A Birthing Ball helps to Build Strength in Pregnancy and to Provide Comfort for Labour

If you’re pregnant, you might want to dust off the exercise ball you have stored in your house and make sure it’s properly inflated. It might just become your most used piece of furniture as you progress through your pregnancy and into your labour and delivery!

For years, we’ve promoted the benefits and versatility of birth balls (or more commonly known as exercise/stability balls) for pregnant and labouring people.

Throughout your pregnancy, a birth ball can provide a comfortable place to sit so that your body is able to maintain a neutral posture which can help ease back pain. Using a properly sized and inflated ball, where your hips are higher than your knees, can also positively influence the position a baby assumes in utero and this may lead to a more comfortable labour.

Birth balls are also a great tool to help a pregnant person train for the physical demands of labour. An exercise ball can help support your body and increase comfort as you exercise during pregnancy. In labour, the ball allows a pregnant body the freedom of movement. Many a birthing person has rocked and swayed their way through birth using a birthing ball.

If you’re not certain how a birth ball can help you during your pregnancy and labour, we’re sharing 3 of our favourite prenatal exercises using a birth ball and 3 of our favourite ways to use the ball for comfort in labour.

Using your Ball for Prenatal Exercise

WALL SQUATS WITH BICEP CURL

• Place the ball behind you against a secure wall. Press your back lightly toward the ball. A narrow stance will focus more on your quads (upper thighs) and a wider base (pressing the knees out) will focus more on glutes and adductors.

• Inhale as you lower your body towards the floor. Breathe into your rib cage/lats and allow your pelvic floor to lengthen.

• As you exhale, engage your pelvic floor (like you’re picking up a blueberry) and hug your baby in and up.

• Press your feet into the floor to rise up and add a bicep curl.

LUNGE WITH FRONT RAISE

• Place the ball behind you against a secure wall. Your low back should be connected to the ball. Stagger your stance so that one foot is forward and the other is behind you.

• Inhale to lower your body, keeping your back heel off the floor.

• Exhale as you recruit your pelvic floor muscles and hug your baby in and up as you press your front foot into the floor and rise up.

• Add a front raise. If you notice any doming/coning of your abdominals you can either reduce the weight or eliminate the front raise and keep the weights at your side.

• Avoid holding your breath.

SIDE SUPPORTED LEG RAISE

• Rest the side of your body on the ball, with your supporting hip pressing into the ball. Bend your bottom knee to support you.

• Lift your top leg up as you exhale, keep your knee pointing straight ahead and flex your foot.

• To make this easier, use both hands on the ball to support your body.

For each of these exercises, begin with 1-2 rounds of 8 reps each and progress to 3 rounds of 12-15 reps each. Please be sure your health care provider has cleared you for physical activity before beginning any exercise regime while pregnant.

Using your Ball to Provide Comfort During Labour

PELVIC CIRCLES, SWAYS & FIGURE 8’S

Sitting on a ball can help to widen the pelvic outlet.

Adding movement, like pelvic circles, sways or pelvic tilts, encourages the baby’s descent and helps support their movements as they rotate through the birth canal.

This position can also be used if you need to have continuous fetal monitoring or an IV.

FORWARD LEANING

Forward leaning positions provide lots of comfort and relief to a pregnant and labouring person.

Forward leaning also uses gravity to help rotate the baby and progress labour.

This position is a nice change from back lying during the pushing phase since partners or support people can use massage and counter pressure to help increase comfort for the pregnant person.

ASYMMETRICAL LUNGES

Lunges, specifically asymmetrical ones, are a great way to help a baby descend as labour progresses.

Diagonal movements can help increase the space in the mid-pelvis.

These movements can also help rotate a baby who is Posterior (OP) and can help relieve back discomfort.

Be sure you lunge on both sides of the body (5-10 reps/side).

We hope you found some inspiration today and are excited to dust off your exercise ball. It certainly can be a very helpful tool to support you during pregnancy, labour and beyond. In fact, many a new parent have used the ball to help soothe their baby. The gentle rocking, swaying or light bouncing clams a newborn and often helps them fall asleep.

Interested in joining us? Our classes are a great way to meet other new parents. Fitmama Strong Ottawa and Fitmama Strong Durham have been operating in-person classes since 2010. Fitmama Strong Online has been offering live, online classes and on-demand workouts from our virtual studio since 2020. Our community is a thriving and welcoming space for you and your littles.

We offer a variety of Prenatal Fitness and Yoga workout options through our virtual studio. We’d love to have you check them out! Once you’ve had your baby, we offer in-person Stroller Fitness and Babywearing Fitness in Ottawa and Durham Region and we offer live, online classes from our virtual studio for anyone who wants to join, but doesn't live close to our communities.

We can’t wait for you to #startwithus and #growwithus !