5 Birth Ball Exercises to get Stronger During your Pregnancy
Get ready for your birth with 5 easy exercises. Do them daily to strengthen your body and prepare your mind for your labor and birth.
What do those studies say?
Did you know that studies show that women who participate or regularly practice using their birth balls feel more confident in their ability to self-advocate during their labor and report having a better birth experience as a whole? Did you know that pregnant women in their 2nd and 3rd trimesters fall at the same rate as women over the age of 70? Even just sitting on the ballot home or at your desk at work, fires your core and challenges the balance center of your brain. This alone, will help prevent falls! And because movement in labor reduces your perception of pain, sitting - rocking - leaning on the birth ball reduces your need for pharmacological pain relief measures!
Strong in Body and in Mind
Who wants a shorter labor?
In our Birth Ball Basics clinics, we show you movements that will help you to open the inlet and outlet of the pelvis to encourage easier delivery through the birth canal. We teach you how to use the peanut ball, too because you may choose to have an epidural. If so, then a peanut ball is a must! Women who use a peanut ball with their epidurals have significantly shorter labors and pushing times! Who doesn’t want that?!
Here are additional benefits for you when using a ball in your pregnancy to prepare for your labor and birth:
Useful for malposition, asynclitic heads, cervial lips (Zwelling, 2012)
Promotes spinal flexion (and increases the uterospinal angle) (Zwelling, 2010)
Upright positions use gravity to bring the baby down, changing position frequently moves the bones and opens the joints of the pelvis (Simkin & Anchet, 2011; Storton, 2007)
Reduced rate of Cesarean section or instrumental delivery and less likely to have an epidural (Lawrence et al., 2013)
Pain relief because the gateway to pain is interrupted (Yan et al., 2014)
Movement allows for the the release of endorphins and oxytocin (Lawrence et al., 2013, page 13)
Lower back pain between 6 and 8 cm in upright position (Bogaert, J., et al., 2018)
Learning how to use the peanut ball in preparation for her home birth.
Whether you choose to have an epidural, an unmedicated birth, a hospital birth, a cesarean birth, a home birth, a birth center birth, a VBAC, or you are pregnant but haven’t decided about your birth plans yet, these exercises will help you during your pregnancy to strengthen your body and mind. Click on the link under the graphic to download your own copy for home use!
And if you want a quick and easy way to inflate that ball, check out our Tips!
Happy Birthing! And be sure to let us know what you think about using a ball in the comments!