Why Using a Birthing Ball to Induce Labour is the Best Thing For You.

The last couple of weeks of pregnancy can be very taxing and downright uncomfortable, even unbearable for some women. Patience and persistence is of the utmost importance – something which many women find hard to practice – but who can blame them? Especially after nine months of being pregnant, many mothers find themselves asking: “How can my baby come out sooner?”

Sleepless nights, acid reflux, an achy lower back and swollen feet – you need relief and fast. If you’ve ever seen a maternity yoga ball in your local pilates studio – the same one you may have seen people using in workplaces to straighten their backs – you may already know how many pregnant women have firmly stood by and praised the birthing ball to induce labour.

That’s right, a labor ball or pregnancy ball can help you experience a much more pleasant labour, delivery and postpartum. In fact, using birthing ball exercises to induce labor the most popular and healthiest option to starting labour. Its drug-free which is extremely important for the health and wellbeing of your baby, and has tremendous benefits for you and your adorable baby that’s about to enter the world.

How does a Birthing Ball Help Bring on Labour?

A birthing ball to bring on labour can help your baby get into an optimal foetal position , and also help a breech baby (born bottom first) come out normally (head first). It is important for your baby to be in an optimal foetal position so that he/she has an easier and smoother journey down the birth canal.

Furthermore, if your baby is born in an optimal foetal position, the pressure exerted by the baby’s head will help naturally break your water and dilate your cervix for a smooth delivery. 

If you’re wondering how to use a birthing ball to break water, or how birthing ball breech baby exercises can aid in an optimal foetal position, or even how to use a birthing ball to dilate – we discuss a number of pregnancy ball exercises to induce labour, so keep reading.

How can birthing ball exercises help your baby drop? For many centuries, midwives have been relying on birthing balls to help induce labor and keep mothers as comfortable as possible during those painful hours of labour.

A study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research concluded that using a birthing ball to induce labour can drastically reduce labor pain, speed up cervix dilation, and aid the baby to easily move down into the pelvis by placing him/her in the optimal foetal position.

Birthing ball to engage baby can also lower stress and anxiety levels because it takes your mind off the pain you’re experience from those contractions.

Birthing Ball Techniques to Induce Labour

Specific birthing ball movements to induce labour are very easy to understand and practice, and can significantly help you reduce labor pains.

Studies indicate that mothers who sit on a yoga ball to induce labor around the start of the final trimester see their labor progressing more quickly. From knowing how to bounce on a birthing ball to simple birthing ball techniques to induce labor, here’s how you can induce labour at home with BABYGO’s bouncing ball for expectant mothers:

Before birth, it is important for your baby’s head to be in an optimal foetal position. By knowing how to bounce on the birthing ball, you can help your baby easily move down the birth canal and into that optimal position:

Bouncing

Start by sitting on the birthing ball with your knees slightly lower than your hips. If you need any additional support or balancing, use a sturdy piece of furniture or spotter.

Now gently bounce up and down on the birthing ball. Rest your hands on top of your thighs or the sides of your belly.

Focus on your breathing, keep your shoulders back and your spine straight. Bounce slowly with safety in mind and increase your level of bouncing if you feel comfortable and confident in doing so.

Rocking Movement

Another birthing ball movement to induce labour is the rocking motion.

Sit on the pregnancy ball while placing your legs on either side. Your feet should be shoulder width apart and facing outward in order to maintain optimal balance.

Now carefully and very slowly rock back and forth – putting the weight on your tailbone first and then your pelvic region.

Rocking will help alleviate the pressure that’s experienced around the tailbone area during pregnancy. It will also loosen up the pelvic muscles in order to better prime your body for labor.

The Squat Position

Stand in an upright position and rotate your feet outward to about a 45 degree angle. Carefully lower yourself into a typical squatting position while positioning your legs about shoulder width apart. Place the maternity yoga ball out in front of you, grabbing it with both hands to keep your balance.

Suck in and slightly flex your abdominal muscles while keeping your back as straight as possible. Visualise a string that is attached to your head and that someone is using it to pull you upwards. Squat back into a standing position.  

Squats can reduce labor times quite noticeably as the natural force of the gravity loosens and opens up the pelvic area – giving your baby more room to smoothly manoeuvre down the birth canal.

Squat Position Variation (Advanced)

Don’t be afraid to take it a step further. Start by placing your BABYGO pregnancy ball between a solid wall and your lower lumbar region. As you squat down using the ball as a natural support, let your legs and knees open up, as they normally do when you go into a squatting position.

Go as far down as you can using the ball as a rolling support, as long as you don’t feel any pain or discomfort. Focus on your breathing, brace your core and keep yourself steady. Gently move back up and straighten your legs. Repeat for a few reps.

The Figure Eight

Take a seating position on your bouncing labour ball and move your hips around in a figure eight position, first clockwise and then counter-clockwise.

Do the movement in a few sets of 10 reps each. Take a break then repeat for a few more minutes. This particular birthing ball technique will not only loosen up you lower back and pelvic muscles but also prepare your hips better for childbirth.

The “Reaching V” Motion

Sit on the ground with your back straight. Open your legs until they form a “V”. Place the bouncing ball between your legs and keep your hands on top.

Now gradually ‘walk the ball out’ toward your feet but stop just as you start to feel a stretch in your legs. Hold in this position for a few seconds and then walk it back toward your body.

Repeating this movement stretches your hips and legs which in turn help to open up the pelvic muscles and help induce labour.

The Forward Lean

Although a very basic birthing ball exercise, sometimes, a simple motion like leaning forward on your maternity yoga ball can give your back a much needed rest. Leaning forward takes the stress off your back which, as a pregnant woman, feels nothing short of amazing.

Kneel forward by placing your elbows on the bouncing ball and keeping your knees slight open as you feel your lower back relaxing.

All in all, the above birthing ball positions will help you induce labour while also reducing the pains and discomfort associated with going into labour.

Out of all the movements discussed above, perhaps gentle bouncing, rocking back and forth and the squat are the three most common movements that pregnant women start off with. Give them a go, and once you’re ready, go ahead and try out the other yoga ball positions to induce labor.

The Benefits of Using a Birthing Ball to Induce Labour

No matter how comfortable your couch or office chair, it is hard to sit long hours during pregnancy. Sitting on a birthing ball in specific positions and doing certain movements helps you retain proper posture. Other benefits of exercises on yoga ball to induce labor include:

• Increased blood flow to the uterus and placenta as well as the baby
• Acts as a counter-pressure to the perineum and thighs
• Loosens up pelvic and lower back muscles to aid in a smoother delivery
• Encourages optimal foetal position
• Encourages dilation and effacement prior to and during labour
• Specific postural exercises on the bouncing ball work with gravity, thereby encouraging the baby’s descent
• Positions the baby properly in the foetus minimising the chancing of a breech baby birth

We’re sure this article has served as a useful guide on why using a birthing ball is the best way to induce labour. BABYGO maternity balls are highly versatile and these are just some of the ways you can use them to induce labour and reduce the pain and discomfort experienced in the last few weeks of pregnancy.

At BABYGO, safety and quality materials are our top priority. Ease labour pains today and enjoy a smoother delivery with our birthing ball to induce labor.