Monthly Update: Activating Pelvic Function, VBAC Tips, Online Classes, and More!

By: Gail Tully |

2020-04-07 |

Community Updates,

Provider Tips

In this month’s update:

A message from our Founder Gail Tully
Advice from Gail on enhancing balance plus pelvic and bladder function
Tips for having a VBAC and reducing pain in vaginal birth
How you can take an Online, Guided Spinning Babies® Parent Class
Announcing our new online course: Resolving Shoulder Dystocia
Get the latest news on our 2020 World Confluence
A New Book For Parents: Sex After Birth
List of workshops including rescheduled or canceled events due to COVID-19

A Message from Gail

Dear Community,
I’m reaching out to you during what seems to be the public health crisis of our century. So many of us are sitting in our homes. Some of you have just recently discovered your pregnancies. Some of you are about to give birth. Connection to family and community are extremely valuable during the life phase of family-making. And just as the definition of family has evolved in recent decades, we’re now evolving the ways we connect with our community.
Technology is more central to forming community now than at any time in the past. Social distancing is keeping people safer by slowing the transmission of the coronavirus. Our ideas of proximity reform as we bring family, friends, and even professionals and clients together via the internet. Midwives and doctors are conducting prenatals on Zoom, doulas are present in birthing rooms on FaceTime, and I am showing up on Facebook Live.

Because we have parents out of work and workshops that are canceled, Spinning Babies® is seeking more and more ways to get low-cost education to parents. Right now, there is free information on SpinningBabies.com that can reduce suffering and pain in labor and resume stalled labor. Yet human contact is the best medicine (laughter, too!). Our innovative Spinning Babies® Certified Parent Educators continue to support pregnant parents online.
grandparenting in the coronavirus quarantine

grandparenting in the coronavirus quarantine

The nature of the human spirit is to rise. We rest now, and we will surely return together. (Rest? My grandmother said a change is as good as a rest, and so my staff understands as they are working from home at full speed—warp speed!!) Please support one another online with smiles, pleasant voices, and especially gratitude.
What would Dr. Suess say? See below.
Oh! The places you'll go!

Activating Pelvic Function

The “ball squeeze” is a simple activity for enhancing balance and pelvic and bladder function. Pregnant or not, this is a very good activity!
You can sit up in a chair or lie on the floor (or bed) on your back with bent knees. Either way works just as well. Get comfortable and aligned.
Place a nine-inch (23 cm) ball between your knees. With each exhale, squeeze the ball with your knees. Don’t act like an athlete for this. Simply squeeze enough to feel your muscles engage but not to see how strong you can be. Relax your legs while you inhale, but don’t let the ball drop to the floor. Repeat five times.
ball squeeze
Now move the ball to the middle of your thighs. Squeeze again with each exhale. Relax with each inhale for five repetitions. You’ll notice a new set of muscles are engaging.
You can get fancy. Change the direction of your toes for each cycle of five squeezes. Here’s how:

First, set your feet parallel, no farther apart than the ball is wide. Squeeze the ball five times between the knees and five times between the thighs with your feet in this position.
Second, turn your toes out. Touch your heels together, but point your toes outward. Keep your feet flat on the floor. Again, squeeze the ball five times between both the knees and thighs with your feet in this position.
Third and last, touch your toes together but set your heels apart. Repeat five times for both ways of squeezing the ball.

This is a great activity to repeat one or two times a day for several days in a row. Then repeat it at least every few days. If you forget and find bladder control, balance while walking, or pelvic pain (including symphysis pubis pain) bothering you again, then do these squeezes five times again, several days in a row.

VBAC Month

April is VBAC month. Did you know that a birth team intending to help a person give birth vaginally after a previous cesarean has a similar rate of vaginal birth as if the birthing person hadn’t had a cesarean previously? Hospitals on the East Coast of the United States commonly have vaginal birth rates of 60–84%. This rate is similar to VBAC rates for birthing parents who have had one or two previous cesareans.

Labor without an Epidural

In season 16, episode 14 of Grey’s Anatomy, Meredith Grey says, “For some reason, someone decided a long time ago that naming pain is impolite, that hiding it and hiding from it makes more sense. It doesn’t.”

Today, hospital personnel are busy and birthing parents are expected to be more independent in coping with labor. Fear of labor pain is one of the top concerns of laboring people. Begin with our comfort measures in pregnancy, and repeat them in labor. Realize that a balanced body releases the baby in a natural process. Breathing can be a big ally for coping.

