, had my membranes stripped then had DD the next day. I was overdue with her by 3 days so that might have made a difference too.

I plan on going for daily walks around 38 weeks this time around. 

poison489

At any point it is good.  Helps the baby get in to proper position, helps the baby drop, helps labor progress, etc. etc.

lizziealyssa

I've been walking an hour every morning since I hit the third trimester, and it has helped a lot!  Baby has dropped and is in perfect position plus I'm dilated to a 1.  Not that this would happen to everyone, but I thank my daily walks for this personally. 

k.martell

For me it was a change of scenery and to distract myself from the discomfort of the contractions.  I'd just go for laps around the L&D ward.  No clue if it helped or not, I didn't considerably dilate or efface until the hour before DD was born.

terri_doula2010

In really early labor it is actually better to eat and rest, since it could take a long time and you don't want to wear yourself out.

When you are in "active labor" (starting around 4cm...with timeable contractions getting closer together) is when walking helps the most.

InfinityDreamer

Walking is great as a general daily activity to keep your blood circulating well and to prevent muscle atrophy.  No matter when you start it it's going to help your overall physical stamina which makes labor easier, and will help bring baby down due to gravity.

With both my previous labors I felt absolutely compelled to be outside walking.  I just found it so calming and pleasant.  With DS I walked at the beach for most of the day until it began getting dark.  With DD I went for an easy hike in the morning, and then walked several laps around the "lake" at a local park with DS and DH before lunch.  In both cases we later realized I had been walking almost until I began transition, which made the rest of labor seem to pass by really quickly.

I imagine that as long you aren't exerting yourself to the point of exhaustion its going to be helpful at any point during labor.