December 20, 2024 • 16 mins
In this episode, we discuss the role of birth balls and peanut balls as valuable tools during labor and the postpartum period. Learn how these simple, yet effective tools can help with:
- Promoting optimal fetal positioning during labor
- Reducing labor pain and improving comfort
- Enhancing mobility, balance, and relaxation postpartum
We share tips on incorporating them into your birth plan. Whether you’re preparing for labor or looking for postpartum comfort, this episode provides practical advice to empower your journey.
Visit our website, here: https://birthlearning.com/
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Follow us on Instagram at @birthlearning
Show Credits
Host: Angie Rosier
Music: Michael Hicks
Photographer: Toni Walker
Episode Artwork: Nick Greenwood
Producer: Gillian Rosier Frampton
Voiceover: Ryan Parker
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome to the Ordinary Doula Podcast with
Angie Rozier, hosted by BirthLearning, where we help prepare
folks for labor and birth withexpertise coming from 20 years
of experience in a busy doulapractice, helping thousands of
people prepare for labor,providing essential knowledge
and tools for positive andempowering birth experiences.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Hello and welcome to the Ordinary Doula podcast.
My name is Angie Rozier, I'myour host and I am so happy to
be with you today.
Not sure where you are, whatyou're doing when you're
listening to this, but welcome,and I hope you can find some
information that is helpful oruseful to you here.
Whether you are having a firstbaby, a third baby, a tenth baby
or helping people have babiesor thinking of having a baby.
Hopefully you can find someinformation that will be
(01:14):
beneficial for you.
So today we are going to talkabout all things balls, birth
balls, peanut balls and all thedifferent ways that we can use
those before labor, during laborand even after labor.
So I'm going to kind of startwith a birth ball.
Now, in our world of birthing,we call it a birth ball.
This is also referred to as anexercise ball or a yoga ball and
(01:37):
it's just one of those greatbig.
They come in different sizes.
Usually it it's 55 centimeters,65 centimeter or 75 centimeter
sizes, different colors.
Maybe you've seen these around,but let's talk about the sizes
right away.
I want you to kind of considerthe sizes and, depending on your
(01:59):
height, there's some easyguidelines you can look at
online to see, depending on yourheight, which size you could
get.
If you are a shorter variety ofperson, you probably want to
get a 55 centimeter ball.
If you're kind of an averageheight you know, five, two to
five, six or something then a 65centimeter ball is probably
going to be a good fit for you.
(02:19):
If you are a taller person, ifyou're 5'7", 5'8" or more, then
you may want to get a 75centimeter ball.
So these what we call birthballs can be helpful before
labor.
You can spend time sitting onthem if you have to do work at
home or work in an office, ifyou spend any part of your day
(02:41):
where you have to work at a deskor computer, then this could be
a good space to spend your timesitting on a birth ball.
I'm actually sitting on oneright now.
That's usually my chair at mydesk is a birth ball, and it's
been for years.
So the benefits about sittingon a birth ball during pregnancy
is fluidity.
(03:02):
So when you're sitting on abirth ball it can be fluid and
you can inflate it for a firmerfit or deflate it a little bit
for a little bit more of asquishy feel, depending on what
works for you.
But it does give quite a bit somuch more than rigid chairs,
right.
So as you're sitting on that,your spine is going to kind of
(03:22):
fill.
The benefits of that give Coreas well.
Even just sitting on it, as yourbody spends time on a birth
ball, it will kind of work oncore strength and the mobility
of it.
You can move on it anddepending on where you kind of,
when you just sit on a ball, youkind of want to think of
(03:44):
another way to know a good sizefor you is that when you're
sitting on it that your kneesare able to make a 90 degree,
like your lower leg and yourupper leg right at your knee can
make a 90 degree angle, andthen you can also make a 90
degree angle from your hip toyour torso.
So that's kind of a good sittest that you could think about.
(04:04):
So sitting on that addsfluidity to your spine and also
the pelvis and you're not on arigid anything On those sits
bones, those can mold to yourbody very easily.
So you're not sitting onanything rigid, your spine is
not stiff or straight and youcan also move on it with the
pelvis.
So you can work back and fortha little bit and do some gentle
(04:26):
swaying.
So if you're just spending timesitting, you're going to be
moving a little bit and you cankind of do some gentle swaying
Now.
Spending some intentional timeon the birth ball maybe you want
to get that pelvis movingaround.
You can do some pretty goodfigure eights.
