hey guys I am in my doula uniform today because we are getting active and we're gonna talk about
how to make the most out of this really easy and so helpful tool for labor the birth ball
now if we have a met in real life my name is Alice Turner I am a doula a childbirth educator and on
my channel we talk about birth so if that's your thing - make sure to subscribe hit the
notification bell and you'll be notified the next time a video goes out today it's all about the
birth ball and if you're wondering how can I turn of my exercise ball into a birth ball it's really
easy step one be pregnant and use it they're the exact same thing this is always a question that I
get how do I find a birth ball I have an exercise ball is that the same thing totally the same thing
the exercise ball is so useful in labor we're not going to over complicate this but I am gonna break
down step by step how to most effectively use the birth ball in labor and birth let's go the
essential place to start when you want to use a birth ball for your labor is to have one have a
birth ball now this is gonna sound really stupid but I don't know how many times I've heard people
say you know I never used my ball in labor or I got to the hospital I didn't even use the ball
well here's the thing you've got to have the ball ready and you've got to bring it out and partners
it is your job to suggest it no jokes really I'm not kidding partners it is up to you to say how
about sitting on the ball let's use the ball so it's not necessary to have your own ball but if
you're planning to labor at home before heading in to your birthing location your hospital your
birth center I really recommend that you grab one when you are laboring in the hospital you
might need to request from your nurse to have one do not hesitate to get one in your room
if you don't have one in the room with you you definitely are not gonna use it so get to your
room get situated when you're situated ask if you can have birthing ball brought in let's go ahead
and get started on the first position that is great we're using the ball in labor we're gonna
start with the most common way to use the birth ball and that is sitting on it I like to sit on
it near something that I can lean on so whether that be a bed couch a chair your partner's sitting
in a chair something that if you feel unstable you can grab on so that is really important the other
thing about sitting on the birth ball is that it is really important to keep your legs nice and
wide so instead of sitting like this I have my hands on my knees we turn this way so you guys
can see we don't want to sit like this we want to sit with nice wide open legs and the reason for
that is we're always wanting to keep our pelvis open we have a baby that needs to go through the
pelvis and out and open is better than closed so sitting on the birth ball with our legs nice and
open near something close that makes it easy a something that makes the birth ball comfortable
is to move on it you don't have to just sit still when you're using the birth ball you
can roll back and forth back and forth action you can do circles on the earth ball with your hips
okay circles with your hips make some really great noise good sound effects there this is
a brand new birth father which I recommend if you buy one at home inflate it and use it and
practice on it way before labor starts it also helps air out some of that plastic smell of
using a brand new birth ball the other thing you can do that's similar to the circles you
can do figure eights so back and forth if you imagine the middle of your body or where your
baby is and you are going to move and a figure 8 pattern so just give yourself moving when you're
on the birth ball you can also do some gentle bouncing especially if you have something to
hold on to so let's say we're in labor I'm nice and loose I've got my hands up so I'm not holding
any tension in my arms contraction starts maybe that's when I do some bouncing nice deep breath in
deep breath out so we're layering our deep nice slow breathing with our rhythm on our birth ball
so it's a great way to use this tool in labor is sitting what other thing you can do in the seated
position is to build a little resting nest so if you have a lot of pillows or a couple pillows and
you're using this sitting on the ball leaning up against the bed or leaning up against the
couch you can put some pillows down and then rest like this so you can still move a bit or maybe you
just rest during the contractions but resting is also really nice when you are sitting with
the birth ball so partners make sure you have some pillows ready and you can throw them down and say
hey after that next contraction you might to just take a rest make sure you're drinking your water
in between contractions - okay so let's move on to the second way to use the birth wall second
way that I recommend that you use the birth ball is to stand and lean on it and here is where we
come to one of my doula pet peeves and that is when I see photos of people leaning on a birth
ball that is not covered so this ball likely has been on the floor and maybe on the floor
of the hospital and so if it's on the floor of the hospital the last thing we really want to
do is put our face on it right so if you are at a hospital a birth center definitely your home
find some Linens so at your birth pasilla tee there will likely be cap cabinets still look
like this that will have linens in them extra sheets extra hospital gowns extra pillowcases
so open them up and grab something grab a seat grab a pillowcase and cover up the ball okay
please cover that ball so you're not putting your own face on dirty plastic or your partner
so support people this is a huge tip for you if you are helping out grab the ball put it on
something the bed the couch or whatever and say hold on let me cover it and then put something on
it okay so big pet peeve I know you're not gonna let someone put their face on nasty plastic so
we are we've got our ball covered next thing to do is to lean you want to stand with you can't
see my feet but they're nice the part again big open legs and then we're gonna lean onto
that ball now think what sometimes I see people do this and lead with their elbows that's okay
but it's not quite as relaxing as if you put all of your weight into the ball like this you
can tell I'm a lot more relaxed in this than in this position where I'm still having to hold up
my weight so if support people you see her like this leaning on the ball you might suggest hey
in the next contraction you might want to try to just give all your weight over to the ball
it's really comfortable and you notice that once I started doing that again rocking using rhythm is
an excellent way to cope with labor contractions so see your labor you're using the ball you're
chatting and then a contraction comes you get into this position and you start breathing and
rocking all the way through so the contraction ends then you're up and you're chatting again
you're having a sip of water you're getting ready for when that next contraction starts
so cover your ball lean let all your weight go down into the ball if you are using this at a
hospital and you're putting it on the bed you have the ability to raise and lower the hospital bed so
that it's at just the perfect type so that it's the most comfort if you're using this at home
and you need to lift it up more you can always grab a pillow put the ball on top you've got
a little more height to that ball okay that is way number two to use your first ball in labor
now let's go on to number three the final way to use your birth ball and labor is to get on
hands and knees and lean on your ball and I think we should all save our knees from being on the
hard floor put your birth ball up on your bed up on a couch up on the hospital bed from there
you can get into that hands and knees position that I'm going to show you but don't forget my
pet peas have something to cover the ball when you're in this position okay here we are ready
to go I have my knees nice and wide and open I've got my birth ball right here and I can just sink
into it like this great position for labor this position can be done on top of the hospital bed
or while you are laboring at home so again you could lean on your elbows like this but if you
really want to relax into this position you're gonna put your whole top of your chest and your
face right there on the ball you can also do rhythm in this position as well so hands and
knees last position for using the ball and later so we've made it through my top three ways to use
the birth bond labor sitting standing and leaning and getting on all fours and leaning I shared
with you my pet peeve of covering up this plastic before you put your face on it and my biggest tip
is to make sure you have eight ball have it ready to go in labor whether you buy one yourself or get
one from your nurse now if you found this helpful the best thing that you can do is share it with
someone else that might find it helpful as well especially if you have someone who is supporting
you in labor or you are supporting in labor share this video with them so you're both on the same
page I also appreciate a like if you found it helpful and I will see you guys next time bye