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Birth Balls: Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum

© Maurenne Griese

More than likely, most people you talk to do not know what a birth ball is or what it is used for. A birth ball is a physical therapy ball that helps women get into positions that help labor progress. It's also great to sit on one while you're pregnant or to soothe a fussy baby.

If you suffer from backache or pelvis pressure while pregnant, a birth ball is for you. I found it a lot more comfortable to get on and off the birth ball than getting in and out of a chair or couch. I had a very mobile pelvis that got even more mobile the more babies I had. It was easy to do the pelvic rock as I leaned forward on the ball. The ball helps keep your pelvis mobile too. That's important when you give birth as this also helps labor to progress. These balls have been used for years by physical therapists in treating orthopedic and neurological disorders as well as for exercise. The ball has many uses in late pregnancy when sitting can become so uncomfortable. Getting up and down from a chair becomes increasingly hard and the Birth Ball makes an excellent alternative to a couch or chair.

With my last 2 labors, the birth ball helped me get into upright or forward kneeling positions that would have been a lot less comfortable had I not used the ball to support my body. I even used it postpartum to help firm and tone my lower muscles.

Think a birth ball might be for you? Check with your local childbirth educator, doula, hospital or birth center to see if they have a birth ball available for patients to use. If they don't, you may want to consider purchasing your own birth ball. You can purchase one on the Web from doula teacher and trainer Polly Perez. Take a look at Polly's website for more information about how a birth ball can help you have a positive birth experience.

Thank you Polly for sharing your birth ball photos with our readers.

Editor's note: This article is an updated version of an article I wrote on birth balls back in 1999 for Suite101.com. I hope you will contribute to the discussion below on birth balls. Let us know what you think of them or if you have used them before.

Maurenne Griese is a registered nurse, doula and mother of four breastfed children, a prolific writer and a web design dabbler. She's been busy caring for baby Austin, born in August of 2000, and her three other children as well as designing her new website, http://konzababy.tripod.com

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