Prepare Your Body For Birth - My Top Five Recommendations
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Hello and welcome! Glad you landed here — whether you’re pregnant and doing some research about things you can do to physically prepare your body for the birth process, or a birth worker looking for something to share with the families that you’re working with.
Of course it’s always a good idea to get enough sleep, exercise, hydrate and eat a healthy, balanced, preferably whole food diet filled with a variety of different organic protein, fiber, fruits and vegetables… but what else can we do to get our bodies in the optimal shape for birth? Let’s talk about that. Here are my 5 favorite recommendations to prepare your body for a more comfortable birth!
Photo by Arek Adeoye on Unsplash
Spinning Babies Daily Activities
Bring comfort to your pregnancy and prepare for an easier childbirth. Lengthen your muscles and increase range of motion in your beautiful pregnant body to make space for baby’s best birth position! Spinning Babies is a wonderful approach to balancing the pelvis and the ligaments and muscles involved, and is a great way to physically set yourself up for a more straightforward and comfortable birthing.
I’m sure you may have already heard stories about “sunny-side up”(posterior/OP) babies, people explaining how their babies were in wonky positions and/or stories about “back labor,” unusually long labors, inductions, lots of discomfort in the weeks leading up to their birth, or difficulties which they thought (or their provider said) necessitated a cesarean birth.
Yes, me too. It’s a common theme — and these days you pretty much can’t go on social media, especially in groups pertaining to pregnancy and birth, without hearing of at least one of these kinds of stories each day. Is there anything we can do about this? Or is this just bad luck, coincidence, and out of our control completely? Maybe not. Probably not. In some cases, yes. But for the most part I firmly believe and so do many of my colleagues and others who work in the field, that baby’s position and the space they have available to rotate and descend can be greatly affected by our posture, movement, and mobility during pregnancy.
What can we do to help prevent some of these “wonky positions” that we hear so much about? Is it only OP positions that seem to cause certain people so much grief? Not always. Feeling your surges in your back is not always indicative of an OP baby. Back pain is usually more about the balance of your pelvis and the resulting fit of the baby than the position alone. There are a few different types of pelvises and even variations of those types. Some posterior babies may fit into certain types of pelvises better than others. There are many reasons for this. One simple thing we can do is be mindful of our balance and posture. Going even further, we can look into the Webster Technique of Chiropractic Care, and the many benefits it can have on balancing the pelvis and creating space for baby to find their ideal position for birth.
Interested in learning more about fetal positioning and belly mapping? << —— Visit Spinning Babies if you’re curious to learn more about what position your baby is in, and download the Spinning Babies Daily Essentials Video - a unique instructional video for comfort in pregnancy now, and in your upcoming birth. These daily activities begin balancing your pregnant body to make space for baby’s best birth position! Highly recommended!
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
Chiropractic Care - The Webster Technique
For balance of the pelvis and associated muscles/ligaments for easier birthing. Throughout pregnancy, the body tries to adapt to the weight gain, increase of hormones, and the postural changes that follow. These postural changes increase the risk of sacral/pelvic imbalance at any given time, with or without reason. The sacrum, the pelvis and network of ligaments, tendons, muscles, and associated nerves are all under constant pressure and change. The resulting tense muscles and ligaments may create torsion and prevent the baby from comfortably assuming the best possible position for their birthing.
Currently, the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) recommends chiropractic care throughout pregnancy to establish pelvic balance and optimize the room a baby has for development. With a balanced and aligned pelvis, babies have a greater chance of moving into their correct position for birth.
Benefits of chiropractic care during pregnancy
Decrease in discomforts such as back, hip, pelvic and groin pain.
Decrease in Sciatica, and heartburn.
Better sleep and mobility.
Reduction of tension in the muscles and ligaments supporting the uterus.
Reduction of Intrauterine Constraint, creating more space in the pelvis for baby to move freely and engage.
Ideally, the best time to begin The Webster Technique is as soon as possible, but by the 32nd week of pregnancy is preferable especially if the breech position is confirmed. And if you’re beyond the 32nd week of your pregnancy, don’t worry! Better late than never. These techniques are gentle, non-invasive, and drug-free.
Ask your doula or childbirth educator for recommendations for a Webster Certified Chiropractor or use the ICPA search tool to find one in your area!
Probiotics
Urogenital and gastrointestinal infections are often caused by an imbalance in “good” and “bad” bacteria. Certain infections such as Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), Bacterial Vaginosis (BV), and Group Beta Strep (GBS)… have been said to be caused by the decrease in, or depletion of the indigenous flora Lactobacilli. Studies have found that probiotic therapies containing Lactobacilli strongly inhibit the growth of GBS and BV by increasing the acidity of the environment and that they may be effective in returning the vaginal flora microbiome to a healthy normal state.
The possible prevention of GBS and avoiding a subsequent recommendation for antibiotics starts with optimizing your vaginal bacteria from the get-go. One of the ways to do this is to take a daily probiotic containing Lactobacilli strains, specifically Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14. These two strains usually come together in several of the vaginal flora based probiotics like Jarro’s or Garden of Life. But please don’t forget to look into Lactobacillus Salivarus which has been shown in a study to greatly reduce the chance of GBS colonization.