It takes a tiny bit of practicenot a lot, but a little bit of
practice to get adequate atsitting on a birth ball.
Not a lot, but a little bit ofpractice to get adequate at
sitting on a birth ball.
Hopefully you don't roll off ofit, so make sure you're in a
(04:46):
steady and safe position to siton.
It Takes a little bit ofgetting used to and if you want
to get used to it prenatally,before you may need it during
labor, that's a great time to doit.
That can be a good place.
We're going to move into thelabor stages now.
If you're adequate at sitting ona birth ball, it could be a
great place to spend some earlylabor.
Again, it's a restful spot.
Walking is good, uprightmotions are good, upright
(05:09):
postures are great, but our legsmight get tired.
So this could be a great placeto sit and the birth ball you
can do a really wide stance withnothing inhibiting you from
that.
In early labor, as we've talkedabout before on this podcast,
you want to have your knees andtoes, femurs, basically pointed
out and make that wide stance.
That is very easy to do on abirth ball.
(05:30):
You could do a nice wide stanceon a birth ball.
You could do nice big figureeights on a birth ball, a little
bit of bouncing, don't go crazyor anything, but all of these
motions are going to be helpfuland comfortable during labor.
What I see a lot of times isearly labor, and this is totally
anecdotal, I have not done anyresearch on this, but what I see
a lot of times is that peopleenjoy the birth ball earlier in
(05:52):
labor, but as that baby descendsand that cute little head is
kind of nestling itself lowerand lower in the pelvis, the
pressure of the birth ball iskind of interesting, an
interesting sensation, and a lotof people don't prefer the
birth ball later in labor forsitting on.
However, there's other ways wecan use it.
So sitting is one and otherpeople can sit on this birth
ball.
A lot of times in hospitalsthere's a birth ball in the room
(06:15):
and if the mom gets an epiduralor something.
The hospital staff's quick totake it away and I'm always like
, can you just leave it?
Because if we have, like myselfor a partner, the birth ball
can be a great thing to help yousit very close to the bed.
If you're sitting next to themom on the bed and if you're
doing back massage or counterpressure or pelvic rock or
anything doing some hands-oncomfort, you can sit on the
(06:36):
birth ball and be close to thebed.
So it's just another sit toolas well, but it is.
They do roll around and get inthe if we do need to get rid of
it.
Okay, so that's labor forsitting.
Another thing you can do duringlabor is use it to kneel against
.
So whether you have a yoga maton the ground, you're just
(06:58):
kneeling on a soft-ish surface,carpet, whatever.
If you're on the birthbed oryour bed at home, you can kneel
on the bed, have the ball infront of you to kneel against.
So it's kind of like extendedprayer position, if you will,
where your arms or yourshoulders are broad, open and
you're kind of draped over thatbirth ball and that can kind of
(07:19):
give a nice long sway to yourback where it elongates the
spine and let your belly justkind of hang there while you're
supporting your knees, leaningonto the birth ball.
So that's a good forwardposture in a restful spot, so
restful to your legs, restful toyour arms, as you're leaning
forward.
Knees might get tired after awhile so we can kind of work
(07:39):
with that.
Another space for the birth ballis in the tub.
A lot of people or in theshower excuse me, a lot of
people have I've seen and workedwith at home in hospitals.
We'll take that birth ballright into the shower, sit on it
, do the swaying, do the moving.
Those can get wet, they'rewaterproof.
So great place to sit on andget some good hydrotherapy too
in a shower.
(07:59):
All right, I want to move now.
Okay, wait, let me go to after,before I move to peanut balls,
postpartum, Postpartum the ballcan be great for kind of rocking
a baby on.
Babies love rhythm, they lovemotion, they love movement, they
love warm bodies and breathingand heartbeats.
They love everything about therhythm of life and movement.
(08:21):
So sometimes that's a nicespace for mom or dad or partner
or any kind of caregiver to kindof rock that baby.
Just do a little gentlebouncing as we're getting that
baby to sleep and, especially ifyou're adequate, just do a
little gentle bouncing as we'regetting that baby to sleep.
And especially if you'readequate, sitting on a birth
ball can be comfortable.
A little easier, I think, tomove on a birth ball than it is
like in a rocker or something,depending on your rocker or
(08:46):
rocking chair.
I have another note on a birthball.
I was at a birth a couple weeksago and this mom was having a
breech baby.
It was amazing, she wasunmedicated.
