A Birthing Ball helps to Build Strength in Pregnancy and to Provide Comfort for Labour

If you’re pregnant, you might want to dust off the exercise ball you have stored in your house and make sure it’s properly inflated. It might just become your most used piece of furniture as you progress through your pregnancy and into your labour and delivery!

For years, we’ve promoted the benefits and versatility of birth balls (or more commonly known as exercise/stability balls) for pregnant and labouring people.

Throughout your pregnancy, a birth ball can provide a comfortable place to sit so that your body is able to maintain a neutral posture which can help ease back pain. Using a properly sized and inflated ball, where your hips are higher than your knees, can also positively influence the position a baby assumes in utero and this may lead to a more comfortable labour.

Birth balls are also a great tool to help a pregnant person train for the physical demands of labour. An exercise ball can help support your body and increase comfort as you exercise during pregnancy. In labour, the ball allows a pregnant body the freedom of movement. Many a birthing person has rocked and swayed their way through birth using a birthing ball.

If you’re not certain how a birth ball can help you during your pregnancy and labour, we’re sharing 3 of our favourite prenatal exercises using a birth ball and 3 of our favourite ways to use the ball for comfort in labour.

Using your Ball for Prenatal Exercise

Wall Squats with Bicep Curl

• Place the ball behind you against a secure wall. Press your back lightly toward the ball. A narrow stance will focus more on your quads (upper thighs) and a wider base (pressing the knees out) will focus more on glutes and adductors.

• Inhale as you lower your body towards the floor. Breathe into your rib cage/lats and allow your pelvic floor to lengthen.

• As you exhale, engage your pelvic floor (like you’re picking up a blueberry) and hug your baby in and up.

• Press your feet into the floor to rise up and add a bicep curl.

Lunge with front raise

• Place the ball behind you against a secure wall. Your low back should be connected to the ball. Stagger your stance so that one foot is forward and the other is behind you.

• Inhale to lower your body, keeping your back heel off the floor.

• Exhale as you recruit your pelvic floor muscles and hug your baby in and up as you press your front foot into the floor and rise up.

• Add a front raise. If you notice any doming/coning of your abdominals you can either reduce the weight or eliminate the front raise and keep the weights at your side.

• Avoid holding your breath.

Side supported leg raise

• Rest the side of your body on the ball, with your supporting hip pressing into the ball. Bend your bottom knee to support you.

• Lift your top leg up as you exhale, keep your knee pointing straight ahead and flex your foot.

• To make this easier, use both hands on the ball to support your body.

For each of these exercises, begin with 1-2 rounds of 8 reps each and progress to 3 rounds of 12-15 reps each. Please be sure your health care provider has cleared you for physical activity before beginning any exercise regime while pregnant.

Using your Ball to Provide Comfort During Labour

Pelvic Circles, sways & Figure 8’s

Sitting on a ball can help to widen the pelvic outlet.

Adding movement, like pelvic circles, sways or pelvic tilts, encourages the baby’s descent and helps support their movements as they rotate through the birth canal.

This position can also be used if you need to have continuous fetal monitoring or an IV.

FORWARD LEANING

Forward leaning positions provide lots of comfort and relief to a pregnant and labouring person.

Forward leaning also uses gravity to help rotate the baby and progress labour.

This position is a nice change from back lying during the pushing phase since partners or support people can use massage and counter pressure to help increase comfort for the pregnant person.

Asymmetrical Lunges

Lunges, specifically asymmetrical ones, are a great way to help a baby descend as labour progresses.

Diagonal movements can help increase the space in the mid-pelvis.

These movements can also help rotate a baby who is Posterior (OP) and can help relieve back discomfort.

Be sure you lunge on both sides of the body (5-10 reps/side).

We hope you found some inspiration today and are excited to dust off your exercise ball. It certainly can be a very helpful tool to support you during pregnancy, labour and beyond. In fact, many a new parent have used the ball to help soothe their baby. The gentle rocking, swaying or light bouncing clams a newborn and often helps them fall asleep.

Interested in joining us? Our classes are a great way to meet other new parents. Fitmama Strong Ottawa has been operating classes in the National Capital Region since 2005. Our community is a thriving and welcoming space for you and your littles.

We offer Prenatal Fitness classes, live from our virtual studio. Our 30 minute live, online Express classes our our On-Demand library of pre-recorded workouts are a favourite for busy mamas who enjoy consistency in their workout regime. Finally, we offer in-person Stroller Fitness and Babywearing Fitness in a central location. We can’t wait to have you join us!

We can’t wait for you to #startwithus and #growwithus (Formerly FITMOM Ottawa)