substitute "birth ball"?

[wombatclay]

So, I have a physio ball I've been using as a birth ball since my first pregnancy. It's great to sit on at home, but the hospital I used with dd1 and dd2 supplied birth balls so I never had to bring "mine" to the hospital.

The hospital this time does not provide birth balls and I'm brainstorming options. Obviously I can pack my physio ball, but it's big and hard to carry when inflated (and will take up a lot of room in the car). I could deflate it, but even with a pump it takes forever to inflate and I don't want to have DH or my doula occupied with pumping up the ball while I wait!

The opion I'm playing with is bringing my dd1's "sit/bounce" ball to the hospital. It's rated for up to 300lbs so I'm not worried about popping it, it is smaller, it has a carry handle. But I don't know... it is smaller and while it would certainly help me stay in a supported squat it's going to be a very deep squat with my knees higher than my hips.

Any opinions? I haven't spent a lot of time sitting on "her" bouncy ball and I suppose I should do that to get a better feel for it's long term comfort factor, but how important do you think the size issue will be during labor? I know one point in favor of birth ball sitting is that it helps the babe line up of the exit... but would a smaller ball be as helpful?

And has anyone come up with an easy way to carry their birth ball (inflated)? I was thinking maybe some sort of big mesh bag but I don't know that I'll have time to make one!

[sunshynbaby]

Can you get a faster pump? I think the air mattress pump at Target has an attachment that will fit, and it is super fast.... just be sure to get the one that goes in an electrical outlet and not a car lighter outlet, lol.

[JamieCatheryn]

Deep squatting on a low stool contributed to a way too early urge to push with my first, I'd advise against it (but it seems I'm prone to that problem, maybe you aren't).

My advice is try and make the bag in time, but if you can't then buy a better pump. My ball fills up fairly quickly with a good hand pump. Or maybe just wrap a sheet around it and tie the ends so you have a handle?

[wombatclay]

Unfortunately the hospital wont allow anything to be plugged in (so we can't use our electric pump) and we don't have the budget to buy anything right now (so we'd be stuck using the tire pump from our bike). We did a test run with the bike pump and it's not pretty.

Because of where we live our birth plan is to drive to a hotel near the hospital in early labor and then moving to the hospital closer to the birth. So the whole show will be moving twice (from home to hotel, then hotel to hospital). I guess I'll have to figure out how to carry it in the car... the problem is that even with the car seats removed there wont be much room. DH is really tall and needs the driver's seat all the way back, then there's the doula, the birth ball, and oh yeah... the laboring mama!

Hmmmm.... maybe if I only deflate it as much as it takes to cram it into the trunk? Between that and the sheet idea maybe it'll work? And my doula offered to bring her own ball and be "in charge" of the ball so that's another option! I'm so annoyed that the shiny new million dollar birth suites at this hospital seem to come with everything you could want except for a birth ball that would set them back all of 50 dollars, and which they probably sell in their PT shop anyway!

[meganmarie]

Your doula offered to bring the birth ball? There's your solution - Take her up on it!

When my sis was a practicing doula the birth ball was one of her major contributions to the birth. She had a special cloth cover for it with a handle that made it easy to carry, and she could wash the cover after each birth for sanitation. Assuming your doula has a similar arrangement and is used to this being part of her "kit".

[MamaMem]

I took my own. I had seen the ones at the hospital and they were all smaller and underinflated. My doula put a chux over it and it stayed clean as it could be. As for getting it there, yes it took up a lot of space in the car. DH ran out to repark the car and bring in the ball once I was settled enough in L&D.

[Jilian]

Sitting with your knees higher than your pelvis can encourage baby to turn posterior so I'd say to stick with the birth ball because it will keep your knees at a 90 degree angle. When I actively doula'd I brought my birth ball and just let a little air out so it would fit in the trunk nicely. It makes it easier to carry that way too. I shouldn't take too long to fill up, maybe 10 mins tops.

[eckmannl]

This doesn't help with space in the car, but just wrap the ball in a bed sheet to carry it. Twist up the ends of the sheet like a handle.

[wombatclay]

I think I'll go with my doula's birth ball... that way I wont have to carry it home either!

Thanks all!

[SalmonBayDoula]

My tip for carrying a birth ball, throw it in the middle of a flat sheet, and tie all the corners up and throw it over your shoulder like it was Santa's sack!

Sharon

[mwherbs]

ask the hospital to provide a birth ball-
the local hospitals have a couple hidden away in cupboards somewhere and while asking if they turn you down ask them to solve the problem of pumping up one you or any one else might bring in- this shouldn't be hard to do for them and but if you don't ask it will never get done- even if what you end up doing for this birth is bringing in your inflated "santa pack" - next time you have a birth there have the couple ask the same thing about birth balls

[doctorjen]

They don't let you plug anything in? What's that about? I haven't heard that one before. It seems every birth I attend anymore the family has 2 or 3 cell phone chargers plugged in around the room, and many mamas bring hair dryers or curling irons, and one brought a crock pot (for warm compresses - not beef stew or anything!)

If your hospital has a lady's auxiliary or anything similar, I'd contact them and mention that a couple balls would be a great thing to donate - ours loves to donate items which they feel are used for patient comfort. If no ball materializes at the hospital, though, I'd go with having your doula bring it. Our hospital has 6-8 big birth balls - enough that we never run short!

[wombatclay]

Funky, I wonder if it's an upstate NY thing? The six local hospitals I'm familiar with all have "no plug" rules (local being within a 3 hour radius) with the reason being that appliances from home might compromise hospital systems (which is kind of silly, but that's the reason I'm always given). In fact the hospital I used the last two times mentions this in three or four different places in their "so you're having a baby" prenatal paperwork folder and their "what to bring list" specifies battery operated only. I remember with dd1's birth we had to find a battery operated cd/speaker set (we found it at a camping supply store)! That hospital is really doula friendly and provided a microwave and crockpot for maternity use (in the kitchen on the maternity unit, which also provides free snacks and drinks for the women using the unit)... though patients need to bring liners for the crock pot and I've always wondered what would happen if more than one mama wanted to use the crockpot at the same time.

The hospital I'm using this time recently renovated their birth suites and included "built in" hairdryers (since you can't bring your own given the "no plug" rule). I don't actually use a hairdryer, but I find it really amusing that they mention the hairdryers on their website, during their tours, and the nurses at the practice I'm using even brought it up during an office visit! I guess "but I couldn't use my hairdryer!" must have featured heavily in the Press Ganey comments prior to the remodel.

[umbrella]

I took my own ball to the hospital. I honestly don't remember if we just carried it inflated, or pumped it there. Whatever we did, it didn't make a big impression in my memory. I imagine it would fit in a trunk just fine.

[BananaBreadGirl]

I took mine along and it was a little awkward carrying it across the parking lot while having contractions, but not too bad. Ended up not using it b/c the tub was so nice. Could you drop it off there before your due date?

[wombatclay]

Hmmm... good ideas, though I still think we'll go with the doula's ball.

It's a major medical center that isn't really local to me, so I don't know about auxilary groups and I doubt they'd be "ok" with patients leaving things there before the birth. As a vbac they wont allow me in the tub (even the crunchy hospital I used for my last vbac has just decided on a "no tub for vbac" policy GRRRRRRR!) and so having some non-water based labor options is important. We did try putting the ball in the back of the car (no actual "trunk" as such) but it didn't fit unless we let most of the air out.

Still...since theres a doula option that's a big plus!