Where can I get.....

[DetectivePotato]

a birthing ball, how much are they and do you have to keep them up once they are inflated or can you deflate them?

Can you use them from any point in your pregnancy or do you need to wait until nearer the end?

argos
they are the same as normal gym balls

Very comfy during labour IME.

I got a Davina one from Argos £9.99 (looks like a giant pea). Its so comfortable that i rarely sit on the sofa now!

Sorry are these not the same as Swiss balls? I was just gonna buy a Swiss ball today at a sports shop. Any recommendation what size is better to get?

size depends on how tall you are.

You can deflate them.

Comfy for being huge and fat on. I'm at work and I feel like I'm sitting on baby's head so I think I'm going to pump mine up when I get home.

I read that your hips should be above knees which is not always the case with normal gym balls - depends on size. I just bought this one.

So a normal gym ball wouldn't be the same then?

dont laugh, but I was planning on using the kids space hopper.

DetectivePotato the ones my Pilates teacher uses are just gym balls. I really don't think there's any difference.

To be honest, it's probably just marketing rubbish to get you to spend more on a 'special' birth ball - I'm a sucker for that crap

But I did read somewhere that pelvis should be above knees for the best positioning - dont know if that's true.

Exactly the same as a Swiss ball/gym ball. I just used a basic one last time - was fine.

Ideal, thanks. I will be getting one then.

I want to avoid an epidural this time just in case that contributed to the forceps birth. I want to get in the birthing pool but I'm not holding my breath thinking that will be available at the time.

claire I think you would get your pelvis below your knees just by buying the right size gym ball, and making sure it's inflated properly. The ones marketed as birth balls certainly don't look any different.

You can get gym balls from Asda to use as birthing balls. They're £6 each or 2 for £10 and include the pumps, they are pretty much the same as birthing balls minus the huge "ooh Pregnant Women will pay more" tax!

Excellent. Trip to Asda coming up then, thanks.

Oh, and the earlier you use them the more it will encourage your baby into a good birthing position apparently.

I used to use mine at work instead of a chair from about 5 months onwards as my back would get sore towards the end of the day.

I'll pick one up this week then as I am 22 weeks now and my back has been hurting since 16 weeks.

sue12345, this website does not seem to work (for my pc at least)... what is the company name? i am in central london and have never seen an asda around here, so would prefer to order one online... is it better to wait till 3rd trimester (till i get bigger) or doesn't really matter?

I just bought one from Home bargains store was £4.99 with a pump. would recommend getting an anti burst one as will slowly deflate if gets puncture, have had my feet up on mine all day still in my pjs at 4pm!!