I had a nurse tell one of my Hypnobabies students this, during a hospital tour.
You can bring a birth ball, but you may not want to sit on one during your birth it can cause your cervice to swell.
Really? What is she basing this judgement on? A birth where a mom had a swollen cervix and she had been sitting on a birth ball?
I have never heard of this before. Have any of you? I told the mom it was likely just an experience the nurse had and was a one time thing. That she should sit on her birth ball if it felt good to her.
On another note, my big boys were visiting their grandparents this summer and helping them plan a family fun day. My oldest said, “We should get a birth ball and roll it down the hill.” My mom wasn’t sure what a birth ball was, he explained and she realized it was an exercise ball.
My boys are very well oriented to birthing terms. They will make great birth partners one day.
I have never heard of that either. Correlation does not always equal causation. I loved my birth ball and I will use it for my next birth! No swollen cervix here!
Weird! I actually BOUGHT my birth ball at a hospital tour. They had us all sit on them during the presentation period and explained the benefits of having one during pregnancy and during labor. They showed us some different ways to use them. Then they offered them at a discounted price. (Talk about great marketing!! Have us all try them out after starting out sitting in the usually uncomfortable fold up chairs!!) 😉 They also showed the entire “Happiest Baby on the Block” DVD and recommended the book. This was all at the TOUR (not at the labor prep classes–which I took elsewhere, privately.) FYI, this was at Pomona Valley….where I subsequently wound up with a c-section due to breech presentation.
I digress…..WEIRD advice about the cervix advice! I have never heard of that!!!
Never heard of this, or heard anyone saying this. Makes no sense. A swollen cervix is usually the result of pushing too early.
I used my birth ball early in labor and can’t say that my cervix swelled. Sounds like a load of crap to me. Maybe they just don’t want them around and aren’t allowed to say so.
that just make me laugh out loud!! Seriously.. I’ve heard some funny stuff from hospital staff, but that is pretty high up there.. all “my mommas” use a birth ball. I used a birth ball.. never ever had a swollen cervix. I would agree with pushing too early.. when you aren’t fully dilated, can cause a swollen cervix.. wow.. interesting.. 😉
So silly…never heard that one before!
Okay – I was about to chime in and say that this is totally, patently ridiculous, but then I started thinking about the pushing early causing swelling, and then the physiology of being on the ball . . . is there ANY remote possibility that prolonged, upright gentle bouncing-like action (if the mother were doing this instead of just sitting or leaning on it) on the ball could create some of the same kind of pressure on the cervix as early pushing?
I know, I know, it seems HIGHLY improbable, but the thought occurred. Don’t throw tomatoes at me!
I think that would require some really BIG bouncing to create the same force as pushing. But, I guess it is possible. I think it is more likely that the mom that this nurse saw maybe was pushing while on the ball and that caused the swelling in this one mom and now this nurse is scaring moms from using birth balls.
I think you’re probably right, with that scenario.
Never heard of that one, either. 🙂 BUT.. During labor I did find out that sitting on my birthing ball at various points caused extreme pain. I think that it opened up my pelvis a bit too quickly. Standing and rocking from foot to foot and bouncing on my feet felt MUCH better. I had the same intense feeling if I sat on the toilet, or squatted.
I think mom needs to listen to her body. If it hurts like crazy to bounce on the ball, it’s possible that it’s applying too much pressure to the cervix, and it could POSSIBLY cause swelling?
But that applies to everything with labor. If a position hurts like crazy, it’s nature’s signal to move into a different position.
It’s possible that the nurse saw someone who was stubbornly insisting on staying in a position that was causing her pain because she thought that labor was about “toughing it out” rather than listening to one’s body? Or that someone had a walking epidural and was “allowed” to sit on a birth ball and did something weird because she couldn’t feel the natural labor cues to move into different positions?
No clue.
Sometimes people are odd.
I am 38 weeks pregnant and every time I sit on the birth ball or a soft stool, I experience lots of pain. So there is definitely something in this. The pain stops once I get up. I can only imagine it’s because I was sat with my legs wide apart and the baby is putting pressure on something.
Follow your body and what it is telling you. If it doesn’t feel good, don’t do it. 🙂