Go, and this mom was having abreech baby.
It was amazing, she wasunmedicated.
She did fabulous and so did herbirth team.
But she loved the birth ballalmost all the way through labor
and I thought about thatbecause she had a different
presenting part, not a head butthe cute little bum of a baby
(09:09):
coming down.
She and I talked to her at ourpostpartum visit too.
She said that birth ball wasthe best tool for her throughout
the process.
So that's another case where itworked beautifully.
I also have seen people likemaybe the mom is sitting on the
birth ball and a partner's in achair or something well
supported behind her and shemight be on the birth ball and
just kind of roll her hipsforward, like so it's kind of on
(09:31):
her sacrum and so she's leaningback and just being supported
in her partner's lap, so likemaybe a thigh of the partner
under each arm, so it kind ofcreates this awesome armchair
where she can kind of lay back.
That's another position.
People have used a birth ball induring labor.
All right, let's switch topeanut balls.
So peanut balls have beenaround for a while.
(09:52):
A lot of people say what's apeanut ball?
I'm like it's a ball that'sshaped like a peanut, but a big
peanut, right, not a tiny peanut.
And there are different sizesof peanut balls.
Some of them are way too big,some are way too small.
Again, depending on the size ofthe person, their height, the
length of their legs Shorterpeople get smaller peanut balls.
Taller people get smallerpeanut balls.
(10:13):
Taller people get larger peanutballs.
If we're going to be using themfor traditional purposes and
sometimes the nurses don't takethat into account when they'll
bring a peanut ball into theroom, so I'll ask around in a
hospital setting for a differentpeanut ball.
So kind of traditionally whatpeanut balls are used for.
They're a fabulous tool afterpeople get an epidural in in
traditional sense.
So it's something that canallow for a lot of great hip
(10:35):
movement and opening of thepelvis while the mom is not in
an upright position.
So peanut balls in atraditional sense we lie the
patient on their side, put thepeanut ball between their legs
and the divot in the middle ofthe peanut ball.
That's kind of where a knee,the top knee, kind of drapes
over and the legs just kind ofhold it there in place.
So if your nurse is using apeanut ball that may be how
(10:56):
she's using it She'll pop itbetween the legs, leave the room
.
I love to use peanut balls muchmore dynamically than that and
not keep them static but keepthat moving.
So we can do the peanut ball,put it in that same position,
but we'll do I call it rocketand roll the peanut ball.
When we move the peanut ballforward we're and then backwards
.
So we're doing some reallygreat thigh and hip rotation and
(11:19):
we're almost creating a reallyexaggerated big hip walking for
the patient while they arelaying down.
So we do lose some mobilitywhen folks get epidurals and
we're stuck to the bed.
But really for the support team, for the partner, for the doula
, that's when your job goes up,because we need to keep that
mobility going.
The peanut ball is a fabulousway to do that, so kind of
(11:42):
rocking and rolling it um, itcan get exhausting for the
person who's doing it.
It's quite comfortable for thepatient who's having it done,
but for the person person who'sdoing it, I will do it for
several minutes, sometimes halfan hour, and then leave it be,
do some stillness and we balancebetween rest and mobility.
We can turn the patient over tothe other side, do the same
thing, so she's offering a tonof different options and opening
(12:04):
spaces for the baby inside andduring labor.
So that's a use for a peanutball during labor.
Another use for a peanut ball wecan use it kind of crosswise
and people will and I alwayscover, by the way, any ball that
I use during labor.
I cover it with something,whether that's a full on sheet,
a hospital gown, a chucks pad,whatever a towel.
(12:24):
I like to cover that the feelof the plastic's kind of weird,
I think, on the skin and thenjust a nice barrier for
cleanliness, you know, extrabarrier of cleanliness and just
soft touch to the skin.
I like to cover birth balls upor peanut balls.
So another use you kind of makea T, like make it how do I
explain this without pictures?
So like make a T with the birthball to the mom's torso so she
(12:49):
can again lean forward.
So she might be kneeling on thebed or on the floor and she can
kneel forward.
This is kind of a forwardposture, almost an a knee, open
knee chest position, but thebirth ball is supporting her so
you're not as low to the groundlike if you're kneeling and your
chest is on the ground.
Um, that is not a verycomfortable position for a long
(13:09):
time can be very helpful inmoving babies who are a little
bit in a interesting position,but the birth ball adds a little
bit of support there.
