Using a Rope as a Birthing Aid

[Turquesa]

Do you remember those ropes we used to have to climb as children in gym class? The ones hanging from the ceiling? I was reading about women in various Meso-American and South American cultures holding on to vertically positioned ropes in order to give birth.

Has anybody heard of this being done in contemporary birthing centers? Is there any information about the efficacy of this method?

When I tried to squat while giving birth, my legs weakened and buckled out from under me. I ended up semi-reclining : It would have been nice to have something for my arms to hold on to while still retaining the advantages of a vertical position.

[queenjulie]

I've never heard of using a rope, but lots of birthing centers and hospitals have squat bars for you to hold on to while delivering.

[Rockies5]

I've heard of it used. You can rig something yourself with a queen or king sheet, a knot and a doorjam.

what it would take to rig one from a ceiling, liability and all of that I doubt there are many out there right now. Imagine the stuffy insurance inspector going into a birth center and there are ropes from the ceilings, chairs without seats, whirlpool tubs and yoga balls everywhere sounds fun to me, but doubt many people would "get" it.

[turtlewomyn]

This just makes me think of the TV movie "Cleopatra" (1999). I was watching it one night, and Cleopatra is pregnant then falls to her knees in labor and says "Bring the midwives!" They then show her hanging on to two golden ropes, squatting and birthing her baby.

I seem to remember Ina May writing something about her DIL instinctively using a long walking stick to brace herself in a squat as she undulated her hips to work a "large" (9-10 pounds) baby out. Of course, now that I am looking for it, I cannot find it.

[wannabe]

They had these on a birth show I used to watch in Germany. Ropes hanging from the ceiling.

with my second I felt really good squatting while hanging from something. Especially hanging from the bar, squatting, in the bath. I think the bar was supposed to be to hold onto while you go in and out, but it was perfect to hang from.

[ralphie76]

In my doula training, they showed us how to use a rope dog toy or a rebozo to help moms with epidurals bear down more effectively. So not hanging from the ceiling, but rather pulling from in front of you. I've done it at a few births and it really made those pushes more efficient!

I've also seen video of a birth center birth (maybe in the Seattle area?) that had a loop of rope/cloth hanging from the ceiling and the mom looped her arms through (the rope went behind her back and under her armpits) and hung from it while pushing. It basically supported her squat.

[Mamabeakley]

I installed a chin-up bar in a doorway so that I could put a rope over it to hang from if I wanted to for my second labor. I didn't end up using it, but I think it would have worked fine.

[Shanana]

I'm having a homebirth this time, and plan on making our finished basement my birthing space. We have a dropped ceiling, so I was going to remove some panels and hang a rope (or ropes) in a few places from the joists for just this purpose. But wow! Do I love THIS idea:

Originally Posted by ralphie76

I've also seen video of a birth center birth (maybe in the Seattle area?) that had a loop of rope/cloth hanging from the ceiling and the mom looped her arms through (the rope went behind her back and under her armpits) and hung from it while pushing. It basically supported her squat.

Thank you so much for posting that! I can see how it would get tiring to support your weight using your hands on the rope, and also how a partner/helper could get tired supporting you under your arms. This seems like a GREAT solution!

[wendy1221]

I used the bed to hang onto w/ ds1 and dh to hang onto w/ ds3.

[operamommy]

Call me a dork, but in "East of Eden" Samuel's wife (what was her name?) packs a beautifully embroidered birthing rope for Cathy to use when in labor.

[Turquesa]

Originally Posted by Rockies5

Imagine the stuffy insurance inspector going into a birth center and there are ropes from the ceilings, chairs without seats, whirlpool tubs and yoga balls everywhere sounds fun to me, but doubt many people would "get" it.

OK, point well taken! But I do like the ideas and alternatives posed by other posters. Thanks, all!