In this month’s update:
- Tips for using the Abdominal Lift and Tuck to make childbirth easier
- How two expecting moms were able to help their babies move to a more optimal position for birth
- Spinning Babies® 2020 World Confluence has gone virtual ?
- Upcoming events plus a new workshop added to our World Confluence
A Note from Gail Tully
This update arrives with an intent to introduce awareness of physiology in our considerations of the national conversation on racial justice and attempts to contain the world pandemic. Humans need both security and social connection. These big events put people into lots of unknown situations. Navigating the unknown naturally elicits stress. People respond to stress in their bodies. What else do we have?
Some get an urge to control the unknown. We see it with the choice for an epidural before labor gets painfully unmanageable. This coping mechanism predicts unmanageability. Some people embrace the unknown, trusting themselves to get through it. Breathing, moving, keeping an open mind to the needs of the baby and one’s own body. It’s not a top-down power over the body but rather collaboration through integration. Social support and self-compassion are hugely beneficial when we don’t impose control upon our processes. In balance with our physiology, our processes, birth, and social are enhanced. Balance is “Not too tight, not too loose, and not too twisty.”
Social events reflect the bigger organ systems of the body of our society. Our physiology is a tool, Mmm, rather it is the whole toolbox, to address balance in society as well as in our muscles and fascia. Breathe in. Safe in our bodies we receive inspiration that raises us and all of us. When one rises, all rise. When one part of the body is raised in health, the whole body gets a little healthier.
Consider this question: Is what I’m being told, or is what I have thought before now, really true? And what if I got curious about another perspective? What if there was more than the established way to lengthen a muscle or open a community to the members that make it up. We are each a part of the body of our community. Let’s consider physiology in meeting the needs of growth, expansion, compassion, and most especially the needs of each member to be a living, breathing, healthy community body.
Be safe, be well. Be curious. I’ll meet you in movement,
Gail Tully, CPM, creator of Spinning Babies®
Gail Tully and Vic Froehlich, her husband and shipping guy, and Marni Worlein, Finance Department Leader
Using Abdominal Lift and Tuck to Ease Labor
Back labor was the motivation for engineer Janie King to develop the Abdominal Lift. After her back labor, Ms. King wrote Back Labor No More!! Penny Simkin incorporated the technique in doula training. I refined this “belly lift” by adding a posterior pelvic tilt to make room in the anterior posterior diameter of the inlet. The Abdominal Lift and Tuck is a simple technique that has a profound effect on easing childbirth. The Abdominal Lift and Tuck helps:
- Tuck baby’s chin
- Ease fetal rotation above the brim
- Engage baby (typically after rotation to LOT or another anterior position)
- Ease back ache when baby is still high in the pelvis
- Ease contraction pain located at pelvic brim
Key Instructions
1. Begin as the contraction begins. Skip that contraction if there is a delay in getting started.
2. Lift and hold the belly a “hand span” higher. Bring the belly inward during the contraction. Don’t jiggle or let go of the belly until the end of the contraction.
3. During the contraction, flatten the lower (lumbar) spine by bending the knees and curling the back. Lean against the wall or a partner for support during the technique.
4. Do the Abdominal Lift and Tuck through ten contractions in a row. Release the belly and rest in between.
5. Wiggle wrists and ankles after to get the blood moving. Blood pools easily in pregnancy.
The Abdominal Lift and Tuck is intended for a baby who is high, and for a birthing person who is having contractions that are regular and have a predictable starting time. For instance, contractions are 4-5 minutes apart, so the birthing person can get into position just before or as the contraction begins. This technique helps open the inlet and improve the angle of the baby’s head with the forces of the contraction. Pain relief is typical, though more pain or pressure will ideally be felt in the cervix. Read more on the Abdominal Lift and Tuck.
Spinning Babies® Parent Class Testimonies
“I was on my 37th week when I found out that my baby is in a transverse lie position. I knew Spinning Babies® through Gentle Birth Philippines Facebook group and I contacted Spinning Babies® Parent Educator and Doula Cheryl who’s doing Spinning Babies® to do a private class with her. Together with my husband, Cheryl taught us different ways to help me accommodate my growing baby in my tummy. In this way, my body will give enough space for my baby to turn and position herself. She taught us about the Three Sisters of Balance℠ (Rebozo sifting, Forward-leaning Inversion, and Side-lying Release) we did this once a day for a week and when I had an ultrasound again my baby already turned to a cephalic position. I’m so glad that I’ve tried Spinning Babies® right now, I still continue doing the exercises to prepare my body into a smooth delivery.”
