ORLANDO, Fla. – A new tool in the hospital is giving moms-to-be the option to dance during labor and delivery.
"I had done ballet when I was little," Mari Esteve said from inside Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies.
In Esteve's third pregnancy, doctors said previous C-sections had stretched her uterus thin and she was placed on bed rest. In the last week of her pregnancy, doctors cleared her to start walking again before her delivery. She was testing out the ballet bars during her walk around the hallways.
"I need to rebuild all that muscle that I lost during this bed rest because my legs feel like Jello right now," Esteve said.
Nursing Operations Manager at Winnie Palmer Hospital Debra Davis said in mid-December they installed ballet bars in the hallways to provide support for many of the patients who choose to walk around in between contractions.
"It can be a long 12 hours, 18 hours just laying there watching the clock," Davis said.
Similar to the popular yoga accessories that provide extra support for laboring patients, the ballet bars help with balance and endurance.
"Making the best out of it is all you can do, and not look at the things you're missing, but the things you're going to do once you're out," Esteve said.
One day after the interview with Esteve, her baby boy, Gabriel, was born, at 6 pounds 19 inches.