This inconspicuous "ball" can help pregnant mothers give birth naturally easily! You must know it!

Childbirth is an important and complex physiological process in women's lives. It is accompanied by significant pain experience, which is affected by many factors such as physiology, psychology, social support, and individual differences. Therefore, it is particularly important to explore and implement various methods to reduce labor pain and promote the smooth progress of labor.

As a non-drug auxiliary means of delivery, birthing ball has gradually attracted attention and been promoted in recent years.

1. What is a birthing ball?

The birthing ball is a colorful, elastic PVC ball. The birthing ball exercise is specially designed for pregnant mothers. It is a set of ball exercises that are suitable for exercising the core muscles in the late pregnancy and during delivery. It draws on the characteristics of pregnancy yoga, mindful delivery, and free body positions, and focuses on stretching exercises to regulate breathing and movement synchronization, effectively promoting natural delivery.

Through the following short video

Let’s take a quick look at birthing balls!

2. What are the benefits of a birthing ball?

The elasticity of the birthing ball can relax the pregnant mother's body muscles and promote the dilation of the cervix.

It can distract attention, increase comfort, and reduce pregnant mothers' attention to uterine contraction pain.

During use, the birthing ball rises and falls, and swings left and right, massaging the lumbar region, buttocks, and vulva, relieving the discomfort caused by uterine contractions.

The pregnant mother's body, waist and pelvis rotate with the birthing ball, which can promote the rotation and descent of the fetal head and correct the fetal occipital posterior position and occipital transverse position.

Helps pregnant mothers keep their upper body upright. The ball rises and falls, prompting the fetal head to descend, accelerating the delivery process and reducing the cesarean section rate.

Reduce the pressure on the perineum of pregnant mothers and reduce the degree of perineal tearing.

3. Birthing Ball Exercises

1. Sitting posture: The pregnant mother sits on the birthing ball with her legs shoulder-width apart (or wider), her feet firmly on the ground to stabilize her center of gravity, her spine upright, and her arms relaxed, placed naturally on her knees or holding onto the end of the bed.

When exercising, slowly rotate the hip joint, swing it left and right, front and back, or up and down. The range of motion can be increased appropriately, and the principle is to make the expectant mother comfortable. Be sure to maintain the center of gravity during the process.

2. Back-to-back massage: Suitable for pregnant women who have severe back pain during childbirth. Fix the birthing ball in the corner of the wall, and let the pregnant woman lean on the birthing ball to help massage the back. You can also put the birthing ball close to the wall, keep your back close to the birthing ball, and slide up and down slowly on the ball.

3. Prone position: Place the birthing ball on a soft cushion or yoga mat, and the pregnant mother kneels on the cushion, with her shoulders and chest on the birthing ball, and her arms naturally relaxed and hugging the birthing ball, slowly rocking back and forth. The midwife can help massage the sore waist. In addition to relieving back pain, this position can also help the baby with an abnormal fetal position to rotate and accelerate the progress of labor.

Contraindications and precautions

Mother's side:

1) Those with severe complications such as hypertension and heart disease;

2) Pregnancy complications such as placenta previa and placental abruption;

3) During the use of sedatives;

4) Cervical insufficiency or after cervical cerclage;

5) Multiple pregnancy of ≥3;

6) Restrictive lung disease

Fetal: those with abnormal fetal heart rate, amniotic fluid contamination, etc.

The performance of the birthing ball must be checked before each use to see if it is damaged;

Replenish water in time during exercise;

If you experience any pain or discomfort, stop immediately and seek medical attention if necessary.

Must be accompanied by a family member or midwife;

The storage room temperature for the birthing ball is 18-32℃. Attention should be paid to the anti-slip and explosion-proof functions of the birthing ball to ensure the safety of the delivery process.

After using the birthing ball, the caregiver should rinse and dry it in time to avoid deformation of the rubber.

Hunan Medical Chat Special Author: Hunan Guangxiu Hospital Obstetrics Department Hu Xuehua Zhang Li Video: Obstetrics Department Su Zang Yang Jingxian Chen Shihui Li Xin

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(Edited by ZS)