You could also line the birthball straight up with the torso
or with the body, kind of pushit down the body so it's between
the legs, a little bit kind oflike straddling the birth ball.
This could be for people withepidurals or without and get on
(13:32):
hands and knees and kind of do adeep knee chest in a bed or on
a supported space on the flooror something that's soft for
your knees to be on Also a greatplace to kind of straddle the
birth, I mean the peanut ballthat way An interesting use of a
peanut ball.
One time as well I had a clientwho she was kneeling on the bed
(13:53):
wanted to kind of be moresupported, so we just put the
birth ball right behind herknees.
She was kind of draped up overthe top of the bed, which was up
high in a seated position kindof, and then we pulled out the
stirrups from the bed which comeout from underneath on either
side.
Hopefully you never see thosein labor.
I don't love it when those comeout at the end of labor, but
they do sometimes and lots insome areas of the country.
(14:14):
Sometimes they never come out,but we did pull these stirrups
out during labor and we kind ofbraced the birth or the peanut
ball between the stirrups andthe back of the mom so she could
(14:37):
kind of lean back and hadreally good support resting her
legs and sinking into thatposition as she wanted to.
So both balls are very goodtools during labor, especially
after an epidural.
That peanut ball is going tohelp with mobility and the birth
ball has some good prenataluses, some good labor uses and
some really great postpartumuses as well.
I suggest people get one andhave it at home as your kid
becomes a toddler.
It's a great toy for them toplay with.
But it's a good thing to sit onfor all people really.
(14:58):
But during labor the fluidityof that with for the pelvis and
the spine can be a really niceand a comfortable space to sit,
helps open pelvises.
It gives another option as atool for people to use during
labor, and that's what we wantis to have lots of options
available, lots of tools andthere's lots of ways to use them
.
So hopefully you can take allthat information about balls,
(15:20):
balls, balls and use those asyou see fit for your situation.
It can be a great thing to use.
I've seen it used in many waysand it's something I always look
for in a birth room or a homebirth when I arrive as a doula.
Thanks so much for being with ustoday.
I hope you are having a greatday.
Not every day is good, I'maware of that, but hopefully you
can find some little brightlining of today.
(15:42):
A lot of times that comes fromother people.
So reach out, make a humanconnection, whether that's eye
contact.
Reach out, touch someone, givea hug, make a human connection
with somebody you know orsomebody you don't Hope.
You have a good one, and wewill see you here next time.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Thank you for listening to the Ordinary Doula
podcast with Angie Rozier,hosted by Birth Learning.
Episode credits will be in theshow notes Tune in next time as
we continue to explore the manyaspects of giving birth.
Welcome to the Ordinary Doula Podcast with
Angie Rozier, hosted by BirthLearning, where we help prepare
folks for labor and birth withexpertise coming from 20 years
of experience in a busy doulapractice, helping thousands of
people prepare for labor,providing essential knowledge
and tools for positive andempowering birth experiences.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Hello and welcome to the Ordinary Doula podcast.
My name is Angie Rozier, I'myour host and I am so happy to
be with you today.
Not sure where you are, whatyou're doing when you're
listening to this, but welcome,and I hope you can find some
information that is helpful oruseful to you here.
Whether you are having a firstbaby, a third baby, a tenth baby
or helping people have babiesor thinking of having a baby.
Hopefully you can find someinformation that will be
(01:14):
beneficial for you.
So today we are going to talkabout all things balls, birth
balls, peanut balls and all thedifferent ways that we can use
those before labor, during laborand even after labor.
So I'm going to kind of startwith a birth ball.
Now, in our world of birthing,we call it a birth ball.
This is also referred to as anexercise ball or a yoga ball and
(01:37):
it's just one of those greatbig.
They come in different sizes.
Usually it it's 55 centimeters,65 centimeter or 75 centimeter
sizes, different colors.
Maybe you've seen these around,but let's talk about the sizes
right away.
I want you to kind of considerthe sizes and, depending on your
(01:59):
height, there's some easyguidelines you can look at
online to see, depending on yourheight, which size you could
get.
If you are a shorter variety ofperson, you probably want to
get a 55 centimeter ball.
If you're kind of an averageheight you know, five, two to
five, six or something then a 65centimeter ball is probably
going to be a good fit for you.
(02:19):
If you are a taller person, ifyou're 5'7", 5'8" or more, then
you may want to get a 75centimeter ball.
So these what we call birthballs can be helpful before
labor.