Don’t Overthink It

Labor might be work and usually painful work at that. But don’t make it more painful by tensing up and fighting labor sensations. Given that labor is usually painful work, don’t miss your chance to prepare by pretending it won’t be.

Reducing Pain in a Vaginal Birth

Your body has natural pain relievers inside. Access your inner relief with body balancing, breathing, visualization, hypnosis, and love.

A common reason for pain and for cesarean in healthy MotherBabies is that the baby doesn’t come into the pelvis. Labor can go on and on without bringing the baby into the pelvis. Sometimes the cervix dilates; sometimes it doesn’t. The best question to ask isn’t about cervical dilation but where the baby is.

A baby that stays high even when strong contractions try to bring baby into the pelvis needs more room at the top of the pelvis. Plié in second position! Standing or lying down, put your heels toward each other, and toes apart, bend your knees. Pull the knees apart. Now flatten your lower back and let the contraction surge through you. You’re powerful! You’re flexible! As part of nature, the miracle of birth is flowing through you and bringing your baby into your pelvis!

Doing a Forward-leaning Inversion and a Side-lying Release on both sides can reduce contraction pain in labors when the uterus has to use every power to bring baby into the pelvis. Do these techniques both before the baby is engaged and once again after the baby is deep in the pelvis.
Your birth can be an expression of yourself and how you cope with uncertainty in your life. Bring your best coping style forward—the one that is flexible, observant, responsive, and fun.

Notice what is going on. Name the fear you feel. And let it be felt, even if it doesn’t feel polite, even if you are concerned it won’t be heard. You will hear yourself. Once you allow yourself to hear yourself, you can respond better to what is happening now. Don’t worry about things that might happen. Eat well and move well and keep talking about your feelings, insights, and knowledge. Respond with a flexible attitude. There are always more than two options. You can find a way, but the first step is to accept that you can find a way.
We are blessed to have many certified and certifying Parent Educators guiding pregnant people who have questions about the Spinning Babies® Parent Class video. One wonderful way they provide one-on-one (or one-on-two!) guidance is through our online guided Spinning Babies® Parent Classes. Pick a Parent Educator near you from our listing. Use the keyword “online” on our website to find these courses.

Online, Guided Spinning Babies® Parent Class Announcement

In light of the current health crisis, Spinning Babies® community members are working harder than ever to offer accessible help for comfort in pregnancy and building confidence for parents. Our community of Spinning Babies® Certified and Provisional Parent Educators are now offering Online Guided Spinning Babies® Parent Classes.
Contact a Spinning Babies® Certified Parent Educator to learn about their package offerings which include:

Spinning Babies® Online Parent Class video streaming/download
Digital Spinning Babies® Parent Class Materials: a Companion eBook, Daily Pregnancy Activity Guide, Labor Guide, and More!
A private or small group video conference session to support you, answer your questions and practice techniques.

Each SpBCPE has their own offering and you can contact them directly to find out more! We encourage you to look for someone local to you whenever possible as they will have insight and knowledge particular to your community.

Our Certified Parent Educators can bring our Parent Class video “alive and online” for your pregnancy preparations during social distancing.
This is a fantastic opportunity to shorten your labor and reduce pain which has a supportive effect on shortening a hospital stay or helping a home birth actually take place at home and avoid a transfer to a hospital. While labor remains hard work for most, there are many techniques to ease your experience! Find out why Spinning Babies is a favorite among both parents and professionals!

Resolving Shoulder Dystocia Online Course

Spinning Babies® would like to announce our NEW Online Course: Resolving Shoulder Dystocia!

Learn about safe techniques for resolving multiple types of shoulder dystocia in this continuing education course by Midwife and Spinning Babies® Creator Gail Tully. You’ll have 60 days of access to presentations, birth videos, first-hand experiences of midwives, practice drills, printable resources, and more. This course reviews birth anatomy, the different types of SD, solutions for each type, and how to think critically in a time of crisis and incorporate this life-saving information into your practice.
Providers, watch for our new online courses beginning with Resolving Shoulder Dystocia available after April 16 in our online shop.

2020 World Confluence Update

Hoping to come to our Australia conference? Our Spinning Babies® 2020 World Confluence is October 16–18, 2020.
Right now, we are all the world wondering what our future travels and big events will look like. Please be assured that everyone registering for our conference will have access to options should the conference get canceled. We are exploring what it would take to add an online LIVE and recorded conference experience. Please stay tuned. If we cancel you will get a 100% refund.

Spinning Babies® is concerned about participant safety, health, and travel. We are formulating creative solutions to meet participant needs for our Spinning Babies® 2020 World Confluence. Together we can bring peaceful physiology to birthing even in this unsure world. Save the dates October 16-18.

