How to Turn a Breech Baby

When your baby drops into position, usually they will assume the “head down” position ideal for childbirth. However, about 3-4% of full-term pregnancies experience a breech presentation where the baby’s buttocks, feet, or both are positioned to enter the pelvis first instead of the head [1].

Some breech babies can be delivered vaginally, but if the baby doesn’t turn before delivery, we recommend transferring to your preferred hospital in case of complications.

If you’ve found out your little one is breech - don’t panic! Around 30% of babies are breech at 30-32 weeks and only 3% are still breech at 37 weeks. Even if the baby is still breech at full-term, most of them will turn before labor begins, or even during labor. 

7 Ways to Turn Your Breech Baby 

Spinning Babies is an excellent resource to learn how to balance your body at home to get baby back into the proper position. They offer several easy activities to help turn your baby and get your body ready for birth. 

Some of the most effective ways to turn your breech baby are outlined below.

1. Forward Leaning Inversion

The forward leaning inversion is a commonly used technique that has seen great results for turning babies in breech and other unwanted positions. It untwists and lengthens ligaments in the uterus by using gravity to make room for a good fetal position. 

Download Spinning Babies’ Daily Essentials Video tutorial or read step-by-step instructions to learn the technique yourself.

2. Breech Tilt

The breech tilt, or pelvic tilt, creates an angle that encourages the baby to tuck their chin and flip. Many women use an ironing board and prop it at an angle and lie on it with their head toward the floor and feet in the air. Try lying on the board 20 minutes at a time 1-3 times a day often to help turn the baby.

3. The Webster Technique

Chiropractic care during pregnancy helps with all kinds of issues, from sciatica to reducing labor time. Did you know it can also help turn babies in poor positions? Known as the Webster Technique, this approach realigns the pelvis to create more space for the baby. 

Balance Chiropractic, located at our main office on 841 Lincoln Avenue, specializes in this technique along with further care for infants and mothers.

4. Acupuncture with Moxibustion

Moxibustion, used by Chinese medicine for thousands of years, is a form of acupuncture that uses “moxi sticks,” which contain the leaves of the mugwort plant. Moxibustion stimulates the BL57 acupuncture point and has been shown to be effective in turning breech babies and preventing c-sections [2].

5. Music

Try playing gentle music through headphones and placing them on the lower part of your belly. Sometimes the sound will encourage the baby to turn in the direction it is coming from, which can ease them into the proper position.

6. Heat and Cold

Babies like to stay warm, so one strategy to turn your breech baby is to place a warm pack at the bottom of your belly and a cold pack (such as a bag of frozen peas) at the top of your abdomen. This can encourage them to shift and turn to get more comfortable and closer to the heat.

7. Sleeping Positions

You’re probably already sleeping on your side, but if you haven’t tried this already, lie on your left side when you go to bed with a pillow between your legs. Keep your abdomen and upper leg in a forward position to give your baby more room to turn. At the very least, this may help alleviate some of your aches and pains!

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Sometimes, if nothing else has worked, we will schedule an external cephalic version (ECV) with a doctor when the baby is term. This is a short, but uncomfortable procedure where the doctor attempts to manipulate the baby’s position by pushing on your belly and abdomen. This does not always work and is not always recommended, but may be the best route if unable to naturally turn the baby.

If you have more questions or concerns about your baby’s position, your midwife will be more than happy to sit down and discuss a plan with you to help turn your baby! Most importantly, don’t stress - at the Cincinnati Birth Center, we’re here to walk you through each step of your pregnancy and tailor care specifically for you and your child.