You can spend time sitting onthem if you have to do work at
home or work in an office, ifyou spend any part of your day
(02:41):
where you have to work at a deskor computer, then this could be
a good space to spend your timesitting on a birth ball.
I'm actually sitting on oneright now.
That's usually my chair at mydesk is a birth ball, and it's
been for years.
So the benefits about sittingon a birth ball during pregnancy
is fluidity.
(03:02):
So when you're sitting on abirth ball it can be fluid and
you can inflate it for a firmerfit or deflate it a little bit
for a little bit more of asquishy feel, depending on what
works for you.
But it does give quite a bit somuch more than rigid chairs,
right.
So as you're sitting on that,your spine is going to kind of
(03:22):
fill.
The benefits of that give Coreas well.
Even just sitting on it, as yourbody spends time on a birth
ball, it will kind of work oncore strength and the mobility
of it.
You can move on it anddepending on where you kind of,
when you just sit on a ball, youkind of want to think of
(03:44):
another way to know a good sizefor you is that when you're
sitting on it that your kneesare able to make a 90 degree,
like your lower leg and yourupper leg right at your knee can
make a 90 degree angle, andthen you can also make a 90
degree angle from your hip toyour torso.
So that's kind of a good sittest that you could think about.
(04:04):
So sitting on that addsfluidity to your spine and also
the pelvis and you're not on arigid anything On those sits
bones, those can mold to yourbody very easily.
So you're not sitting onanything rigid, your spine is
not stiff or straight and youcan also move on it with the
pelvis.
So you can work back and fortha little bit and do some gentle
(04:26):
swaying.
So if you're just spending timesitting, you're going to be
moving a little bit and you cankind of do some gentle swaying
Now.
Spending some intentional timeon the birth ball maybe you want
to get that pelvis movingaround.
You can do some pretty goodfigure eights.
It takes a tiny bit of practicenot a lot, but a little bit of
practice to get adequate atsitting on a birth ball.
Not a lot, but a little bit ofpractice to get adequate at
sitting on a birth ball.
Hopefully you don't roll off ofit, so make sure you're in a
(04:46):
steady and safe position to siton.
It Takes a little bit ofgetting used to and if you want
to get used to it prenatally,before you may need it during
labor, that's a great time to doit.
That can be a good place.
We're going to move into thelabor stages now.
If you're adequate at sitting ona birth ball, it could be a
great place to spend some earlylabor.
Again, it's a restful spot.
Walking is good, uprightmotions are good, upright
(05:09):
postures are great, but our legsmight get tired.
So this could be a great placeto sit and the birth ball you
can do a really wide stance withnothing inhibiting you from
that.
In early labor, as we've talkedabout before on this podcast,
you want to have your knees andtoes, femurs, basically pointed
out and make that wide stance.
That is very easy to do on abirth ball.
(05:30):
You could do a nice wide stanceon a birth ball.
You could do nice big figureeights on a birth ball, a little
bit of bouncing, don't go crazyor anything, but all of these
motions are going to be helpfuland comfortable during labor.
What I see a lot of times isearly labor, and this is totally
anecdotal, I have not done anyresearch on this, but what I see
a lot of times is that peopleenjoy the birth ball earlier in
(05:52):
labor, but as that baby descendsand that cute little head is
kind of nestling itself lowerand lower in the pelvis, the
pressure of the birth ball iskind of interesting, an
interesting sensation, and a lotof people don't prefer the
birth ball later in labor forsitting on.
However, there's other ways wecan use it.
So sitting is one and otherpeople can sit on this birth
ball.
A lot of times in hospitalsthere's a birth ball in the room
(06:15):
and if the mom gets an epiduralor something.
The hospital staff's quick totake it away and I'm always like
, can you just leave it?
Because if we have, like myselfor a partner, the birth ball
can be a great thing to help yousit very close to the bed.
If you're sitting next to themom on the bed and if you're
doing back massage or counterpressure or pelvic rock or
anything doing some hands-oncomfort, you can sit on the
(06:36):
birth ball and be close to thebed.
So it's just another sit toolas well, but it is.
They do roll around and get inthe if we do need to get rid of
it.
Okay, so that's labor forsitting.
Another thing you can do duringlabor is use it to kneel against
.
So whether you have a yoga maton the ground, you're just
(06:58):
kneeling on a soft-ish surface,carpet, whatever.
