The Benefits of Birth Balls

For those who know me well, it's no secret that I'm like REALLY into birth balls! I use a birth ball almost on a daily basis and I am NOT pregnant! Even my kids love this big ole bouncy birth balls that momma uses for her job! 

As a mother of three and a birth doula, birth balls have been a normal part of my life, even outside of pregnancy and birthing. So when I'm walking through a hospital after attending a birth and I hear things such as:

"You have nice balls!"

"Wow! Those are some big balls! What are they used for?!"

I tend to get a reality check that it's not everyday you see someone toting around two birth balls through a hospital! But, it does give you quite the chuckle as you're trying to get to your truck to go home and sleep after attending a birth for 19 hours. 

Birth balls are wonderful pregnancy and labor tools that I recommend for every woman and encourage my clients to purchase for themselves well before labor as means to prepare and practice comfort measures for when the big day arrives! Why limit yourself to using these tools just when I provide them for a birth? They're incredible for pregnancy, for birthing and for so many uses beyond! 

So, I decided to compile a list of benefits of these wonderful "big balls!"

During Pregnancy and During Labor

Birth AffirmationsThey provide an excellent canvas for birth affirmations! I am a HUGE fan of birth affirmations. During my preparations for our third child's home birth I relied heavily on birth affirmations to keep my head and heart positive and focused, calm and peaceful. After our son's amazingly beautiful, calm and peaceful home birth, I started the KonMari Method of decluttering and while I held a lot of love for my birth affirmation boards, I didn't have a good way of displaying them... So all those birth affirmations that made our home birth so insanely beautiful, yep... They're now on the birth balls! 

Ease Aches and PainsIt's no secret that pregnancy can be painful. Oh those aching hips and that aching back! Pregnancy is beautiful but it's also painful and even miserable at times; even early on in your pregnancy. That's where I rely on the birth ball... Sitting on the ball with your knees spread as far apart as you can get them with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle, you can rock your hips back and forth, sway your hips side to side, circle your hips in a figure 8, lightly bounce, lean forward and rest your upper body on a couch or bed while moving your hips and even simply circle your hips. You can also kneel down on the floor with your knees spread as far apart as you can get them and rest your upper body on the ball in a modified "hands and knees." In this position your can rock back and forth, sway side to side and even do circles. This can help alleviate some pregnancy aches and pains but it can also help encourage those ligaments, tendons and muscles to relax and allow your pelvis to open up wide allowing baby to position optimally for birth and encourage baby to engage for birth. 

Pregnancy Safe Exercise Birth balls, which are essentially exercise balls for those who aren't surrounded by pregnancy and birth all the time, are excellent balance and exercise tools for pregnancy and beyond!

Relieve Stress and Anxiety I always encourage my clients to prepare for their births by envisioning and "practicing" for their births by setting aside a time at least a few times a week to take a bath or a shower, listen to calming music such as meditation music and really get in a very zen-like zone. But, you can also do this in a dim room with some candlelight, calming music sitting on your birth ball just envisioning the stress and anxiety being washed away as your recite birth affirmations to yourself or envision your peaceful birth. I know it sounds "coo-ky" but it works! It's preparing your body to enter a hypnotic state of sorts to cope with stress, anxiety, labor pain and so much more. 

After Baby is Born

Soothing a Fussy Baby You can hold baby in your arms or wrap them up in a ring sling, woven wrap or other newborn baby carrier and gently sway, rock and bounce on the birth ball to help soothe a fussy baby! 

Postpartum Exercise

After baby is born your birth ball essentially turns back into a regular ole exercise ball and you can use it to help get back into shape after baby is born! 

As a Chair Use it as a chair instead of a regular chair while watching TV, doing computer work, crafting, whatever! It'll help engage your core, strengthen your back muscles, ease aches and pains, while nursing and so much more! 

Older Kids Let your older kids play with them! All three of my kids LOVE running around the house with our birth balls! 
In the coming weeks I will publish a post explaining birth ball positions more in-depth WITH PICTURES! I will also go over more thoroughly the proper use of birth balls as well as a buyer's guide!