Techniques
Techniques for Pelvic Pain
Fetal Malpositions often begin with an imbalance in the mother's pelvis. While this is not always true, it is often true. Over the years, women have contacted me about both malpositions and pain reported they also have pain or significant discomfort somewhere in the pelvis and/or lower back. Learning from others and seeing the results, I now believe that the imbalance causes the pain and the malposition. It's not the malposition that begins the pain! Treating the cause of the pain often solves the fetal malposition as well, since then baby can often slip into an improved, or even optimal, fetal position.
Standing Release
What: Standing Release
Sometimes called a Standing Sacral Release, this myofascial release was fine tuned by Dr. Carol Phillips when a pregnant woman couldn't tolerate lying down for the abdominal release (diaphragmatic release).
Pelvic Tilts
The Pelvic Tilt
The pelvic tilt, done with the mother on hands-and-knees, is good to relax the lower back after a long day. This gentle rocking exercise keeps the pelvic joints loose, too. But is it good to help a posterior (forward facing) baby get into a better, anterior, position for birth?
Open-knee chest
Sometimes a posterior or asynclitic baby is jammed in the brim of the pelvis, but a bit crooked, stalling progress.
The Open-knee chest is one way of doing an inversion to back the baby out. The Open-knee chest additionally opens the angle of the symphysis away from the spine, making the entrance to the pelvis larger front to back. Lovely. Contractions can then rotate the baby.
Walcher's Trochanter Roll to "engage" baby
This is a technique to use only occasionally in labor. Walcher's Position is used to engage a baby that is high, not really in the pelvis yet, yet contractions are regular and strong. The baby may be stuck at the brim or inlet of the pelvis. I don't know if it works in pregnancy, before labor. But I know that if you can use this position through and between three contractions in labor that it will bring the baby into a normal pelvic brim. Contractions make it work.
Psoas Release and Resolution
Please let me refer you off my site to CoreAwareness.com with Liz Koch. I'm really excited about her work and she can tell you the best.
http://www.coreawareness.com/qanda/hands-on-techniques-psoas/#more-826
What: The psoas (so-as) is a large pair of muscles from the spine between the pelvis and the ribs that wrap like cradling wings around to the front of the pelvis and drop down to attach at the lower end to the top of the thigh bone. They help us walk upright, support our abdominal organs. The tone of the psoas pair can have an effect on the descent of the baby and even fetal position.
Hands & Knees
Hands and knees position, all fours, knees and elbows and kneeling over a birthing ball. Crawling and stretching exercises, too! These are similar positions that actually assist the baby with the movements of birth. Read how making your belly the perfect hammock can help prepare for labor and make progress for your birth. This is the safest position for birthing a breech baby, read why!
Can these activities cause a bad reaction?
Occasionally, the question arises, can maternal positioning and the techniques featured at Spinning Babies cause a baby in a good position to get into a "bad" position. For instance, could doing these techniques when baby is head down make the baby flip head up. Or, could they turn a baby who's in an anterior position to a posterior presentation? Is there any harm in doing these?
I am inclined to say no. With exceptions....
Side-lying Release
This is not just lying on one's side and leaning your leg over. Read carefully how to do this dramatically helpful technique. Do 1-2 times in late pregnancy and once in early labor to reduce labor length. Do the pelvic floor/side-lying release in any long labor. Use this technique at 5-6 cm or more, even pushing, for the asynclitic baby.
Birth Balls
“I asked (at the hastily arranged private tour) about birthing balls,
they said they had them, they really liked them, and there was NOTHING
like a birthing ball for getting a posterior baby to turn, really opens the pelvis...”
– Hedra at
http://hedra.typepad.com/hands_full_of_rocks/2009/04/hypnopbirthing.html
Hands Full of Rocks; a collection of essays on parenthood
Professional Help
The need for techniques varies among women. Like the bell curve, some women - on one end - will not need any techniques. Most will benefit from a few, whether in pregnancy and/or during labor. And a few women in every group will not receive the benefits of techniques until they visit with one or even more professionals for specific body work techniques. This article lists the professionals who offer body work to pregnant (and sometimes, laboring) women and then gives a brief description of their service.
Roll-over
A technique for labor when progress is slow. Contractions help this technique to work effectively. Penny Simkin and Ruth Ancheta call it the Roll-over. Others have called it flipping pancakes.
At Spinning Babies, I've said, when you want to move the baby, move the mother. This technique literally rotates the mother to help the baby rotate! We've used variations of this technique for many years. The mom shown here is in a variation of the Hands and Knees position, the start of the Roll-over.
Breech Tilt
The Breech Tilt is a widely known inversion technique to help a breech baby flip to a head-down position.
Use this technique 1-3 times a day if you are told your baby is breech. You can start as early as 30-32 weeks and continue through to the time that you know that your baby is head down. Some doctors suggest starting later because most babies flip on their own. The Breech Tilt is not invasive. Ask your doctor if there is any medical reason not to do a Breech Tilt for your breech baby starting after 30 weeks. Alternatively, the Forward-leaning Inversion is recommended at any weeks gestation for any fetal position.
For more understanding, read the Inversion article in this section and Flip a Breech under Baby Positions.
The Inversion
The Forward-leaning inversion is a classic here at Spinning Babies. Getting into an upside down position can increase the symmetry of the lower uterine segment; release spasming ligaments causing pelvic pain; or help a breech, an oblique (diagonal lie) or posterior baby reposition themselves.
Daily inversions in pregnancy may promote optimal fetal positioning. Done correctly, the ligaments will respond!
The Abdominal Lift and Tuck
The Abdominal Lift is of the most effective early labor techniques was popularized by a Texas Engineer who wrote Back Pain No More. I learned it from Penny Simkin at her Birth Doula Training.
I added the word tuck to remind the user to tuck their pelvis. By this I mean do a standing Pelvic Tilt. By this I mean flattening the lower back.
Here are two pictures.
The Dangle
The dangle allows the pelvis to have the most mobility of any technique.
When contractions are strong and the baby needs more room to come down, the dangle can make all the difference.
