Any woman who has given birth understands the physical demands of the event. It is a long, exhausting and demanding exercise in physical endurance. But what if you prepared for the blessed event by training for it as you would for a marathon, with an understanding of the physical demands it would take on your body? How would that improve your delivery?

Patti Brown, mother of four from Beachwood, N.J., believes that her prenatal preparations helped her to have all four births without pain medication, something she and her husband were hoping for.

"We did prenatal exercises regularly," says Brown. "My husband did them with me every night. Not only did we do breathing, but stretching of the arms, abs and legs. And best of all: squats! My husband hated these but in the end could squat longer than me!"

Brown even did abdomen strengthening exercises. "The last pregnancy, I had a personal coach give us a great refresher," says Brown. "She taught me these exercises that worked on the abs that helped with pushing. They were helpful – you pulled your abs in toward your spine and sort of 'pulsed' them very gently. The baby loved them. I felt like she was doing them with me!"

Karen Bridson, author of the book Nine Months Strong: Shaping up for Labor and Delivery and the Toughest Physical Day of Your Life (Lifeline Press, April 2004), believes the physical, emotional and mental benefits of training for your delivery day are almost immeasurable.

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