Birth ball or exercise ball?

[exBrightonBell]

I was going to buy a birth ball, for about £25, but my SIL suggested buying an exercise ball as they are much cheaper (£5 from Tesco!). But when I read the detail of the cheapy one from Tesco it says "not for use in pregnancy". Does anyone know why? Or, have you used an ordinary exercise ball with no problems and would recommend them?

Remember buying the exercise ball then realised birth/ pregancy balls are much bigger - I'm quite tall and found the tesco ball too
small so my hips weren't comfortable. Maybe tesco think they're not heavy duty enough for all that rocking?!

Look for one that says anti burst. My antenatal yoga teacher says you need 65cm up till about 5'11 then taller than this you need 75cm. You should pump the ball up until it is rock hard (it shouldn't sag much when you sit on it) and when you sit on it your hips should be higher than your knees. I got one from eBay for about £11 including postage.

I bought a reebok one from argos and love it. Don't think it specifically said not to use, but didn't specifically say it's anti-burst sometimes I worry a bit it might explode or something. I got a 65cm one and I'm 5'3.

I have a 65cm ball (you dont pump it up til it's rock hard - you pump it up til it's 65cm - that's why its a 65cm ball). If it's inflated correctly it shouldn't burst (my husband has bounced around on mine before now). The size of ball is important in exercise as you use it in a variety of positions to work certain muscle groups - not so important if you are just using it to sit/bounce on as long as your legs can reach the ground well enough to keep you stable.
If you want to spend lots of money buy a pregnancy one or if not just get an exercise ball.

Hmm, I think I may as well just get a cheapy exercise one. I can't imagine that I would be doing anything whilst pregnant that would be more strenuous than people exercising!

most people just get an exercise ball, the pregnancy ones are more of a money making racket i think

I have an exercise one that I bought at 16 weeks to use for Pilates. It's great!

I bought a £7 one from Argos. It was an anti burst one and you just needed to make sure it was really well pumped up. Was so comfortable to sit on with my SPD did naff all though, DS2 was still breech

I'm just off 5'7 and went for the 65cm one - exercise ball rather than birth ball - as recommended but find it a bit small. My hips aren't sitting higher than my knees but even. I do have long, gangly limbs so unsure if it's because it's an exercise ball or just not the right size for my legs. Ds loves playing with it so not a waste of money in any way.

Excuse my ignorance, ladies, but what exactly do you use a pregnancy/birthing ball for? My SIL has offered me hers.

I'm finding the same, ballroomblitz, though I'm closer to 5'6. It's a 65cm anti-burst ball I already had. Maybe I'm just squashing it down more with my extra bulk . It definitely feels better to have knees lower than hips, though a too big ball would be a nightmare. I mostly use mine for resting over forwards though, which feels lovely. I feel like a beetle on my back and the ball makes it possible to fully relax in front-down position.

When i started to go into labour but was still fairly comfy, and was bouncing on the ball to keep things ticking along nicely, I had quite a softish larger ball which i was able to touch the balls of my feet the floor. When thing started to kick in a bit more and I couldn't guarentee my balance (!) the midwife switched it to a slightly firmer smaller one that My whole foot could be flat on the floor with, so that it was easier to keep myself stable during the stronger contractions.

So... i guess what i'm saying is if it's one for using at home to swirl around on and keep core strong etc, go for one that feels a bit bigger, along the lines of an 'exercise ball', but maybe expect to have different requirements if you actually want to use it to keep the pressure on the cervix during labour- my labour ward seemed to have quite a few available.