So let’s continue with confidence that social contact will resume and babies will continue to be born! In fact, we may anticipate a baby boom in December and January, so you will be sure to want the skills learned in this October Conference!
Gail Tully kneels with pelvis in RSD Brazil
Once you register, you’ll need to know where to go! See all the conference offerings and decide whether you want to attend the pre- or post-conferences. Monday’s post-conference is open to all. Check to see if you’re eligible for the others by having taken the prerequisite Spinning Babies® Workshop three months before the 4-day Certified Parent Educator training or Aware Practitioner Workshop. Other prerequisites are on the website.

We understand that we live in uncertainty about international and domestic travel and gatherings in groups. We’re working hard to investigate and use great options. Keep communicating about lodging with the Facebook group!
Find a hotel or vacation rental before you plan your travel to Caloundra (contact us in case we have an extra bed, couch, or room). Domestic flights to the closest airport to our World Confluence at Caloundra is Sunshine Coast (aka, Maroochydore) Airport. This is on the Sunshine Coast and about a thirty-minute drive from your accommodations at Caloundra. Brisbane Airport is a 1.25-hour drive to Caloundra. This is a good option if you plan to hire a car or are happy to catch an airport bus up to your door with con-x-ion.com services. International guests will first fly in via either Melbourne or Sydney, which both have direct flights to Sunshine Coast (aka, Maroochydore) Airport in the day (not all night).
We believe in life and resilience! We’re holding the conference!

A New Book For Parents

“World renowned childbirth educator, doula trainer and global inspiration speaker Debra Pascali-Bonaro offers her years of wisdom working with new parents to guide you with her simple actionable steps that will turn your struggles into opportunities for more love, fun and sex” in The Ultimate Guide to Sex After Baby: Let’s Talk About What No One Is Talking About.
Sex After Baby Book
From Gail: “I find the book relevant and thoroughly engaging. The gracious voice of Debra Pascali-Bonaro invites us all into a discovery of our sensuous self-connection. My immediate delight with Debra’s book is her quality of “voice” creating a welcoming reception for the intimate reader. Gentle, honest, and inspiring. The very act of reading this book invites us to enjoy more of our whole selves even as we are giving so much of our selves to our baby.”

You learn more and can get your copy here.

Upcoming Workshops

APRIL 2020
8 – Kilkenny, Ireland – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Fiona Hallinan – RESCHEDULED
10 – Helena, MT – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Nikki Zerfas – RESCHEDULED
14-15 – Buffalo, NY – 2-Day Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Lorenza Holt – POSTPONED
15 – Altoona, PA – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Rhea Williams – RESCHEDULED
15-16 – Campinas, SP/Brazil – Oficina Spinning Babies® 2 dias com Maíra Libertad – RESCHEDULED
16 – Fort Collins, CO – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan – CANCELLED
18 – San Diego, CA – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tema Mercado – CANCELLED
18-19 – Riverside, CA – 2-Day Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tema Mercado – CANCELLED
18-19 – Namur, Belgium – 2-Day Spinning Babies®️ Workshop w/ Nikki Zerfas – RESCHEDULED
18-19 – Ribeirão Preto, SP/Brasil – Oficina Spinning Babies® 2 dias com Maíra Libertad – RESCHEDULED
19 – Manchester, CT – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan – CANCELLED
20 – New Haven, CT – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan – CANCELLED
21 – Manchester, CT – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan – CANCELLED
22 – Frederick, MD – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Rhea Williams – RESCHEDULED
23 – Livonia, MI – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan – CANCELLED
24 – Livonia, MI – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan – CANCELLED
25 – Lafayette, LA – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Rhea Williams – POSTPONED
25 – Livonia, MI – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan – CANCELLED
25 – San Diego, CA – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Nicole Morales – RESCHEDULED
25 – Southfield, MI – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Kelly Dungan – RESCHEDULED
25-26 – São José dos Campos, SP/Brazil – Oficina Spinning Babies® 2 dias com Maíra Libertad – RESCHEDULED
25-26 – Brussels, Belgium – Spinning Babies® Workshop 2 Jours avec Nikki Zerfas – RESCHEDULED
26 – Southfield, MI – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Kelly Dungan – RESCHEDULED
26 – San Diego, CA – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Nicole Morales – RESCHEDULED
29 – Gettysburg, PA – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Rhea Williams – CANCELLED
29 – Dodge City, KS – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan – CANCELLED
30 – Traralgon, VIC, Austalia – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Fiona Hallinan – CANCELLED
30- 5/1 – Ukiah, CA – 2-Day Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tema Mercado

