4-WEEK BIRTH PREP PROGRAM · FROM A WOMEN'S HEALTH PHYSIO
Feel calm, prepared and in control of your pelvic floor for birth
Without hours of antenatal classes, even if you've only ever been taught to squeeze.
Ready to Birth is my step-by-step birth prep and pelvic floor relaxation program. Start it at home tonight, in ten minutes a day.
✓ Instant PDF download ✓ 39 pages ✓ Lifetime updates
THIS IS FOR YOU IF…
You're pregnant, and the thought on repeat is "I don't want to tear."
Maybe you also want to do everything you can to avoid an emergency caesarean. And you've already tried to prepare:
You've done your Kegels
Squeezing because you were told to, without a plan for the day itself.
You've booked the hospital class
Great for what happens on the ward. Not much on your pelvic floor.
You've read the birth stories
Now you're more anxious than when you started.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
Here's how birth prep usually goes
1
You've been told to "do your pelvic floor exercises." Nobody mentioned you also need to know how to relax it.
2
You search "how to prepare for birth" at 11pm. You get horror stories, a hundred opinions and nothing made for your body.
3
Someone mentions tearing and you quietly panic. You've no idea what actually lowers your risk.
4
Antenatal classes are booked out, expensive, or on the one weekend you don't have.
5
Your appointments are short. You walk out with more questions than you walked in with.
6
So you hope your body will just know what to do on the day.
Rinse and repeat until your baby is born
Letting go is a skill, and skills can be learned.
MEET YOUR PHYSIO
I've been the pregnant woman with the bump and the questions.
I'm Sarah Percy, a Doctor of Physiotherapy and Women's Health Physiotherapist. For nine years I've sat across from pregnant women in my clinic, and the question I hear more than any other is "What can I actually do to prepare my body for birth?"
I'm also a mum of two girls, so I know what it's like to lie awake with a list of worries and no clear plan.
Ready to Birth is my answer to that question. It's everything I teach in a one-on-one birth prep session, written so you can do it at home, at your own pace, without the fear.
Doctor of Physiotherapy · Women's Health Physiotherapist · 9 years in pelvic health · Mum of two
THE PART NO ONE TELLS YOU
You've been taught to squeeze your pelvic floor. Birth asks you to let go.
As your baby moves down, your pelvic floor has to lengthen, soften and move out of the way. A muscle that's always switched on, from stress, bracing or years of "sucking in", finds that much harder. Most women don't know theirs is tense until someone shows them.
150%
roughly how far most skeletal muscles can stretch from resting length
350%+
how far your pelvic floor muscles stretch as your baby is born
An overactive pelvic floor and pushing for longer than 90 minutes can increase your risk of pelvic floor injury. Ready to Birth teaches you to feel the difference between "on" and "off", then practise letting go in the positions and breathing you'll use on the day.
WHAT'S INSIDE
Your first win comes in the first ten minutes
YOUR FIRST WIN · DAY 1
In your first session you'll learn belly breathing and feel your pelvic floor soften and drop as you breathe in, often for the very first time. Everything else in the program builds on that one feeling.
CHAPTERS 1–2
Finally understand what tearing is, and what actually lowers your risk
Plus the questions to take to your next appointment.
CHAPTER 3
Know how to switch your pelvic floor off on purpose
Belly breathing and a body scan you'll use between contractions.
CHAPTER 4
Prepare your perineum for the stretch of crowning
Perineal massage step by step, with a page to share with your partner.
CHAPTER 5
Know exactly what to do each day for four weeks
Five short sessions a week, with tick boxes so you can see your progress.
CHAPTERS 6–7
Have your go-to positions ready before labour starts
Hip-opening stretches and first and second stage positions, with photos.
CHAPTER 8
Decide on TENS with confidence
How it works, the boost button, and whether it's right for you.
CHAPTER 9
Feel ready if your birth ends in a caesarean
Planned or not: what to practise and how to plan ahead.
CHAPTERS 10–11
Walk out the door with nothing forgotten
A hospital bag list that isn't overwhelming, and a one-page Birth Day Cheat Sheet for your partner.
SNEAK PEEK · CHAPTER 4
Perineal massage, step by step
No guessing. You'll get numbered steps with a clear illustration, how much pressure to use, what's normal and what isn't, when to start and when to skip it. Plus a page your partner can follow, so you can fully relax.
SNEAK PEEK · WEEK 4
Exactly how to let go, every day
Each week builds on the last. In Week 4 you'll practise breathing into your perineum and the feeling of softening and opening, in five short sessions with a time, a position and a tick box. Most take under ten minutes.
YOUR BIRTH PREP TIMELINE
Exactly what to do, and when
No guessing what's next. The guide maps your prep to your weeks of pregnancy.
FROM
28 wks
Learn & begin
Read the first three chapters and start your 4-week program.
