diff --git a/docs/connectRoutes.md b/docs/connectRoutes.md
index bb341398..e8dbe524 100644
--- a/docs/connectRoutes.md
+++ b/docs/connectRoutes.md
@@ -148,14 +148,16 @@ restoration, and should be fine while developing, especially if you're using Chr
 
 * **restoreScroll** - the `restoreScroll` is a call to `redux-first-router-restore-scroll`'s restoreScroll` function, with a `shouldUpdateScroll` callback passed a single argument. See the [scroll restoration doc](./scroll-restoration.md) for more info. 
 
-* **onBeforeChange** - `onBeforeChange` is a simple function that will be called before the routes change. It's passed your standard `dispatch` and `getState` arguments
-like a thunk.
-
 * **onAfterChange** - `onAfterChange` is a simple function that will be called after the routes change. It's passed your standard `dispatch` and `getState` arguments
 like a thunk.
 
+* **onBeforeChange** - `onBeforeChange` is a simple function that will be called before the routes change. It's passed your standard `dispatch` and `getState` arguments like a thunk, as well as the `action` as a third parameter. Keep in mind unlike `onAfterChange`, the action has not been dispatched yet. Therefore,
+the state won't reflect it. So you need to use the action to extract URL params from the `payload`. You can use this function to efficiently short-circuit the middleware by calling `dispatch(redirect(newAction))`, where `newAction` has the matching `type` and `payload` of the route you would like to redirect to. Using `onBeforeChange` and `location.kind === 'redirect'` + `res.redirect(301, pathname)` in your `serverRender` function is the idiom here for handling redirects server-side. See [server-rendering docs](.server-rendering.md) for more info.
+
 * **onBackNext** - `onBackNext` is a simple function that will be called whenever the user uses the browser *back/next* buttons. It's passed your standard `dispatch` and `getState` arguments like a thunk. Actions with kinds `back`, `next`, and `pop` trigger this.
 
+* **initialDispatch** - `initialDispatch` can be set to `false` to bypass the initial dispatch, so you can do it manually, perhaps after running sagas. An `initialDispatch` function will exist in the object returned by `connectRoutes`. 
+
 * **navigators** - `navigators` is a map of of your Redux state keys to *React Navigation* navigators. Here's how you do it:
 
 
diff --git a/src/connectRoutes.js b/src/connectRoutes.js
index 22783f17..c92b48fc 100644
--- a/src/connectRoutes.js
+++ b/src/connectRoutes.js
@@ -122,7 +122,8 @@ export default (
     onBeforeChange,
     onAfterChange,
     onBackNext,
-    restoreScroll
+    restoreScroll,
+    initialDispatch: shouldPerformInitialDispatch = true
   }: Options = options
 
   const scrollBehavior = restoreScroll && restoreScroll(history)
@@ -142,6 +143,7 @@ export default (
   let prevState = INITIAL_LOCATION_STATE // used only to pass  as 1st arg to `scrollBehavior.updateScroll` if used
   let nextState = {} // used as 2nd arg to `scrollBehavior.updateScroll` and to change `document.title`
   let prevLength = 1 // used by `historyCreateAction` to calculate if moving along history.entries track
+  let initialDispatch = () => null
 
   const reducer = createLocationReducer(INITIAL_LOCATION_STATE, routesMap)
   const thunk = createThunk(routesMap, locationKey)
@@ -396,15 +398,21 @@ export default (
     // dispatch the first location-aware action so initial app state is based on the url on load
     if (!location.hasSSR || isServer()) {
       // only dispatch on client before SSR is setup, which passes state on to the client
-      const action = historyCreateAction(
-        currentPathname,
-        routesMap,
-        prevLocation,
-        history,
-        'load'
-      )
+      initialDispatch = () => {
+        const action = historyCreateAction(
+          currentPathname,
+          routesMap,
+          prevLocation,
+          history,
+          'load'
+        )
 
-      store.dispatch(action)
+        store.dispatch(action)
+      }
+
+      if (shouldPerformInitialDispatch !== false) {
+        initialDispatch()
+      }
     }
     else {
       // set correct prevLocation on client that has SSR so that it will be
@@ -413,7 +421,7 @@ export default (
     }
 
     // update the scroll position after initial rendering of page
-    setTimeout(() => _updateScroll(false))
+    if (typeof window !== 'undefined') setTimeout(() => _updateScroll(false))
 
     return store
   }
@@ -469,6 +477,7 @@ export default (
     middleware,
     enhancer,
     thunk,
+    initialDispatch,
 
     // returned only for tests (not for use in application code)
     _middlewareAttemptChangeUrl,
diff --git a/src/flow-types.js b/src/flow-types.js
index 298f3b9b..ff87b6d8 100644
--- a/src/flow-types.js
+++ b/src/flow-types.js
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ export type Options = {
   onAfterChange?: (dispatch: Dispatch, getState: GetState) => void,
   onBackNext?: (dispatch: Dispatch, getState: GetState) => void,
   restoreScroll?: History => ScrollBehavior,
+  initialDispatch?: boolean,
   navigators?: {
     navigators: Navigators,
     patchNavigators: (navigators: Navigators) => void,