Tag: Know Better Do Better

Helpful Tools for Birth**

Learning about helpful tools for birth before you get there can mean you know what to ask for and how to use the things available to you! This can improve your confidence and birth experience.

Not all labors and deliveries are the same, but using tools can be a great thing for almost every birth. The same tools don’t work for every situation but learning what is available, when, and how to use them is really helpful! **Don’t worry, none of the tools in the picture are used for labor or delivery.** No matter where you are planning to give birth, there are tools that you can use. These are my top 3 most helpful tools for birth!

The Birth Ball

The birth ball is really just an exercise ball that gets a fancier name in labor and delivery. There are a ton of ways to use the birth ball during pregnancy, labor, & postpartum. These are very versatile and helpful tools for birth. You can use it by sitting and bouncing with less upward pressure while you still have a baby inside. You can lean on it. Kicking it works too. You can do all kinds of things with this ball. (I advise against sit-ups on it while in labor.) The birth ball opens up your pelvis and keeps you out of bed while laboring. Moving your hips in a circular motion keeps you moving too. I’ve had several clients just want to bounce on it in labor. I spent months postpartum bouncing on a ball to keep my firstborn happy. Ask for the ball when you arrive at the hospital! If you are planning a home birth, you should plan to purchase one in the right size for you.

Peanut Ball

Every time I see a yellow peanut ball, I cannot help but think of minions while simultaneously wanting to draw a monocle on them. Peanut balls might look funny, but there is science behind these amazingly helpful tools for birth. Contrary to what some might believe, you can absolutely use a peanut ball if you do not have an epidural! They are great for parents with epidurals too though. Peanut balls help keep your pelvis open while you are resting. There are all kinds of positions for using this ball. Learning about how to use it to shorten your labor before you go is a great thing to do. Seriously, ask for the peanut ball! I will warn you that if you don’t have an epidural, using a peanut ball can be uncomfortable, but it can also be very effective.

Bed + Squat Bar

Staying out of bed is a great thing for while you are laboring, but hospital beds can also be helpful. I love to request the squat bar attachment to the bed for laboring and pushing. I also like to call them Go-Go-Gadget Beds because of how many different positions and options they have. This is why the whole bed plus the squat bar is really a helpful tool for birth. Squatting has all kinds of benefits for birth, but it can be exhausting if you try to do it without breaks or without preparing yourself. You can even use a squatting position for pushing or wrap a sheet around the bar to pull on while you lean back. There are lots of possibilities when you know your options and how to use them.

FYI: If you are planning a home birth, finding places to squat and learning to do a supported squat with your partner or doula are great alternatives to the bed. Looking around your house and finding places to do all the best birth positions is something I always like to do at prenatal visits with home birth clients. Bonus: your midwife might bring along some of the things from my wish list below!

Tool Wishlist:

The bottom line is this: There is no one set of helpful tools for birth that will work for everyone. Having more tools in your tool box and knowing how to use those can give you more options. Practice using these tools if you can, or even just watch some helpful videos. You can bring more tools with you too if you’d like. Heck, even dancing can be a helpful for birth!

If you’d like to come learn more coping techniques, including getting to practice with these balls before labor, we have a class for that! Spend 3 hours on a Saturday morning learning more tools and non-medical coping techniques for labor and delivery. Here are the dates and links to sign up if you are interested:

The Importance of Childbirth Education

Inform yourself and know your options!

An excellent childbirth education class is worth your time and money! Learning about the path that many have trodden before you is a GREAT thing to do. Evidence-based childbirth education classes help parents prepare for labor and birth by teaching pain-management strategies, while also providing information on informed consent for the pre-labor and labor processes. Classes can help instill confidence in parents’ abilities to cope with labor, which is pretty priceless! Childbirth education helps lower fear and anxiety regarding labor and birth, and has been shown to be a critical factor in reducing early elective delivery by induction. Don’t just take my word for it, read the policy brief that my certifying organization wrote. Not all childbirth education classes are the same, which is great because not everyone learns the same way or needs/wants to know the same information.

January 25th-31st is International Childbirth Education Week

2020 is the very first year of celebration for International Childbirth Education Week. I am so very proud to have helped start this movement & to be one of the first endorsers of this important week. Childbirth educators are special people that love to talk about the pelvis and cardinal movements. We love to dispel myths about childbirth and set the record straight when we hear or read people spreading misinformation. My style is more to pull the listener to the side to say, “you know that’s not really how that works,” and then explain what I know, rather than trying to correct someone’s grandma who just told them to rough up their nipples with a towel. (That’s totally not something you need to do BTW!)

I LOVE teaching childbirth education classes!

Those little A-HA moments are priceless. I love helping students know all their options. Helping people grow their resource list for who to ask and where to go is great too. A skeptical student converted when they try a double hip squeeze is awesome! There is nothing like the faces of satisfied students who feel more confident. Their emails with baby pictures and birth stories touch my heart.

Upcoming classes

I am currently only teaching private childbirth education classes that include 6 very full hours of instruction in my office space or your home. A 96 page binder full of information, handouts, & worksheets is included. Relaxation techniques, massage, movement, positions, & how to use tools will of course also be covered. I promise we’ll practice the breathing techniques that everyone seems to expect from Lamaze too. You can find more information on pricing and contact us here if you are interested.

If group classes are more your thing, in 2020 we have 4 group classes scheduled for “Natural Coping Techniques for Labor and Delivery.” This is a 3 hour class where we focus on how to deal with contractions without pain medication. This is not a “tell you what to do” kind of class. This is more of a “give you some ideas” kind of class. Importantly, it also includes snacks & is only $30/couple. Here are the links to sign up if you’d like to join us for a Saturday in 2020:

  • February 8th 9am-noon here (2 weeks from today!)
  • April 4th 9am-noon here
  • July 11th 9am-noon here
  • October 3rd 9am-noon here

Taking a childbirth education class is something that everyone should try. Even if you hate it, at least you and your partner will have something to laugh about on the way home. There are a ton of online options too if in-person isn’t you thing, and FREE ones too. Here is the Lamaze FREE class on increasing labor confidence and here is my friend Alice’s FREE online class Birth A to Z! No matter what kind of childbirth education classes you choose, INFORM YOURSELF!! You will increase your confidence even just to ask more questions, and that’s a good thing!