FROM
34 wks
Perineal massage
5–10 minutes, at least twice a week, alongside your program.
FROM
36 wks
Get practical
Pack your bag and practise birth positions with your support person.
FROM
37 wks
Keep letting go
Daily relaxation breathing, and your cheat sheet in your bag.
IN THEIR WORDS
What mums say about using it
"My husband wanted me to say thank you for your birth prep guide haha it was like his bible and it meant I didn't have to keep repeating myself 😂😂"
Instagram message
"The hospital bag checklist was EXACTLY what I needed and I love that it wasn't too overwhelming as a first time mumma"
Instagram message
AND THE RESEARCH AGREES
Antenatal perineal massage is one of the best-studied ways to prepare your perineum. A 2020 review of randomised trials found, on average:
64%
lower risk of 3rd and 4th degree tears
70%
lower risk of anal incontinence
21%
lower risk of episiotomy
~6 min
shorter pushing stage
Abdelhakim AM, et al. Int Urogynecol J. 2020. Results are averages across groups of women, not a promise for any one birth.
AN HONEST NOTE FROM ME
I can't promise you a certain kind of birth. No one honestly can.
Your baby's size and position, how your labour unfolds and the decisions your care team need to make on the day are not things any of us can fully control. Sometimes a caesarean or an assisted birth is the safest path, and that is never a failure.
What you can do is lower your risk wherever the evidence says it's possible, understand your body and your options, and go into labour feeling prepared rather than afraid. That's what Ready to Birth is for. Whatever kind of birth you have, that preparation is never wasted.
Sarah
STILL WONDERING?
"But what if…"
I'm already 36 weeks. Is it too late?
No. Start where you are. The program is four weeks, but every session works on its own, and you'll learn the core breathing technique in your first ten minutes. The cheat sheet, positions and hospital bag list are useful right up to the day.
Can this help me avoid an emergency caesarean?
No guide can promise how your birth will go, and I won't pretend otherwise. What I can give you is preparation for the parts you can influence: a pelvic floor that knows how to let go, positions that help your baby move down, and pushing practice so you're not pushing against yourself. And if a caesarean does happen, there's a chapter to help you feel ready for that too.
I don't have time for another thing.
Most sessions take under ten minutes, Monday to Friday. Some you can do sitting on the couch, and the body scan is done lying down at the end of your day.
My hospital class already covers this.
Hospital classes are great for the stages of labour and what to expect on the ward. Most don't teach you how to relax your pelvic floor, how to do perineal massage, or have you practise pushing positions. That's exactly the gap this guide fills, and it works alongside any class.
Shouldn't my body just know what to do?
Your body is made for this. But many women carry tension in their pelvic floor without realising, and an overactive pelvic floor can increase your risk of tearing. Four weeks of practice can make letting go feel familiar by the time you need it.
How will I know I'm doing it right?
Every technique is broken into numbered steps with simple cues, like imagining your breath travelling down into your pelvic floor, plus photos of each position. If you want hands-on reassurance, the guide tells you when it's worth seeing a pelvic health physio.
Is it safe for me?
It's written by a registered physiotherapist and based on current research and clinical guidelines. As with any exercise in pregnancy, check in with your midwife, obstetrician or GP before you start, especially if your pregnancy is high risk. The guide lists exactly when to skip a technique.
Will it help with recovery after birth?
Ready to Birth is all about preparing for birth. For the days straight after, add The First 2 Weeks at checkout: your quick-start guide to your first wee and poo, perineal care, stitches and caesarean recovery. A full Pelvic HQ recovery guide is coming soon.
Is it a physical book?
It's an instant PDF download, so you can read it on your phone, tablet or laptop, or print the pages you want to keep handy, like the Birth Day Cheat Sheet.
You only meet your baby for the first time once. Let's get you there ready, not scared. Come and prepare with me!
FOUNDING MEMBER PRICE
Walk into labour knowing what to do with your body
Usually $97
$47 USD · founding price
- ✓ The full 39-page Ready to Birth guide
- ✓ Your 4-week program with daily tick boxes
- ✓ Perineal massage how-to, with a page for your partner
- ✓ Birth positions, hip-opening stretches and TENS guide
- ✓ Caesarean prep chapter
- ✓ Hospital bag checklist and Birth Day Cheat Sheet
- ✓ Lifetime updates: every new edition, free
Add The First 2 Weeks after-birth guide for just $17 at checkout.
Instant PDF download. Digital product, for personal use only. By purchasing you agree to the Terms of Use, including that this guide is general education and not a substitute for advice from your care team.
Ready to Birth is general education and isn't a substitute for individual advice from your midwife, obstetrician, GP or pelvic health physiotherapist. Sarah Percy is a registered physiotherapist (Ahpra). © Pelvic HQ
