14 Reasons Pregnancy & Birth Professionals Recommend the Perimom Perineal Massage Tool for Birth Preparation
Ask a midwife, a pelvic-floor physiotherapist, a labor nurse, a doula or a childbirth educator how to prepare your body for a vaginal birth, and one piece of advice comes up again and again: perineal massage in the last weeks of pregnancy. It’s gentle, it’s simple, and it helps you arrive at labor more familiar with your own body.
There’s just one catch. Recommending perineal massage is easy; actually doing it — reaching past a full-term bump, at the right angle, several times a week — is not. That gap is why so many professionals now suggest a purpose-built tool. The one that comes up most often is the Perimom perineal massage tool, and here, in their own words, is why. (As always, check with your own midwife or doctor before starting anything new in pregnancy.)
Birth professionals across disciplines demonstrating the Perimom tool in their own videos.
1. It lets you reach past your bump
The most common reason women give up on perineal massage isn’t motivation — it’s that they can’t get there.
“One of the biggest factors that stop women doing perineal massage is that they can’t reach. Perimom allows you to reach around your bump, with no restriction.” — Clare Bourne, pelvic health physiotherapist
2. You can do it on your own
“It lets you do your perineal massage a lot easier by yourself, so you don’t have to be uncomfortable asking your partner to do it for you.” — Jade Aminah, birth educator
3. The ergonomic grip protects your wrist
Holding a gentle, sustained stretch is hard on the hands — especially in pregnancy.
“The comfortable ergonomic grip allows for better wrist and hand posture during the massage, which matters in pregnancy, when you may also have carpal-tunnel symptoms.” — Jojo Bierlein-Lodewyk, PT DPT
4. The oil channel keeps everything clean
“It’s got this beautiful channel which lets you put some oil down there and stops your hands getting messy.” — Louise Broadbridge, midwife (The Honest Midwife)
5. The thumb-shaped tip mimics the manual technique
The curved tip is shaped like the pad of a thumb, so you make the very movement clinicians teach — just with more reach.
“Look at the shape of Perimom and the shape of your thumb. It lets you use this in place of your thumb, but with extended reach — for the same effects perineal massage is supposed to give you.” — Tina Bitangcol, RN
6. It’s more comfortable than using your hands
“This makes perineal massage a lot more comfortable.” — Sarah Tyler, physiotherapist
7. It conditions the perineal muscle gradually
“Your perineum is a muscle. It’s made to stretch, but you can’t go from zero to a hundred without practice — so you begin stretching and toning that muscle.” — Kaila, childbirth educator
8. It helps you get familiar with your own anatomy
For many women this is the first time they’ve deliberately explored this part of their body — and that familiarity is part of the point.
“We need to be intuitive and tapped into our body as we perform perineal massage.” — Dr. Betsey Caldwell, DPT
9. It teaches you to relax and breathe into the stretch
Learning to release — rather than tense against — the pelvic floor is a rehearsal for labor itself.
“As you do your perineal massage, relax and breathe.” — Maddie Wren, childbirth educator
10. It builds confidence and a sense of readiness
“It can help you be more familiar with your body and feel more confident.” — Silvia Charepe Dias, physiotherapist & doula
11. It makes the habit easy to keep
“It’s super easy — you can just make it routine, something you do every other day.” — The Autonomy Mommy, birth educator
12. It’s well-designed and comes with instructions
“It includes two instruction manuals thoroughly describing how to use it — and I love the little bag it comes in.” — Alyssa, prenatal content creator
13. The included almond oil is gentle
“The sweet almond oil is a really nice lubricant — not too sticky, it lasts a long time, with a gentle, sweet smell.” — Tina Bitangcol, RN
14. It’s not intimidating
Some birth-prep devices put women off. Professionals note that this one doesn’t.
“The problem with vaginal dilators is they look terrifying. Perimom actually is not a terrifying device.” — Angie Willis, midwife
Conclusion
Notice what these midwives, physiotherapists, nurses, doulas and educators are really agreeing on. It isn’t a miracle claim — it’s that perineal massage is worth doing, and that what decides whether you actually keep doing it is how easy, comfortable and approachable it feels. That’s the whole case for the Perimom tool: it turns advice professionals already give into something a pregnant woman can genuinely carry out on her own, get to know her body through, and walk into labor feeling ready for.
This article is informational and is not medical advice. Always consult your midwife or healthcare provider before beginning perineal massage.