Birth Class Show-and-Tell: The CUB

By Alayna Spratley, Certified Childbirth Educator and Doula from Cleveland, Ohio

As a certified Lamaze Childbirth Educator, Birth Boot Camp Instructor, and local community educator with Indie Birth, I serve Cleveland, Ohio families by providing independent childbirth education courses and early parenting workshops in my community. One of my favorite classes to teach is the Comfort Measures for Labor Workshop. This class is designed for expectant parents and we explore a myriad of evidence-based natural pain relief strategies, tips, tools, and techniques to help the birthing person stay calm, comfortable, and confident during labor and delivery. I often refer to this workshop my “Birth Show-and-Tell” class, because I bring a few birth tools with me and discuss their various uses and benefits. Couples enjoy learning how to use tangible tools that can support them throughout labor.
​
One of my favorite “Show-and-Tell” tools is the CUB. The CUB, an acronym for Comfortable Upright Birth, is an award-winning inflatable support cushion that can be used throughout labor to facilitate an easier, shorter, and a more enjoyable birth experience. You are probably thinking, “Seriously!?!  How exactly can a giant, blow-up pillow make birth less painful and shorter?” The answer isn’t magic but science. The CUB’s innovative design and intended use are based on the best evidence-based birth practices including staying upright and mobile during labor. The CUB is a hybrid birth stool and birth ball all-in-one. Its simple, yet practical design combines both traditional birthing knowledge with modern technology, research, and convenience.

Here are just a few of the reasons I love the CUB, demonstrate its uses in my childbirth education classes, and highly recommend it to birthing families:

• Use and benefits of the CUB are evidence-based, meaning it is backed by research.
• CUB provides a sense of autonomy and control to the birth person and their partner.
• It is lightweight, simple to set-up, portable, and easy to clean.
• CUB can be used both at home and in a hospital setting.
• It is an ideal tool for people who desire an unmedicated birth.
• CUB can be used by individuals who receive an epidural, and its use can help keep birth “normal” by reducing the use of other interventions.
• You can labor and birth your baby on the CUB.
• The CUB’s wide base provides both fantastic stability and comfort.
• Partners feel really confident about supporting their significant other through birth with the assistance of the CUB.

THE BIRTHING PERSON IS SUPPORTED BY HER CUB, MIDWIFE, AND PARTNER IN THE HOSPITAL, WHILE CTG MONITORING IS PERFORMED.

If you are interested in learning more about this awesome birth tool, its benefits, or purchasing your very own CUB, please visit CUB’s website and if you would like to learn about the CUB in-person, consider attending one of our upcoming Comprehensive Childbirth Education courses or Labor Comfort Measures workshop.

This blog can also be read at https://naturalbirth.us/birth/birth-class-show-and-tell-cub/