– Mommy CJ, FTM, Spinning Babies® Parent Class student
“At first, I was hesitant to attend seminars regarding childbirth as it was already my 4th pregnancy. My turning point was when I had preterm labor. Two weeks after, we attended the Spinning Babies® Parent Class. It made me understand better how to make babies move to an optimal position. I tried doing the exercises at home. Of course, doing it on our own especially during labor is a different thing. As we say, the theory is different from actual so we got doula service through Pinay Doula Collective’s Doula and Spinning Babies® Parent Educator Cheryl. It was a good decision for us. She coached us during labor to ease the contractions. Coupled with her expertise in Spinning Babies®, my labor was easier. Also, she reminded me of proper breathing so as to avoid losing oxygen for the baby. We had an unmedicated birth successfully. We are thankful for having been helped by Spinning Babies® and Ms. Cheryl (and Doula Velvet, too!).”
– Mommy Ana B., mom of 3, Spinning Babies® Parent Class student
“Virtual Spinning Babies® Parent Classes are happening! Babies continue to be born and we continue to support birthing families.”
– Bee Johnson, Spinning Babies® Certified Parent Educator
? Many Spinning Babies® Certified Parent Educators teach Online Guided Spinning Babies® Parent Classes, which include techniques for you and a partner to do before and during labor. Help your baby find optimal positions to help birth be less painful— even shorter! Take an Online Guided Spinning Babies® Parent Class.
Praise for Resolving Shoulder Dystocia
“Feeling great about my decision to take this online Spinning Babies® class on Resolving Shoulder Dystocia! It’s takin’ me back to my undergrad osteology classes and feeling very passionate about learning about bones!”
? @mossthedoula
Our new Resolving Shoulder Dystocia online course offers practical and immediate solutions for this life-threatening childbirth emergency.
✔ Step-by-step recognize and resolve five types of shoulder dystocia by matching the best from midwifery traditions and modern obstetrics.
✔ Learn how the shoulders are stuck and which technique is the right one to free the baby gently and quickly.
✔ Get 3 continuing education credits from the American College of Nurse-Midwives and the Midwifery Education and Accreditation Council.
Online Course: Resolving Shoulder Dystocia is now only $20 (regularly $90) for 2020 in support of birth workers during this world health crisis. Get the course today!
Facebook Live
Our Founder Gail Tully is doing weekly Facebook Live broadcasts on our Facebook page to connect with our community. Join Gail and special guests for interactive discussions about important issues within the birth community. Be sure to give our page a like so you don’t miss a broadcast!
Our most recent Facebook Live was with Rhea Williams, BSN, MSN, CNM, and Spinning Babies® Approved Trainer speaking on improving births for Black Mothers and Babies and begins a conversation about what birth workers can do to stop the spread of the Racism-20 pandemic. Listen to a recording of the broadcast below.
Our World Confluence has gone virtual!
Integration Workshop Added to Confluence
We are excited to announce a new addition to our 2020 World Confluence: the Spinning Babies® Integration Workshop. This workshop helps you integrate the material covered in our full-day (or 2-day) Spinning Babies® Workshop. We are continuing a conversation and study of a specific set of knowledge and protocols. Assess “Where’s Baby?” with more insights into the Three Levels of the Pelvis. Gain solid protocols to help fine-tune physiological solutions. Build community and have fun while deepening your Spinning Babies® skill set. Come explore the next level of understanding in this in-depth workshop. Prior attendance in a Spinning Babies® Workshop is required. You will need to be using our approach in your practice before arriving for the Integration Workshop. Register here.
Workshops
Australia
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Austria
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Belgium
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Brazil
[tribe_events_list tag=”Brasil” limit=”60″]
Canada
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Denmark
[tribe_events_list tag=”Denmark” limit=”60″]
Indonesia
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Israel
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Italy
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New Zealand
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United Kingdom
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United States
[tribe_events_list tag=”United States” limit=”300″]
See all upcoming events on our calendar here.