Peanut balls have been around for about forty years now but they have been slowly gaining popularity in the birthing world gradually from 2000.
Is a peanut-shaped ball that was developed for therapy and exercise purposes and its use is especially advised during labour owing to its many proven benefits!
One of the most recent research studies focused on the effect of peanut balls on women labouring with epidural anaesthesia.
Generally speaking, epidural anaesthesia increases the risk for labour complications, instrumental and operative delivery. This randomized control study found that the length of the first stage decreased by 29 minutes and the length of the second stage decreased by 11 minutes in those who used peanut balls during their labour compared to the control group (those who did not use these balls).
Out of 107 women, only 11 of them had caesarean section compared to the 94 women in the control group of which 19 had caesarean delivery.
You can read this study here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4748987/?fbclid=IwAR0okQfh7jZAJGSXSrB6C98BJ-2U2RL39M1iEDOaej7NT657dRfoDQ9kUr4
The size of the peanut ball is measured in a horizontal position, from the floor to the tallest point on one of the larger ends. The peanut ball is used between the legs to open up the pelvic outlet and it needs to be the right size for your height.
A little guidance on the sizing:
40 cm - for women under 5’ 3”
45 cm and 50cm – for women who are 5’3” to 5’6″ average
55 cm - 60cm - for women who are 5’6” to 5’7” or taller
70cm – this size is used mostly to sit in a straddle position
There are very few contraindications for using a peanut ball during labour and as it is a non-invasive technique there are no negative side effects if they are used correctly.
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Recently, the number of positions to use these balls has grown to 50 however, the 7 common positions in which you can use the peanut ball during labour are effective!
For informative videos on how to use the peanut ball, please visit https://premierbirthtools.com/peanut-ball-videos/
Peanut ball is a very helpful addition to your birth toolkit and you can hire them from the Bubba Hub.
Bernadett Kasza is a well-established birth professional in Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch, and the New Forest area. She has been working with women for over 15 years now.
She is an expert in pregnancy and birth physiology and biomechanics, she is passionate about education and research (with a special focus on pain theories) and a gritty advocate of her client’s birth choices.
Her Doula support service boasts of a 100% satisfactory rate for women having the birth they wanted! All her clients choosing to give birth vaginally used no pharmaceutical pain management (no, not even gas and air) during their labour and birth, and had a very low birth interventions rate thus babies are born to mothers supported by Bernadett are strong and healthy with a high Apgar score at birth.
Bernadett applies the bio-psycho-social-spiritual-environmental model to her work at the Womanly Art of Birth www.womanlyartofbirth.co.uk
