hey there you guys have asked for this video and I don't want to disappoint this
awesome community so today I bring you the top 10 positions for labor and birth
now if you're new to this channel please leave me a comment and say the word new and go ahead
and hit the subscribe button because i am bringing you the information that you really want to know
before labor begins now speaking of labor we have 10 positions here and number 10 on this list is so
easy you really have no excuse not to try this one and it's standing yes standing is an actual
legit labor position it takes advantage of gravity it allows for movement like walking and swaying
and my favorite tip on standing is make sure your feet are at least shoulder width apart because we
want to be open we want to help baby down we don't want to have our legs all clinched in
when we're standing we want to really facilitate that gravity standing the position landing at
number nine is the sideline position so sideline is a great position that you can do when you
need some rest in early labor or when you have an epidural it's really a key position to have
on your side when you're tired of being on your feet now you can be in the sideline position like
this person in the photo you can also use a peanut ball between your legs to help open up your pelvis
there are so many options for side lying and a really great labor and delivery nurse will help
you make the most of this position number eight on our list is sitting on the birth ball so the
birth ball is really just an exercise ball that we use for birth and it can be so handy in labor
we can sit on it bounce on it we can move our hips in circles we can sway back and forth it's really
a handy item to have around both an early labor and active labor sitting on the birth ball is a
great position now i have more information about using the birth ball in a video that i'm going
to link right here make sure you check that out coming in at number seven we have the hands and
knees position now sometimes i talk to people in class about this position i get weird looks
because people are imagining this position on the hospital floor and this is not where
we want to do hands and knees it is great to do the hands and knees position right on top of the
hospital bed or in your bed at home it's much more comfortable for your knees you can even add some
extra pillows under your knees to make it more comfortable but we want to stay off the hospital
floor of course now hands and knees allows for our partner or our support person to put some counter
pressure on our lower back we can always put a heating pad in this position that really makes
this position very flexible and a great one to try out in labor now speaking of our partner
position number six makes use of the partner it is the slow dancing position
now it's similar to standing but slow dancing can actually help relieve some of your weight by
hanging on your partner resting your head on their shoulders it's something that a lot of people love
when they want to be close to their partner you know up that oxytocin but if you are kind of
someone who doesn't want to be close in labor and maybe need some more space maybe it's not for you
but if you're using that slow dance position make sure you remember that same tip for standing keep
your legs nice and open feet nice and open when you're doing the slow dance and put on some music
make it more fun so here we are halfway through the top 10 list now if you have heard anything
that's new or helpful please go ahead and hit that like button and let me know that you're finding
it to be a useful video now number five is one of my all-time favorites and that's sitting on
the toilet yes sitting on the toilet is an awesome position for labor and birth but there's a couple
things i want to tell you about to make this position more effective and more comfortable
first of all when you're sitting on the toilet sit just like you would if you were going to go
to the bathroom that means pants down underwear down it allows us to relax our pelvic floor
relax our bottom half and make those contractions more effective the other thing i like to do when
sitting on the toilet in labor is make that bathroom as much of a laboring cave as possible
turn off the big overhead lights set up some battery operated candles or a string of lights
if you don't have that maybe just leave the door cracked and the lights on high in the liv
in the room so that you can just have some filtered light what we're really going for
is to have a comfortable place to spend some time because contractions when you're sitting on the
toilet sometimes can get intense and that's what we're looking for our goal is really to get us
closer to the end and sometimes the toilet can be just the thing coming in at number 4 out of 10 is
squatting so a deep wide squat with legs far apart like this photo is great for encouraging
the baby to engage in your pelvis opening up your pelvic inlet a more narrow squat that's
kind of a semi squat would better when the baby is lower and opening up the outlet now it's not
for everyone squatting because it can be intense but if you are up for it if you've practiced it in
before labor started squatting can definitely be something that i would give a try so here we are
at our final three now if you're wondering how is this list ranked it's actually my favorites from
attending over 300 births as a doula these are my top 10 best positions to suggest to my clients and
my three favorites are coming right up so make sure you put these on your list i like these
especially if your labor is slowing down or you're hoping to speed things up you're wanting to make
your contractions more intense and number three is the asymmetrical kneel now the asymmetrical needle
is something that you do with one leg up for a certain amount of contractions like this photo
and then you would switch and do the other leg and this of course can be done on the hospital
bed and leaning on the birth ball just like this picture the asymmetrical positions really change
up the pelvis and help encourage our baby to get lower that's what we're always trying to do
number two is one of the most useful positions in labor it's also one that feels so good and that's
the forward lean so you can do a standing forward lean you can do a kneeling forward lean you can
even do a sitting forward lean but that forward lean usually feels so much better than leaning
backwards i personally love the standing forward lean when you are put the birth ball up on the bed
and you can stand and lean on the birth ball or when you're at home
you can stand and lead on a kitchen counter there are so many ways to use that forward lean you can
even lean up against a wall and take advantage of gravity and of course you know I'm gonna say
to keep your legs nice and open when you're in that position right forward lean is like
a key key position for you to know for labor here we are at my top position for labor and
birth and this is the one that I've seen some make some big changes can be a little bit intense
now if you've attended any of my live classes you can probably guess what this position is
speaking of which the live classes are ongoing and you can check out next time I'll be teaching in
the link below and I'll put a link above here as well now this final position has a funny name and
it is captain morgan the captain morgan position makes use of a chair to bring your foot up and
get into a lunge position now the key here is that your foot on the chair is going to be pointed at
a 90 degree angle to your foot on the floor again just like that asymmetrical kneel you'll want to
switch up sides to make sure that you're spending the same amount of time with both legs now those
are my top 10 positions for labor and birth what do you think leave me a comment below and
i would love for you to check out one of these two videos for next time and I'll see you again bye
guys
you