What the H is a Peanut Ball?
We all heard about birthing balls as the true essential in the last stage of you pregnancy as well as during labour, but what the H is a peanut birthing ball?
Well, the same idea applies here. It’s a “ball” that was first used in physical therapy offices, but it’s now also used during labor and delivery. It has an oblong, peanut-shell shape (hence the name) that dips in the center so you can wrap your legs around it.
You can use a traditional birthing ball on the floor to bounce on or hunch over during labor. For those who give birth in bed — say, due to having an epidural, being tired, or having a personal preference — there are similar benefits with a peanut ball.
If you are experiencing labour in bed, the peanut ball is one of the best props to open your pelvis. Flying cow-girl, semi sitting lunge, fire hydrant and side-lying are a few position examples you can experience while using the peanut ball.
How does it work ? And why it helps labour with epidurals?
The peanut ball has only been recently used as a support for women labouring with epidurals. The peanut ball is shaped like a peanut and fits snugly between the woman’s legs so that both legs are maintained as opening the pelvic outlet to increase the progress of labour and facilitate descent of the foetal head.
Using position changes during labour to enhance widening of the pelvic outlet can be beneficial but a woman who has an epidural is limited in the number of positions she can adopt.
Depending on how the peanut ball is positioned, various levels of mama’s pelvis will open out, which means easier passage for baby to come down and out.
The major claim is that a peanut ball can help women who are in bed open the pelvis in a similar way to a birthing ball can help on the ground.
The peanut ball is the perfect tool to keep you moving with an epidural because as you know movement brings improvement in birth !
Peanut balls may also help during the first and second stages of labor. This means you can use them as your cervix is doing the work to dilate to 10cm and then again in the pushing stage.
Other possible benefits of using a peanut ball during labor include:
- reduction in pain
- shortened labor time
- reduction in rate of cesarean delivery
- reduction in rate of other interventions, like forceps and vacuum extraction.
You can also enjoy the benefits of using peanut balls in late pregnancy as well, as sitting on one may ease pressure on the back and encourage good posture. Some midwifes/doulas even suggest kneeling or leaning on the ball to move baby into a favorable birthing position before labor.
Some research also find that the peanut ball can shorten labor, findings say it may shorten the first stage by as much as 90 minutes. And the second stage — pushing — may be reduced by around 23 minutes on average. Add those numbers up, and that’s meeting your baby nearly two hours sooner!
When it comes to pain management and relief, all types of birthing balls showed that women who use them see significant improvements. Why? Because moving positions during labor may help with pain, and the peanut ball encourages movement.
If you’re planning an epidural for pain, you may worry that using a ball might lessen the epidural effects but there is really no need for concern.
Your hospital will always have birthing balls options but rarely peanut balls, and we highly recommend you to get one.
