If you are Pregnant! Why have a Birthing/Exercise Ball?

Unless there are medical reasons to avoid it, pregnant women can and should try to exercise moderately for at least 30 minutes a day, 3-4 times a week. Birthing Balls, commonly known as an Exercise Ball, Gym Ball, Swiss Ball or Fitness Balls, are great for relieving discomfort during pregnancy. They provide a firm, yet soft place to sit. They also force good posture, allowing for decreased straining of your muscles. In the short term, exercise helps all of us feel better physically and emotionally, and the calories burned helps prevent excessive weight gain. People who exercise regularly develop stronger muscles, bones and joints. And over time, the benefits of regular exercise are even more impressive: lower risks of premature death, heart disease and other serious illnesses.

Using the birthing ball throughout pregnancy will keep the deep supportive muscles of the spine in shape and help stimulate postural reflexes. The birthing ball has many additional uses in the later stages of pregnancy when sitting can become very uncomfortable and getting up and down from a chair becomes increasingly hard. The pregnant woman can roll up off the ball; it's much easier than getting out of a normal chair.

For pregnant women, however, exercise has added benefits. There is evidence that exercise can help prevent gestational diabetes, a form of diabetes that sometimes develops during pregnancy. And for women who already have gestational diabetes, regular exercise is recommended along with changes in diet to help bring the disease under control.

In addition, exercise can help relieve stress and build the stamina needed for labour and delivery. It's also worth mentioning that exercise can be very helpful in coping with the postpartum period. Exercise can help new mothers keep the "baby blues" at bay, cope with postnatal depression, regain their energy and lose the weight they gained during pregnancy.

In studies on maternal position during the second or pushing stage of labour, it has been found that either sitting up or lying on the side to push instead of lying on the back resulted in:-

• Shorther second stage of labour
• A reduction in assisted deliveries (vacuum and forceps)
• A reduction in episiotomies
• A smaller increase in second-degree perineal tears
• Reduced reporting of severe pain during second stage of labour
• Fewer abnormal foetal heart rate patterns

13 great reasons why you should buy a birthing ball

The main ingredient to the miracle box is the birthing ball. You may have seen one, or you may have one! Don’t mistake this as a Conventional Exercise Ball, this is more! Midwives and mothers all over the world praise this simple ball as an effective pregnancy, exercise aid. Although there are specific exercises you can learn, of which we have included, one of the main advantages of using a birthing ball in pregnancy is that you don’t have to do anything exceptional. Sitting and moving around on the ball while you are at your desk or watching TV will gently exercise your pelvic muscles, increase mobility and will help you to naturally develop good posture.

Read these benefits of the simple birthing ball. You will be amazed at what you read.

1) Incredibly effective for helping your baby settle into an ‘optimal foetal position’ - the best position for birth! Especially in the last weeks of pregnancy, you can effect the way your baby lies. Sitting on the ball at a desk or table, with your legs comfortably apart, raises your hips higher than your knees and also encourages you to lean slightly forward from your hips. In the latter stages of your pregnancy it will help to enable the babies back to roll into the curve of your belly and encourage the head to ‘engage’

2) Kneeling and rocking over the ball is great practice for labour and is also ideal for massage and relaxation.

3) The softness of the ball, compared to an ordinary chair, absorbs your weight and helps to prevent and relieve lower backpain. We are always amazed by ladies faces when they sit on the ball

4) What a perfect time to do your pelvic floor exercises. Sitting on the ball is the perfect place.

5) Gentle rolling motionwhen you sit on the ball encourages pelvic mobility and gently tones your internal and external pelvic muscles.

In Labour

6) The soft rounded contour of the ball is amazingly comfortable and easy to use - much more so than a chair or bed.

7) The ball provides you with perfect support for labour and birth positions.

8) Contractions tend to be less painful than if you were lying down.

9) It’s easier for your uterus to do its work.

10) The ball allows you to move freely and go with the flow of contractions. The rhythmic circular movements dissipate the pain and give you something to focus on.

11) Moving on the ball helps your breathing to flow more evenly. This encourages the free expression of sound, a natural way to modify pain. It also sends more oxygen to your baby and helps to prevent foetal distress.

After Birth

12) You can use the ball for postnatal exercise, to help firm and tone your hips, buttocks, thighs and abdomen - not forgetting that all important pelvic floor. We have enclosed a full exercise package

What makes our ball different!

13) You can inflate it in minutes using the dual action pump included. The soft, wipe clean, PVC material is tactile and warm to the touch. We supply in two sizes depending on your height. This is not a conventional exercise ball! We ONLY use the highest quality, anti-burst, non-slip material to ensure that you’re always safe and secure when on the ball. Even if by accident it does get punctured, it won’t burst like a balloon. The air seeps out slowly so you’re always safe. So if you haven’t made your mindup yet to purchase the miracle box! Then you should look at all the extra goodies, vouchers, wellbeing treats and savings within the box. You can’t go wrong

Delivery normally within 24 hours. All orders despatched in discreet packaging from our warehouse in Dublin.

• Cost €4.99 - premium courier
• Delivery normally within 24 hours nationwide Ireland.
• All orders in discreet, unmarked packaging to protect your privacy.
• All orders are fully track & traceable – you will receive an email from DPD with your tracking number as soon as your order is received at the depot.
• 100% deliverability nationwide Ireland.
• Please go to “packaging & shipping” for full details of our shipping policy.