Birthing Balls

[Sastra]

I have an Swiss ball of a very similar size to a birthing ball - will that do?

When are you mean to start sitting on it?

I used a Regular exercise ball from a sports shop and it was fine. I started using it at about 30 weeks as ds was oblique and the midwife said it would help get him in a better position. I used it whenever I could, but made a point of bouncing on it throughout the soaps so I knew I'd done my bit. Must have worked because ds was head down by 36 week scan. The only thing I would say is that my ball was a really nice height but the ones they gave me when I was in labour were tiny! So much so I couldn't get up off it and felt like I was literally sitting on ds head! Very painful too! So I guess size really does matter

if the ball is confy for you then it should be fine. i used an exercise ball like jakey i made sure the maximum recommended weight was well above mine (i was paranoid that the added baby weight might make it burst!) abd i t was ok. i think you can start using it any time, it's good for building core muscles apparently.

The difference is birthing balls are usually anti burst so if it bursts it'll slowly deflate rather than suddenly. The different sizes are for different heights, so if you are under 5ft 6 (i think) you need a smaller one(55cm) rather than the standard 65cm ones. There are some cheap ones on amazon if you do need a new one.