Women Use Belly Dancing, Other Techniques During Childbirth, Wall Street Journal Reports

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 09 Aug 2007 - 6:00 PDT

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Some women who are "disillusioned with routine use of drugs and medical interventions during labor" are practicing belly dancing and other "alternative techniques," such as hypnotherapy and "water births," during childbirth, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to anthropologist Sheila Kitzinger, belly dancing originated as a childbirth ritual. An increasing variety of belly-dancing classes and other educational materials are available for pregnant women, and the first instructional DVD on prenatal belly dancing in the U.S. was released last year, the Journal reports.

According to the Journal, pregnant women might find comfort in belly dancing by slowly using hip circles, crescents and figure eights during early labor. The dance movements might progress to include a "rocking of the pelvis from side to side" to help position the fetus correctly and "relax the pelvic floor" as labor becomes more intense, the Journal reports. During the final, pushing phase of labor, full body undulations can help move the fetus into the birth canal.

Cathy Moore, a midwife at Brigham and Women's Hospital who is involved with a belly-dancing group, has been introducing belly dancing to pregnant women and birth specialists. Moore said she had to "tread carefully" when introducing the techniques, as some women and physicians have not accepted the practice because it "remains outside the medical mainstream." James Greenberg, chair of obstetrics at Brigham and Women's, said that although the proven benefits of belly dancing as a childbirth aid are unclear, there is "certainly no scientific reason to think it's bad." Greenberg added that "if it makes [pregnant women] feel good, and it's safe -- do it" (Zimmerman, Wall Street Journal, 8/4).

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