The endless bathroom runs, the inability to move and sleep, the severe heartburns that come with a full-term pregnancy are sometimes unbearable. Some babies are very adamant, so much so that they don’t want to come out past their due date.
No matter how beautiful this journey is, all the full-term mothers would want their babies to be born sooner than later.
Your obstetrician might suggest you go for artificial labor; however, natural labor is the best of all because your brain is in synchronization with your womb. Some natural ways can help initiate labor. One of which is curbside walking.
Curb walking encourages your baby to drop down in your womb, which exerts pressure on your pelvis, which initiates labor. Let us discuss what curb walking is and how it helped me induce labor.
Curb Walking To Induce Labor
If your pregnancy has reached full term and you feel physically and emotionally drained waiting for your labor to come, worry not! You aren’t alone. Many women don’t get their labor even when they reach the 40th week of their pregnancy.
If you are one of them, it’s high time you experiment with safe labor-inducing techniques such as curb walking. Curb walking has helped a lot of us have natural labor pains and easy birth, and the best news is, it is completely safe and healthy for the mother and the baby.
What Is Curb Walking?
The good news is that you don’t need a particular place or equipment for curb walking. All you have to do is step outside and start walking hard on the curb and half on the road. There are many other ways of curb walking that you can do without going out.
For instance, you can try wearing a high heel on one foot and a flat shoe on the other and start walking. Moreover, you can use one or two stairs to step up and down slowly. Such a walking gait will help the baby move down, which results in labor induction.
The best way to curb walk is to walk on the elevated edge of a footpath. Such curb walking will help you connect with nature and will allow you to breathe fresh air. You should always rest in between your curb walking sessions so that you may not tire yourself out.
Moreover, you can also subscribe to any pregnancy care center where they will prepare you for the baby’s arrival. You can also practice curb walking for labor induction in a safer and proper way.
Don’t exhaust yourself while curb walking, but little activity is always good for your body, even if you are pregnant. If you are curb walking outside the make sure you walk for at least 10 to 15 minutes so that your baby can engage and descend down in the pelvis. Try using both your legs so that the baby has enough room to move further down.
When To Avoid?
We know how much you want your baby to arrive and how you don’t want to be pregnant anymore, and you want to try the curb walking technique as soon as possible. You should always ask your obstetrician, midwife, or health care provider.
If labor time hasn’t come yet, there is no point in practicing curb walking. This is because neither the baby nor your body is prepared for labor in the preterm period.
Curb walking in early pregnancy can only tire you out and might cause preterm labor, which can be dangerous. Moreover, if you are a woman with a high-risk pregnancy, curb walking isn’t for you.
Your obstetrician might tell you to have complete bed rest because such activities can cause preterm labor. Even if you have reached full term and you have some complications, you need to ask your midwife or doctor before trying curb walking.
FAQs
Is curb walking safe during pregnancy?
Curb walking is an effective way to induce labor when you have reached the time. It is an entirely safe and healthy way to engage the baby, making room for the little one to ascend down in the pelvis. However, you should always ask your obstetrician or midwife before trying such an activity. Moreover, if you are preterm or have a high-risk pregnancy, you should avoid curb walking.
How to do curb walking?
There isn’t much to think about curb walking; besides, you don’t even need any equipment for that. All you have to do is slowly walk on the curb with one foot on the elevated surface and the other foot on the ground. You should curb walk for at least 10 minutes and try repeating it with the other leg. This will make room for the baby to move down.
Who should avoid curb walking?
Curb walking is the best way to induce labor naturally when your body is fully prepared, and your baby has fully matured. It is a safe method to experiment; however, it isn’t for women who have complicated pregnancies. Doing curb walking in risky pregnancy can lead to other complications. Moreover, you shouldn’t try to curb walk before time because it will cause unnecessary exhaustion.
Final Thoughts
No matter how beautiful the whole journey of pregnancy is, once you have reached the time, you want the baby out. The final stages of pregnancy are tough, with all the discomfort pregnant women have to bear. Sometimes, the labor wouldn’t occur naturally, even if your due date has passed.
Techniques such as curb walking can effectively help you induce labor without risking anything. Curb walking allows the baby to drop down into the pelvis, exerting pressure which kicks starts the labor. If you are a pregnant woman who has reached the due date and wants to go into labor, you need to try curb walking with the consultation of your obstetrician.
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