Once you receive your new favorite pregnancy accessory in the mail, you may wonder what exactly you’re supposed to do with it, besides sit on it.

This may seem super silly at first, but you need to get accustomed with sitting on the ball PROPERLY, so as to avoid injuries. Using the birthing ball improperly could potentially cause you even more pain, which completely defeats the purpose of buying it in the first place!

If you’re wondering how to sit on a birthing ball correctly, here are a few tips:

Sit down on your ball, with your back as straight as possible.

Put both feet on the ground, shoulder-width apart.

If you feel unsteady, use a chair or your partner for support.

Rest your hands on your knees, and relax your arms.

Be aware of your breathing- take deep breaths to help relax and focus.

Roll your “sitting bones” so that you’re sitting squarely on top of them, not rolled to the back.

Just simply sitting on the ball offers a comfortable seating solution, because in reality you’re not going to want to sit on hard surfaces for extended periods of time!

The exercise helps safely strengthen your arms- you’ll be glad to have the extra strength when the baby is born!

1. Sit up straight on your ball. Hold out light hand weights at arm’s length, one in each hand. It is recommended that pregnant use no heavier than 5lbs.

2. Keeping your elbows pointing down, slowly curl the weights toward your shoulders.

3.Bring them back to the starting position, and repeat in groups of 10.

When you’ve comfortably mastered the seated exercises, you can switch things up a bit and try standing exercises. These can help a lot when it comes time to induce and dilate.

1. Standing in an upright position, rotate your feet outward.

2. Slowly lower yourself into a squatting position, keeping your legs shoulder-width apart.

3. Place the birth ball in front of you, and using both hands, allow it to help you keep your balance.

4. Draw in your abdominal muscles and make sure to keep your back straight.

Tip: Imagine that there is a string on top of your head, and someone above you is pulling it upwards.

1. Position the ball in front of you while you are kneeling on the ground.

2. Spread your knees shoulder width apart.

3. Lean forward and hug the ball to your chest, and rock your lower body back and forth.

Tip: This helps to release tension in your back and lower hips, and allows your to shift some weight onto the ball for a little relief, especially during labor.

1. Place your birthing ball on the wall and lean against it.

2. Lower your torso so that you hug the ball with your chest while resting your head on top of the ball.

3. Rock back and forth from one leg to the other.

4. Tip your belly forward if you need to take pressure off your lower back.

Tip: This is a great time to ask your partner for a back rub!

1. Place your birthing ball between your lower back and a solid wall or steady surface.

2. Open your legs and slowly move into a squatting position, using the ball as support.

3. Bend your legs and gently roll downwards, as far as you can go without hurting yourself.

Tip: Concentrate on your breathing and steadying yourself. Slowly move back up into the squatting position and repeat.

Relaxin is a protein-based hormone that is secreted into circulation by your body during pregnancy. Relaxin does just what you'd think it does - it relaxes. This prepares your body for your baby’s passage through the birth canal.

Here’s the down side: You may feel that your ligaments are more loose- including your shoulders, knees, hips, and ankles. This can result in aches, pain, inflammation, and even clumsy tendencies.

Pregnant women should take extra care of their posture during pregnancy, especially during the first and the third trimesters, when the relaxin hormone is at its peak in the body.

Your hip flexors will most likely become very tight during your pregnancy. Stretching gently will become a very important exercise as the weight of your baby pulls you forward.

Here are some easy stretches that you can do on your birthing ball:

1. Kneel on the floor, ball by your side.

2. Bend forward at the waist and roll the ball out to your side until you feel a stretch in your chest.

3. Hold this for 30 seconds.

4. Repeat on your other side.

Tip: This helps stretch your chest muscles, and also your biceps.

1. Imitating a movement many of us did in gym class back in the day, sit down on the ground, with your legs in a “V”.

2. Place the ball between your legs, hands on top.

3. Slowly walk the ball out towards your feet until you feel a stretch in your legs.

4. Hold for a few seconds and walk it back towards your body.

Tip: Repeat this as often as you’d like to stretch your legs and hips.

1. Kneeling on the floor, hold your ball out directly in front of you, hands on top of the ball.

2. Slowly lower your head to the ground, between your arm, cat-style. Arch your lower back and hold for 30 seconds.

3. Repeat until you feel the tension slowly dissipate.

Tip: Pregnant mamas seem to love this stretch the most!

As is the case with many things you may have taken for granted prior to your pregnancy- be sure to check with your doctor before you make any major changes to your lifestyle, exercising specifically.

If you didn’t do much in the way of working-out prior to your pregnancy, you will want to be extra careful to not over-do any stretches or exercises. Only try the things listed above if you are confident in your balance and coordination.

At The Birth Ball, keeping mamas safe and happy is our main goal! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at contact@thebirthball.com

For more exercises pick up our 18 page booklet