If you're on the birthbed oryour bed at home, you can kneel
on the bed, have the ball infront of you to kneel against.
So it's kind of like extendedprayer position, if you will,
where your arms or yourshoulders are broad, open and
you're kind of draped over thatbirth ball and that can kind of
(07:19):
give a nice long sway to yourback where it elongates the
spine and let your belly justkind of hang there while you're
supporting your knees, leaningonto the birth ball.
So that's a good forwardposture in a restful spot, so
restful to your legs, restful toyour arms, as you're leaning
forward.
Knees might get tired after awhile so we can kind of work
(07:39):
with that.
Another space for the birth ballis in the tub.
A lot of people or in theshower excuse me, a lot of
people have I've seen and workedwith at home in hospitals.
We'll take that birth ballright into the shower, sit on it
, do the swaying, do the moving.
Those can get wet, they'rewaterproof.
So great place to sit on andget some good hydrotherapy too
in a shower.
(07:59):
All right, I want to move now.
Okay, wait, let me go to after,before I move to peanut balls,
postpartum, Postpartum the ballcan be great for kind of rocking
a baby on.
Babies love rhythm, they lovemotion, they love movement, they
love warm bodies and breathingand heartbeats.
They love everything about therhythm of life and movement.
(08:21):
So sometimes that's a nicespace for mom or dad or partner
or any kind of caregiver to kindof rock that baby.
Just do a little gentlebouncing as we're getting that
baby to sleep and, especially ifyou're adequate, just do a
little gentle bouncing as we'regetting that baby to sleep.
And especially if you'readequate, sitting on a birth
ball can be comfortable.
A little easier, I think, tomove on a birth ball than it is
like in a rocker or something,depending on your rocker or
(08:46):
rocking chair.
I have another note on a birthball.
I was at a birth a couple weeksago and this mom was having a
breech baby.
It was amazing, she wasunmedicated.
Go, and this mom was having abreech baby.
It was amazing, she wasunmedicated.
She did fabulous and so did herbirth team.
But she loved the birth ballalmost all the way through labor
and I thought about thatbecause she had a different
presenting part, not a head butthe cute little bum of a baby
(09:09):
coming down.
She and I talked to her at ourpostpartum visit too.
She said that birth ball wasthe best tool for her throughout
the process.
So that's another case where itworked beautifully.
I also have seen people likemaybe the mom is sitting on the
birth ball and a partner's in achair or something well
supported behind her and shemight be on the birth ball and
just kind of roll her hipsforward, like so it's kind of on
(09:31):
her sacrum and so she's leaningback and just being supported
in her partner's lap, so likemaybe a thigh of the partner
under each arm, so it kind ofcreates this awesome armchair
where she can kind of lay back.
That's another position.
People have used a birth ball induring labor.
All right, let's switch topeanut balls.
So peanut balls have beenaround for a while.
(09:52):
A lot of people say what's apeanut ball?
I'm like it's a ball that'sshaped like a peanut, but a big
peanut, right, not a tiny peanut.
And there are different sizesof peanut balls.
Some of them are way too big,some are way too small.
Again, depending on the size ofthe person, their height, the
length of their legs Shorterpeople get smaller peanut balls.
Taller people get smallerpeanut balls.
(10:13):
Taller people get larger peanutballs.
If we're going to be using themfor traditional purposes and
sometimes the nurses don't takethat into account when they'll
bring a peanut ball into theroom, so I'll ask around in a
hospital setting for a differentpeanut ball.
So kind of traditionally whatpeanut balls are used for.
They're a fabulous tool afterpeople get an epidural in in
traditional sense.
So it's something that canallow for a lot of great hip
(10:35):
movement and opening of thepelvis while the mom is not in
an upright position.
So peanut balls in atraditional sense we lie the
patient on their side, put thepeanut ball between their legs
and the divot in the middle ofthe peanut ball.
That's kind of where a knee,the top knee, kind of drapes
over and the legs just kind ofhold it there in place.
So if your nurse is using apeanut ball that may be how
(10:56):
she's using it She'll pop itbetween the legs, leave the room
.
I love to use peanut balls muchmore dynamically than that and
not keep them static but keepthat moving.
So we can do the peanut ball,put it in that same position,
but we'll do I call it rocketand roll the peanut ball.
When we move the peanut ballforward we're and then backwards
.
So we're doing some reallygreat thigh and hip rotation and
(11:19):
we're almost creating a reallyexaggerated big hip walking for
the patient while they arelaying down.
