You might be sitting on it!

You may never have thought about the ligaments and muscles that run the length of your spine, from the base of your skull to the tip of your tailbone. They keep you upright, and their condition directly affects how freely your sacrum can hinge at the sacroiliac joints.

I touched on why this matters for birth a couple of weeks ago. If you missed that Love Letter, you can find it here.

In my massage sessions, I work to release tension in the erector spinae muscles and around the ligaments and tissues of the SI joints, supporting a mobile, responsive sacrum. But here’s the thing:

Even with all that preparation, if you’re sitting on your sacrum when your baby is moving through the birth canal, it won’t make a difference.

Despite good evidence that upright positions can increase pelvic space, one study found that a staggering 90% of women gave birth in positions where the sacrum could not move freely. From my years as a midwife, I believe this reflects what happens on most labour wards in Northern Ireland. Even in midwife-led settings, a free sacrum is not always guaranteed.

There are times when lying down may be appropriate, and understanding when and why is something I explore in my late pregnancy packages. And at our Born Through Yoga workshops we spend an entire afternoon dedicated to movement for birth.

If you’d like to free your sacrum and be among the minority of women who give birth in sacrum-mobile positions, send me an email to [email protected]. I have one late pregnancy package spot available in March. 

With love,
Nicole