MAY 2020
1 – Denver, CO – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Gail Tully
2 – Sacramento, CA – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Nikki Zerfas – POSTPONED
2 – Hamilton, ON, Canada – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Kelly Dungan – RESCHEDULED
2 – Fort Wayne, IN – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan
2-3 – Belo Horizonte, MG/Brazil – Oficina Spinning Babies® 2 dias com Maíra Libertad – RESCHEDULED
3 – Sacramento, CA – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Nikki Zerfas – POSTPONED
3 – Hamilton, ON, Canada – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Kelly Dungan – RESCHEDULED
4 – Alexandria, VA – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Rhea Williams – POSTPONED
4 – Avon, IN – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan
4-5 – Tumut, NSW, Australia – 2 Day Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Fiona Hallinan & Jenny Blyth – CANCELLED
4-5 – Belo Horizonte, MG/Brasil – Oficina Spinning Babies® 2 dias com Maíra Libertad – RESCHEDULED
6 – Ann Arbor, MI – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan – CANCELLED
7 – Ann Arbor, MI – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan – CANCELLED
7-8 – Minneapolis, MN – 2-Day Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Gail Tully and Jennifer Walker – CANCELLED
8 – Toledo, OH – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Rhea Williams – RESCHEDULED
8-9 – Sydney, NSW, Australia – 2 Day Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Fiona Hallinan & Jenny Blyth – CANCELLED
9 – Columbus, OH – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Rhea Williams – POSTPONED
9 – Chicago, IL – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan
11 – Falls Church, VA – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Rhea Williams – POSTPONED
11-12 – Newcastle, NSW, Australia – 2 Day Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Fiona Hallinan & Jenny Blyth – CANCELLED
12 – Edmonton, AB Canada- Spinning Babies® Integration Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan
13 – Edmonton, AB Canada – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan
13-14 – São Paulo, SP/Brasil – Oficina Spinning Babies® 2 dias com Maíra Libertad – RESCHEDULED
13-16 – Austin, TX – Spinning Babies® Parent Educator Training – POSTPONED
16 – Media, PA – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Rhea Williams
16 – Green Bay, WI – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan – CANCELLED
16-17 – Florianópolis, SC/Brasil – Oficina Spinning Babies® 2 dias com Maíra Libertad – RESCHEDULED
16-17 – Montréal, Québec/Canada – Spinning Babies®️ Workshop 2 Jours avec Nikki Zerfas – POSTPONED
17 – Green Bay, WI – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan
18 – San Francisco, CA – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Nicole Morales – SOLD OUT
18-21 – Rishon LeZion – Spinning Babies® Parent Educator Training
19 – San Francisco, CA – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Nicole Morales – SOLD OUT
19 – Huntsville, AL – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan – CANCELLED
19-20 – Minneapolis, MN – 2-Day Spinning Babies® and Core Awareness™ w/ Gail Tully and Liz Koch – CANCELLED
21 – St. Louis, MO – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan – SOLD OUT
21-22 – Auckland, NZ – 2-Day Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Claire Eccleston – RESCHEDULED
22 – St. Louis, MO – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan
23 – Oakdale, PA – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Kelly Dungan – RESCHEDULED
28-29 – Brisbane, QLD, Australia – 2 Day Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Fiona Hallinan & Jenny Blyth – CANCELLED
29 – Hermitage, TN – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan
29 – Wellington, NZ – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Claire Eccleston – RESCHEDULED
30 – Derby, CT – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Rhea Williams – POSTPONED
30 – Franklin, TN – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan – SOLD OUT
30-31 – Ventura, CA – 2-Day Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tema Mercado
30-31 – Northern Rivers Area, NSW, Australia – 2 Day Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Fiona Hallinan & Jenny Blyth – CANCELLED
30-31 – Morristown, NJ – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Kelly Dungan
30-31 – Goiânia, GO/Brasil – Oficina Spinning Babies® 2 dias com Maíra Libertad

DECEMBER 2020
1 – Port St Lucie, FL – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan
1-2 – Christchurch, NZ – 2-Day Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Claire Eccleston
2 – Port St Lucie, FL – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan
4 – Nolensville, TN – Spinning Babies® Integration Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan
4 – Tauranga, NZ – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Claire Eccleston
5 – Nolensville, TN – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan
12 – Kissimmee, FL – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan
13 – Kissimmee, FL – Spinning Babies® Workshop w/ Tammy Ryan
See all upcoming events on our calendar here.