Brisbane doula


Pelvic Harmony in pregnancy


The pelvis is an amazing part of our bodies that is completely underrated! Basically the pelvis is made up of bones, muscles and membranes that support your uterus while you are pregnant and help your baby navigate their descent to the birth canal. As your pregnancy progresses the pelvis softens with the relaxins produced by your body to open and help your body stretch.

A time for connection...


While I truly believe that a pregnancy, labour and birth are the perfect time to go inward- to learn about our bodies and trust our intuition- our modern day lifestyle doesn't allow for optimal positioning when it comes to our pelvis and babies. We live such busy lives that sometimes it can be difficult to slow down and take a moment to just sit in the total awe that your body is growing a new soul. The connection between your body baby's position becomes important as you settle into trusting your body to birth your baby.


But why does any of this matter?


An amazing analogy of the pelvis and the baby, a hot air ballon from Dr Carol Phillips, and utilised by Ginny from OMP. The ballon represents the uterus, the basket is the pelvis and ropes the soft tissues and muscles holding everything together.


As we move around during pregnancy our bodies and balloons are doing their best to maintain balance. What matters is when you begin labour that your uterus balanced, so it becomes easier for your baby to navigate the cardinal movements of your pelvis. If your pelvis is tilted or twisted, your baby may take longer to move through the pelvis.


In other words, a balanced and relaxed pelvis can contribute to a smoother labour and birth.

A hot air balloon made up of flowers

In order to have pelvic mobility to create space within the keyhole, we first need to have pelvic alignment.

— Ginny Phang-Davey (OMP Creator)

How does this help in labour?


There are many different positions your baby can begin labour in, and the optimal position is with their back off to the left hand side with their little chins tucked to their chest. These positions are otherwise known as LOA or LOT. When you begin labour your baby begins to descend into the pelvis navigating and placing pressure on your cervix, so it moves up and away beautifully. When your baby begins labour they move clockwise around to the front. So if your baby starts labour with their back on the right side of your uterus, they need to move clockwise around to the front in order to move down.


Now don't get me wrong, babies can be born in ANY position, but when they descend through the cervix and the birth canal with the top of their head, rather than their face or forehead, it means that pressure on the cervix is consistent.


A pregnant woman holds her tummy

Labour continued


Sometimes there are patterns to your labour, such as prodromal labour (contractions ramping up at night and then fizzling out as the sun comes up), a stop start to labour beginning, strong contractions that fade to slower surges to pick up again later, double peak contractions so a small surge followed by a larger one or vice versa. These are some of the indicators that your baby is trying to navigate the pelvis and that you need to create space in order for them to move down.

Creating space


This is why creating space throughout your pregnancy and tuning into your baby and body while you're pregnant is so important. It is easier to create space when you're not in labour, vs when you're labouring.


Ways to tune into your babys position throughout your pregnancy is to belly map, feel your baby and where they may be placed, where are most of the kicks landing? You'll be amazed at what you can understand when you listen.

Lastly,


There so many things out there to help you create space in your pelvis while pregnant. I offer a pelvic pathways session where I teach you positions and exercises to utilise from your second trimester onwards, and approaches you can use in labour should you need to help your babe move through their cardinal movements.


Other approaches are seeing a chiro or osteo, getting regular acupuncture, seeing a physio, and paying attention to how your pelvis tilts when doing certain things such as sitting or standing.