birthing balls - question

[vmcd28]

Hello all,
a few questions, actually.

• Birthing balls - are they worth getting?
• What do you do with them, apart from sit on them?
• How often should you use them?
• are they the same as gym balls? i.e. can I buy the cheapo Argos gym ball for this purpose?

Thanks, all!

- Birthing balls - are they worth getting?

Yes

- What do you do with them, apart from sit on them?

Just siting on it is very comfortable, and good for your core muscles. I also enjoyed bouncing on it, and doing figs of 8 with my hips.

- How often should you use them?

Dunno I always sat on mine when I was going to sit anyway...

- are they the same as gym balls? i.e. can I buy the cheapo Argos gym ball for this purpose?

I'm not sure. I paid £30 for mine , but it had some special skin so that if you burst it it would deflate sliwly rather than dumping you on the floor

Yes buy one but get the gym ball - they are the same thing. I got mine from Tesco for about £6 as opposed to £20 for the birthing ball.

It will become one of the only places you can sit and feel comfy and it's great during the first stage of labour at home as it keeps you mobile but your not using lots of energy which you'll need for later.

Also, my DH used it when DS needed rocked to sleep to bounce gently up and down.

aw, lovely and thorough answers, thanks so much! I will be buying a gym ball then, and hoping not to get dropped on the floor if it bursts (ouch).

I didnt use one with my DS 5 yrs ago, as I knew nothing back then. Now, I know too much, I think...

x

I am doing ante-natal pilates and we use balls as part of the class. You can try "writing" the letters of the alphabet with your hips in lower case as a warm up to get all your pelvic muscles working. Plus standard pelvic floor work. Sitting up straight and stretching shoulders etc. I'm sure you can get eg exercises off the Internet. As well as sitting you can also lean forward on it whilst kneeling on the floor which is meant to help for optimal fetal positioning and I believe is a good position for some people in labour. It is also good post natally for bouncing baby to sleep and once you have the all clear from Dr getting back in shape. NB: no abdominal crunches 1 week after delivery!!!

• Birthing balls - are they worth getting?

Yes. I bounced and rocked gently on mine through both my labours and don't know what I would have done without it.

• What do you do with them, apart from sit on them?

Rock and bounce!

• How often should you use them?

I only used mine during labour with DD2, but I think I remember just sitting on it in general with DD1, something to do with getting baby into optimal position.

• are they the same as gym balls? i.e. can I buy the cheapo Argos gym ball for this purpose?

Yes.

Oh yes doughnutty, I used it for bouncing DD2 to sleep when she was up in the middle of the night. I bounced on it while watching TV.

One more tip - take your ball with you to wherever you're going to give birth.

The balls they have there are invariably the wrong size, plus you just know they've been used by hundreds of sweaty labouring women before you!!

Quite right Janice. I was gutted when I got to hospital with DD1 and the ball they had was too big. I had been soooooooooo happy on my ball at home.

With DD2 I stayed home so that was no problem! From my own ball into my own pool!

thanks ladies, so much! I knew I could rely on all of you to give me brilliant advice!!

I am off to Argos tomorrow, to get one

Oooh! Me too now!