3 Simple Daily Practices for a Better Birth Experience
Incorporate movement into your daily routine will not only keep your body more supple, helping you avoid pregnancy’s inconvenience phenomena, but also will prepare your body for birth. Moving and using your body with this simple movement will make it lengthened and energized and increases your chances for a much more comfortable, easy experience by encouraging your baby to assume his optimal position for the journey from the womb into the world.
In the past, we used to spend a lot more time being upright, leaning forward and moving around than we tend to do now that we have many modern conveniences and cars to travel around in. Now Im not saying you should start scrubbing your floor or heading to the nearest field to harvest some wheat, but defiantly keep on mind that spending more time on your hands and knees and in general being closer to the ground than you do now, will allowed more room for your baby to move around in, and encourage them to move into the right position in the pelvis. For you and for your baby to experience a much more smooth passage into the world and into parenthood, its best for him to be with the back of the head, the occiput bone, and of course his spine facing your belly. What is known as occiput anterior. It is when we spend a lot of time sitting during our day in front of the computer, slouching with your pelvis tilted backwards, while watching television, and lets be honest, many of us adopt automatically these positions, when you cross your legs or spent a lot of time being in the car, all that encourage your baby to be in the posterior type of position which may lead to a longer, and sometimes, harder unfolding of birth.
Midwives report there are more posterior babies born now days as compared to 20 or more years ago. So, what can we about it? A lot! and in very simple ways. Integrate these easy practices throughout your day,recognizing your postural patterns, and create a more appropriate alignment will help to give you the best chance of “optimally positioning your baby”, prior and during your birth.
- When sitting on a chair- sit on your sit bones, the two bony points under the cheeks of your bottom, rather than letting your pelvis rock backwards so that you sit on your tailbone. You can use props- a pillow behind your back and/or a low stool under the feet. This will help your pelvis to be in a forwards leaning position, which encourages your baby to move into the right position.
- Turning the chair around so you lean forward against the backrest, again, your pelvis in a forward tilt encouraging your baby to move into the right position.
- Sit on a birthing ball instead of the hard chair. With its mobility it is much harder to slouch on it. the ball makes you sit upright in order to remain stable, bringing on board your core muscles, which more than ever is important now to have them engaged, supporting your physically and mentally with the rapid changes you are going through. Choose one at the right height for you so that your hips and knees are around 90 degrees when you are sitting upright. You can then lean forwards slightly while you are sitting on it, and move it around under you too- tilting front and back, swaying your hips from side to side, full hips circles on both directions. Your lower back will be for ever grateful to you for the lubrication, juiciness and freedom your created for him. Balls are also available in many maternity wards, and when you are used to using a ball it is easier to use it in different positions during labour.
About the author
Inbal Sigler is the founder of Isis HypnoBirthing & Yoga. She is also a certified HypnoBirthing trainer, Yoga teacher specialized in pre- and postnatal, and a doula. Isis Hypnobirthing & Yoga is a comprehensive pregnancy and childbirth preparation course combining techniques of Hypnobirthing, Theta Healing, Chinese Medicine and Yoga. Inbal supports women on the amazing journey to motherhood in fertility, pregnancy support and birth support.