'Birthing' ball advice needed

Jay-Jay_4

Sounds like you're keeping an open mind which is really all you can do with a first baby.

The only real thing that you can do is rest in early labour and then to keep upright and mobile as soon as you're in active labour (3cm), it gives you the best chance of not being interfered with. Hopefully as soon as your 5-6cm you can splosh about in a lovely birth pool until baby-pud arrives.

Now be careful on that e-bay.....it can all be very tempting when you're hormonal.

eml_3

As everyone has said, you shouldn't need one for hospital but they can be useful to have at home to help with your posture during pregnancy, sitting on or leaning over during the first stage of labour and also postnatally, especially if you have had any stitches down below!

I know this is slightly off topic but I have read the discussion on birth and interventions and had to butt in. I am an antenatal teacher and believe it is so important that women have all the knowledge they need to make informed choices about their birth and how they care for their baby. There is no such thing as an 'NCT' way to give birth - what you should get out of classes is information about all aspects of birth and early parenting. The NCT is not opposed to interventions and classes should be all about making the best choices for you in your circumstances.

The thing to remember about pain relief is there are pros and cons to all methods. If total pain relief is what you want, then an epidural will do the job like nothing else. However, the down side is that you will be unable to move around much, someone will stick a huge needle in your back and there can be side effects, and you won't feel anything, which could mean that you end up in a position that damages your back without realising it. It all depends on whether the pros out weigh the cons and only you can decide that. Evidence has shown that one intervention can often lead to another, eg continuous monitoring stops women moving around so labour slows down and can be more painful, especially if you are lying on your back, so you have an epidural, then you can't get into good positions to deliver your baby, so more assisted deliveries are needed etc.

I believe all women should know why medical interventions are being suggested and what the pros and cons of them are. Sometimes, they are very necessary and sometimes they aren't. But remember, your body instinctively knows how to give birth and your baby knows how to be born, so have some faith in the process!

s@sha

Hi, me again! I finally got round to getting a cheap exercise ball & I have to say I love it...it's really comfy to sit on, especially if my back is aching & it's also good for putting my legs & feet up when I'm sitting on the sofa...my feet have swelled a bit in this heat & the ball is actually slightly higher than the sofa seat so my legs are raised quite high...good for the fluid retention I should think.

Anyway, just wondered now if there are any exercises or any particular things I could be/should be doing with it now? I do gently 'rotate' my hips on it sometimes when I'm sitting , or rock backwards & forwards, but not sure if this is or isn't a good thing to do....it just feels nice.
(just realised this all sounds a bit saucy...legs raised up & feeling nice when sitting on things & rotating lol ) It is all perfectly innocent...honestly!

jenpoptab

only just noticed this post, good luck with baby, glad ball helps, i used my adult space hopper in my first pregnancy & it really was comfortable and did help. didn't bother 2nd time as was too big, fat & lazy.