So we do lose some mobilitywhen folks get epidurals and
we're stuck to the bed.
But really for the support team, for the partner, for the doula
, that's when your job goes up,because we need to keep that
mobility going.
The peanut ball is a fabulousway to do that, so kind of
(11:42):
rocking and rolling it um, itcan get exhausting for the
person who's doing it.
It's quite comfortable for thepatient who's having it done,
but for the person person who'sdoing it, I will do it for
several minutes, sometimes halfan hour, and then leave it be,
do some stillness and we balancebetween rest and mobility.
We can turn the patient over tothe other side, do the same
thing, so she's offering a tonof different options and opening
(12:04):
spaces for the baby inside andduring labor.
So that's a use for a peanutball during labor.
Another use for a peanut ball wecan use it kind of crosswise
and people will and I alwayscover, by the way, any ball that
I use during labor.
I cover it with something,whether that's a full on sheet,
a hospital gown, a chucks pad,whatever a towel.
(12:24):
I like to cover that the feelof the plastic's kind of weird,
I think, on the skin and thenjust a nice barrier for
cleanliness, you know, extrabarrier of cleanliness and just
soft touch to the skin.
I like to cover birth balls upor peanut balls.
So another use you kind of makea T, like make it how do I
explain this without pictures?
So like make a T with the birthball to the mom's torso so she
(12:49):
can again lean forward.
So she might be kneeling on thebed or on the floor and she can
kneel forward.
This is kind of a forwardposture, almost an a knee, open
knee chest position, but thebirth ball is supporting her so
you're not as low to the groundlike if you're kneeling and your
chest is on the ground.
Um, that is not a verycomfortable position for a long
(13:09):
time can be very helpful inmoving babies who are a little
bit in a interesting position,but the birth ball adds a little
bit of support there.
You could also line the birthball straight up with the torso
or with the body, kind of pushit down the body so it's between
the legs, a little bit kind oflike straddling the birth ball.
This could be for people withepidurals or without and get on
(13:32):
hands and knees and kind of do adeep knee chest in a bed or on
a supported space on the flooror something that's soft for
your knees to be on Also a greatplace to kind of straddle the
birth, I mean the peanut ballthat way An interesting use of a
peanut ball.
One time as well I had a clientwho she was kneeling on the bed
(13:53):
wanted to kind of be moresupported, so we just put the
birth ball right behind herknees.
She was kind of draped up overthe top of the bed, which was up
high in a seated position kindof, and then we pulled out the
stirrups from the bed which comeout from underneath on either
side.
Hopefully you never see thosein labor.
I don't love it when those comeout at the end of labor, but
they do sometimes and lots insome areas of the country.
(14:14):
Sometimes they never come out,but we did pull these stirrups
out during labor and we kind ofbraced the birth or the peanut
ball between the stirrups andthe back of the mom so she could
(14:37):
kind of lean back and hadreally good support resting her
legs and sinking into thatposition as she wanted to.
So both balls are very goodtools during labor, especially
after an epidural.
That peanut ball is going tohelp with mobility and the birth
ball has some good prenataluses, some good labor uses and
some really great postpartumuses as well.
I suggest people get one andhave it at home as your kid
becomes a toddler.
It's a great toy for them toplay with.
But it's a good thing to sit onfor all people really.
(14:58):
But during labor the fluidityof that with for the pelvis and
the spine can be a really niceand a comfortable space to sit,
helps open pelvises.
It gives another option as atool for people to use during
labor, and that's what we wantis to have lots of options
available, lots of tools andthere's lots of ways to use them
.
So hopefully you can take allthat information about balls,
(15:20):
balls, balls and use those asyou see fit for your situation.
It can be a great thing to use.
I've seen it used in many waysand it's something I always look
for in a birth room or a homebirth when I arrive as a doula.
Thanks so much for being with ustoday.
I hope you are having a greatday.
Not every day is good, I'maware of that, but hopefully you
can find some little brightlining of today.
(15:42):
A lot of times that comes fromother people.
So reach out, make a humanconnection, whether that's eye
contact.
Reach out, touch someone, givea hug, make a human connection
with somebody you know orsomebody you don't Hope.
You have a good one, and wewill see you here next time.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Thank you for listening to the Ordinary Doula
podcast with Angie Rozier,hosted by Birth Learning.
Episode credits will be in theshow notes Tune in next time as
we continue to explore the manyaspects of giving birth.
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