Confused: Pelvic Tilts (Bradley vs Harvard vs Prenatal Yoga)

[bostonsmama]

DH & I have been reading Husband-Coached Childbirth together. I do the nightly pelvic rocking (tail wags) prescribed by the book. I also try to do tailor sitting in the evenings when he reads to me. From what they describe, you sit cross-legged (or in the butterfly position) and lean forward to "coach the uterus to fall forward, up and out of the pelvis."

In addition, I take a prenatal yoga class where we do cat-cow stretch. The emphasis of the pelvic tilt is to work the abdominals and release the baby from the posterior position, which my instructor says will not facilitate easy childbirth. Again, she says you want the baby forward, off the spine.

Okay, so I also finished reading the Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating During Pregnnacy. It's got a lot of great info, but in their section on exercise, they warn against pushing the spine forward (like in the cow version of cat-cow stretch). They say that pg women spend so much time jutting their abdomens out to show off their baby bump, but that it puts undue stress on the spine. They also recommend pelvic tilts (tucks), but to not allow the return position to go past "neutral spine," or flat back. They propose that exaggerating the natural curve of the spine is harmful to your back and how you'll carry your baby--that it can cause muscle & back pain. This isn't the first place I've read this, either.

So, who is right? Bradley Method makes it seem like you're supposed to lean forward/push your lower abdomen forward to keep the baby off the spine, but maybe this is just during childbirth?

[swissair81]

I hate to sound ignorant, but I have no idea. There are so many different methods & they each tell you to do something completely different. They are all so sure that they have it right.

[AnnieW625]

I am assuming what the yoga instructor is talking about being hard labor is back labor so you don't want the baby laying on it's back when you deliver because that is more painful than if the baby is on it's tummy when it's delivered.

[bostonsmama]

I guess so, Annie. She keeps talking about occiput posterior vs occiput anterior, and that does refer to the baby's position, but how that relates to the position of MY pelvis is what is intriguing, esp since I'm getting conflicting info as to the safety of "pushing" my pelvis forward.

[m448]

You definitely want to avoid a posterior baby at all costs so listen to Bradley. Spinning babies also great to learn ways of sitting throughout the pregnancy. No lounging back on a couch or recliner. In fact even riding to the hospital for my first birth laying back in the car seat made first flip posterior.