Position

Optimal Fetal Positioning

Why it's important and what you need to know

LOA

The ideal position for your baby is with it's back against your the left side of your belly with it's head down. In most cases, this is the easiest position for a baby to navigate the pelvis, rotating down and out of the mother's body.

This position is called LOA - Left Occiput Anterior.

Sitting on your sit bones will help keep the pelvis in a neutral position. When the back is not slouched and curved it stops acting like a hammock for the baby to fall into and the baby's back will more easily gravitate towards the mother's belly. These techniques will help achieve a more neutral position with proper posture:

Fashion

Bring your legs up and crossed in front of you. This is a natural position that women throughout history would

Tailor Sitting

pregnancy, sport, fitness, people and he

Home

The Exercise Ball is good to have at work, sitting while at home and for your birth. It promotes an open pelvis and excellent posture, providing a good stretch to a mom's ligaments and muscles. It's also an excellent resource for postpartum infant soothing techniques, because babies love being gently bounced on a ball.

Exercise Ball Tips

Find a ball that fits your body size and height. Stabilizers are sometimes nice for beginners or for long stretches of time on the ball. The most common mistake is not filling it enough, so be sure to keep letting in air.

Blow the ball up to the point where your hips are higher than your knees. Seat yourself with open knees and far enough back on the ball to feel the opening underneath you.

Exercise Ball

Health

Keep your pelvis neutral. Imagine that your pelvis is a bowl of water and you don't want to spill the water, so you avoid tilting and tucking your sacrum and tail bone. Also, avoid sitting in chairs that encourage slouching.

The Benefits

When we keep our pelvis neutral our body naturally creates a hammock effect with our belly being the only curve for the baby to slip into. This encourages the LOA position. There is less pressure on our sacrum and this will help to prevent lower back pain. We also create more space for our baby to enter our pelvis at an even angle. Finally, and not of less importance, we keep the muscles of the pelvic floor stretched to their maximum length, so that we achieve what Perennial Massage attempts to accomplish with an intuitive and natural method, simply: posture

Neutral Pelvis

Position

You Don't Know Squat by Katy Bowman

Do not do

KEGELS

SQUATS

instead

Here's Why:

You Still Don't Know Squat by Katy Bowman

How to Squat:

Roll up a small towel for your heels if your tendons are tight
The weight should be in your heels and your toes should be free for wiggling so that your knees will be safe
Engage your glutes and entire bottom as you lower yourself down as far as you feel comfortable
Hold onto someone strong or to the door knobs from the side of the door for support
Keeping the feet parallel while going down into your squat may help to keep your pelvis open

When properly done, SQUATS engage the entire set of birthing muscles. KEGELS only engage some of them and may imbalance the pelvic floor. BALANCE is important because we want the baby to descend evenly and easily through the mother's pelvis with no resistance.

Muscles that are strong are also elastic and elastic muscles will easily yield, like an accordion or a rubber band. They will hold no unneccisary resistasnce.

How Often:

It helps to anchor it into your day in a similar way to women throughout history. They would have squatted down each time they needed to relieve themselves. It's a very natural rhythm for doing your squats. On your way out of the bathroom take a moment to grab the door handles for support if you need to and go down into a squat with the weight in your heels. Relax there for a short time, as your comfort level allows, then engage your entire pelvic floor and glutes to bring yourself back up.

You can also squat to get anything that you need from the floor. The more you squat the more you will benefit!