Why have a birthing/exercise ball in pregnancy?
Unless there are medical reasons to avoid it, pregnant women can and should try to exercise moderately for at least 30 minutes a day, 3-4 times a week. Birthing Balls, commonly known as an Exercise Ball, Gym Ball, Swiss Ball or Fitness Balls, are great for relieving discomfort during pregnancy. They provide a firm, yet soft place to sit. They also force good posture, allowing for decreased straining of your muscles. s.
Using the birthing ball throughout pregnancy will keep the deep supportive muscles of the spine in shape and help stimulate postural reflexes. The birthing ball has many additional uses in the later stages of pregnancy when sitting can become very uncomfortable and getting up and down from a chair becomes increasingly hard. The pregnant woman can roll up off the ball; it's much easier than getting out of a normal chair.
For pregnant women, however, exercise has added benefits. There is evidence that exercise can help prevent gestational diabetes, a form of diabetes that sometimes develops during pregnancy. And for women who already have gestational diabetes, regular exercise is recommended along with changes in diet to help bring the disease under control.
In addition, exercise can help relieve stress and build the stamina needed for labour and delivery. It's also worth mentioning that exercise can be very helpful in coping with the postpartum period. Exercise can help new mothers keep the "baby blues" at bay, cope with postnatal depression, regain their energy and lose the weight they gained during pregnancy.
In studies on maternal position during the second or pushing stage of labour, it has been found that either sitting up or lying on the side to push instead of lying on the back resulted in:-
• Shorther second stage of labour
• A reduction in assisted deliveries (vacuum and forceps)
• A reduction in episiotomies
• A smaller increase in second-degree perineal tears
• Reduced reporting of severe pain during second stage of labour
• Fewer abnormal foetal heart rate patterns
The suggested ball size is related to your height. This is so that when you sit on the ball (when correctly inflated to the indicated size) your knees are positioned slightly lower than your hips. The recommended ball/height size is as follows:
Height 5'5"/165cms and under - 55cm Gym Ball
Height 5'6"/167.5cms - 6'1"/185.5cms - 65cm Gym Ball
Package includes:
• One Incredible DVD "A Simple Guide to Pelvic Floor and Core Exercises"
• 3 x A2 Exercise Wall Charts
• Information on Optimal Foetal Positioning
• Download to your laptop these unique exercises, especially helpful to working mums
