Let’s talk Prep 4 Birth
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You have your birth ball... but do you know what to do with it??
Prep4Birth™️ (aka Birth Ball Basics) is a 4th Trimester Fitness®️ Method evidence-based class guided by certified 4TFM instructor Chelsea Russell
Program focused on strengthening the entire body
Acquire knowledge and skills for self-advocacy
Question and answer session to prepare for labor
Engage with local mothers and a supportive community
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:
Daily exercises to strengthen and ready your body
Techniques using birth balls during pregnancy and labor
Tips for using peanut balls during epidurals and rest
Comforting methods
Relaxation strategies
Various laboring and pushing positions
Plus more!
You will need to bring your own inflated birth ball to the class. Details on ball sizing and inflation tips will be provided upon registration!
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Prep4Birth Clinic is a 3 hour clinic that is often broken up into two 1.5 hour sessions. It is appropriate for any trimester of pregnancy. We recommend taking the class as early as possible because it gives you a longer period of time to implement the exercises, to build your body strength, but also begin to prepare your mind for the emotional and mental rigors of labor and birth.
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There are many studies to support using birth balls and peanut balls during labor. With the peanut balls and CUBs, especially for those who are choosing to have an epidural, knowing how to correctly use a peanut ball or CUB during labor will significantly shorten their labor and push time. This is particularly true for first time mothers. Additionally, knowing how to use a peanut ball to open the inlet of the pelvis or the outlet of the pelvis for comfort measures in general is a useful thing for women during labor.
Using the birth ball, during pregnancy has be shown to strength your body physically. Many of the exercise we teach in the first part of the P4B clinic are specifically geared towards strengthening your legs, the muscles around your pelvis, and in your core. Simply sitting on the ball helps to fire the deep core muscles such as the transverse abdominal muscle, the internal obliques, and the external obliques. Additionally, sitting on the birth ball helps to challenge the balance center of the brain. Women in their second and third trimesters of pregnancy fall at the same rate as women at the age of over 70, so it’s important to continuously fire that balance center of the brain and challenge it.
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You will also use the ball during the clinic for the exercise portion to strengthen your legs, core, and upper body. The reason why this is important is because - as we say - in labor, your legs are the motor. We say this because during labor, up-right positions and forward leaning positions help to progress labor and help to provide an environment in which the baby is able to move into a more optimal position. We want you to use the ball during pregnancy to strengthen the body and a superb way to do so is through a wall sit. The purpose of a wall sit is dual: first, to strengthen your legs and core, and perhaps even more important, is to strengthen your mind. The longer you stay in that wall sit the more intense it becomes for your legs. This is very much mimicking the way the intensity of a contraction increases over time. It is good practice for your brain to be able to move into that mental space where you move into a relaxed, softened position even during an intense experience. You will learn more about how to do a “scan and soften” during the wall sit to practice staying relaxed and soft during the intensity of a contraction.
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The only thing you need to bring to class is a yoga mat and birth ball. If you are at home taking a virtual class, you can use the carpet in one of your bedrooms instead of a yoga mat. You may also need a scarf. We use a scarf for comfort measures and it is helpful to have on hand. You do not have to have any level of fitness to attend P4B. It is open to all levels of fitness and is not a kick but fitness. It is designed as an educational clinic. The first part of the clinic is the exercise part, and the rest is on using the birth and peanut ball in labor for positioning, comfort, and pushing. Finally we will discuss using the ball in the postpartum period to soothe a fussy baby.