How to use yoga ball for pregnancy and labor by Penni Thorpe

How to use yoga ball for pregnancy and labor by Penni Thorpe


In talking about using the ball I will refer to gravity. When the cervix and baby are being pulled by gravity, this is gravity plus, when the torso is parallel to the floor or bed this is gravity neutral. There is also a position called breaking position when you are on your knees and your head is lower propped up by two fists stacked on top of each other, this is gravity negative and is used to break from pushing before you get to 10 cms. How do you use the ball in labor? If you are sitting on the ball it is important that your legs are open wide and your feet are on the outside edge of the ball(the same width as if you were sitting backwards on a chair or backwards on the toilet). This helps keep your pelvic outlet wide. Because you are sitting on the ball the inside of your pelvis can relax because it is not working to hold you up like when you stand. You can make hip circles as we already talked about. You can also do pelvic tilts and release (this moves the babys head between pubic bone and tailbone) and can help the baby wiggle down onto the cervix. Tipping the hips side to side shifts weight on the sit bones and this helps the baby wiggle down if they seem to be stuck on one side of the pelvis or other. I have had many students say they spend the last two weeks before their due date and lots of time in labor just moving their pelvis around until they feel what feels like the whole of the babys top of the head on the cervix. You can bring the ball about a foot out ...