Effect of Pelvic Rocking Exercise Using the Birth Ball on Fetal Lie, Attitude, and Presentation

Abstract

Objectives: For decades, scholars have debated the benefits of exercise during pregnancy. Birthing ball exercise is the latest among the antenatal exercises which pregnant women commonly perform in Indonesia. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate whether pelvic rocking exercise using the birth ball is effective in correcting the fetal lie, presentation, and attitude in the late third trimester of pregnancy. Materials and Methods: To this end, pregnant women (n=114) enjoying the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into intervention (who were assigned to perform pelvic rocking using the birth ball) and control (without exercise) groups. Fetal lie, attitude, and presentation before and after the trials were determined in both groups by performing the abdominal palpation of Leopold’s maneuver. Results: Based on the results, the intervention group showed a higher proportion of fetus with flexed attitude (P<0.001) as compared to the control group. In addition, 49.1% of women in the intervention group indicated longitudinal lie compared to 29.8% of those in the control groups (P<0.001). Finally, 56 out of 57 women in the intervention group demonstrated head presentation whereas only 45 out of 57 women in the control group showed the same presentation (P<0.01). Conclusions: Overall, it is suggested that pelvic rocking exercises using the birth balls are useful for maintaining lies, fetal attitudes, and presentations and thus it is worth recommending for pregnant women.