A labour beadline is a collection of beads strung up on a fishing line or similar strong thread. Some labour bead lines are using different sized beads to represent contractions vs breaks others use different colours and some use both. I mostly use wooden beads, but any type of material will do. I use new beads as well as pre-loved beads from broken jewellery or from charity shop finds. #labourbeadline #labourbeadlines
Labour beadline for childbirth education
How do I use a labour beadline?
Labour beadlines are used like a labour time line. You can ask participants to lable the stages and discuss the differences. Or you can add pictures of positions and self-help tools along the line to discuss what to try when.
Also, when working with people who are visually impaired, this is a very good tactile teaching aid for your classes. – If using different sized beads for contractions vs breaks.
What do the beads mean?
Each bigger bead (or different coloured) is a contraction. Smaller beads at the beginning are mild contractions. They will be appearing in an irregular order at the beginning. Gaps/breaks are getting shorter, contractions stronger (beads bigger). Knots or special shaped rigged beads are representing the transition phase. A larger special beads such as heart-shaped beads represents the birth of the baby and a smaller special bead at the end is the placenta.
When can I use a labour beadline?
A labour bead line can be used in big, smaller groups or one-to-ones. In larger groups it may be beneficial to have two or three labour bead lines for parents-to-be to view, touch and work with. Most of my labour bead lines are also suitable for visual impaired parents-to-be as all the contraction beads are larger than the pause/break beads!
Where can I get a labour beadline?
You can of course make your own labour beadline. It takes about 1-2 hours to make one. Or you can buy ready-made ones as well as order customised ones from my website. There are a range of different labour beadlines in stock for singleton and multiple pregnancies. If you prefer to make your own, I also offer
- labour beadline kits with everything you need to start beading!
- live labour beadline workshops
- a self-paced online mini course
