Hanging or Dangling to get that baby out!

In some cultures there is a birthing tree for women to hang from as contractions come and go. Any position that takes the weight off the feet and pelvic floor, allowing the cervix to open freely... in a house, good places are door frames, tops of doors although you may want to experiment in pregnancy to find places of a suitable height for you.

Our shed has a cross beam which was where I was for the majority of the first stage of baby number 2 and for number 3 I asked a friend to put me some hooks in the ceiling in our lounge. Tied some strong fabric around these to make a beam and heh presto a perfect birthing tool.

I believe this helped me to get the babies down down into the pelvis as I was doing some really inspired leg movements (almost like breast stroke one leg at a time) opening the hips but also such high circular movements as one might associate with the manoevre used with shoulder dystocia, freeing the foetus from being caught on bones  (not a technical term!)

Intuitively allowing my body to tell me what position i should be in, hanging allows all over body shaking, big stretches throughout to relieve tensions, and of course aides the pull of gravity by releasing any muscles that may stand in its way.

Lets get those hooks into maternity suites!! Just brilliant for pain relief - the best pain relief is to listen and act swiftly to what your body is telling you. This way, that way a bit, swaying, wiggling, swooning, rolling, hanging firm, and words I could not dream of to describe the skilled art in your muscle sequences, known only by you and probably for the most part unconscious.

Safe skills, safe birthing.