Screening for GBS is a part of routine prenatal care and is usually done by taking a vaginal/rectal swab culture between 35 and 38 weeks of pregnancy. If the test comes back positive for GBS colonization, an antibiotic called penicillin will be suggested and if you choose to accept this suggestion, given intravenously when your birthing time begins. If you are allergic to penicillin, another similar antibiotic will be offered in its place.
If you plan to stay home during the early stages of your birthing time, one of the things that can thwart those plans are having a positive GBS result. Adding a probiotic to your birth prep toolbox can reduce your chances of getting back a positive GBS result.
With all of this information about GBS, probiotics and scientific data to back it all up, trying to decrease or prevent GBS colonization during pregnancy seems like an excellent choice for reduction and prevention wellness protocol especially if someone is really wanting to avoid IV antibiotics. For more information on the benefits of avoiding IV antibiotics, Birthful has a podcast all about the microbiome.
Check out these studies and read more about GBS and what you can do to reduce/prevent chances of testing positive in my blog.
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Eat Dates… The fruit, yes.
Eating dates prenatally can help with preparing your cervix, if you’re interested in that kind of thing. There have been studies that show that those who consume 4-6 dates per day in the last 4 weeks of pregnancy (I know - seems like a lot) will have a more “favorable” cervix by the time your birthing begins.
Studies have also shown that those who consumed Deglet Noor dates (60-80 grams daily) were more likely to have spontaneous onset of birthing waves, have intact membranes (their water did not break) upon admission to the hospital or active birthing time, and have less postpartum bleeding! Wow! So this is why all of your pregnant friends are eating dates…
Dates also have many health benefits. Thanks to Baby Chick for this thoughtful breakdown.
Fiber – we all know that fiber helps relieve constipation, helps you stay full, but did you know that it also helps lower your risk for gestational diabetes and preeclampsia? Dates contain a combination of soluble and insoluble fiber and thus are helpful in maintaining your digestive system.
Magnesium – this supports your muscular health and helps to alleviate muscle spasms and cramps during pregnancy.
Potassium – this is one of the best electrolytes and it helps you maintain water/salt balance which also helps regulate blood pressure and regulate your nervous system.
Natural sugars (fructose) — it offers high energy, but thankfully has a low glycemic index, easily breaks down in the body and won’t spike blood sugar levels. This is why eating dates during your pregnancy and/or your labor is an excellent choice.
Vitamin K – helps maintain proper blood clotting and keeps your bones healthy.
You can look up many different ways to get your dates in, like smoothies, stuffing them with almond/peanut butter, chopping up and throwing on a salad, in savory dishes, granola ect... You don’t have to eat them all at once, so spread them out throughout the day and get them in however you can. Tip: Lara Bars are made with dates!
Get Your Dates HERE… and prep your cervix in advance!
Birth Ball
I know you might be tempted to hang around and spend time sinking deeply into those comfy couch cushions — especially in the 3rd trimester, but wait… Is that really the best idea? Well of course you should take time to rest and relax. At the same time, you want to be mindful of your overall posture and use discretion as far as where and how you spend the majority of your days hanging out. Birth balls are a great way to ensure you’re able to relax and prepare your body for birth at the same time.
Spend some time every day sitting upright on your birth ball. Sitting upright (or upright and slightly forward-leaning) helps support and open the pelvis, loosen its ligaments, relax the pelvic floor, and support your lower back. Slouching back into your cushions puts your pelvis in a funky position that it doesn’t much like. There’s no good way to slouch while sitting on the ball - or else you’d probably roll right off! You can take your ball to the office and use it in place of your usual desk chair, use it while watching TV, or just designate times throughout the day that you’re going to get some ball time in.
Please, no couch slouching!
During pregnancy, the birth ball has many benefits…
Helps balance the ligaments, tendons, and muscles in the back and pelvic area so baby can settle into its optimal position
Helps strengthen the lower back and relieve discomfort
Helps to relax and open the pelvis
May increase blood flow to the uterus
Puts counter-pressure on the perineum
Takes pressure off of the leg muscles
Provides the opportunity for mobility
Relieves or reduces sciatic and/or symphysis pubis discomfort
You can also do some exercises on your birth ball to enhance the benefits it provides in preparation for birthing. Gentle bouncing, small circles, figure 8’s, side to side (or tail wagging), and pelvic tilts are some of the things you can do in addition to just sitting for comfort. These things help to keep your pelvis mobile and loose.
You can also incorporate your birth ball into your yoga or stretching routine! After blowing your ball up for the very first time, it will deflate a bit over the next few days of use… so make sure to refill it so that your hips are at or higher than your knees when sitting.
Get yourself a birth ball and get acquainted with it. And use your ball during birth to change up positions, lean on to rest, and keep things progressing.
If you’re under 5’4″ you want a 55 cm ball
From 5’4″ – 5’10″ you want a 65 cm ball
If you’re over 5’10” you want a 75 cm ball
Read more about balls HERE