Inversions for Breech - Better Birth Blog

Inversions: Mother of All Breech Exercises

Have a Portuguese-speaking breech baby? Get ideas to turn it here.

Breech Tilt/ Inversions

The Deal:
When looking into turning your baby, you will see and hear a lot about getting upside down in some way or another. It all sounds like old wives’ tales because yeah yeah the baby needs to turn upside down, but there is science and body mechanics behind it. It is best to do it on an empty stomach, when the baby is active (a big glass of juice gets baby moving–sugar high!!), and to relax. There are a number of variations, but in general the more time you can spend with your butt above your head, the better. There are a few contraindications (see below). Do both a forward leaning one (e.g. stairs) and a back leaning one (ironing board) regularly for best results.

DO NOT do the inversions if you have very high or low blood pressure, you have placenta problems, or there is so much amniotic fluid that you are monitored weekly. See more here.

How To:
Knee-Chest This is the simplest way to get your butt up: the knee-chest position of Elkins position. Apparently, Mr. Elkins had 91% success in turning babies by having the breech mamas do this for 15 minutes every two hours during their awake time for 5 days. That’s a lot of time, but it does have good odds. Good luck keeping your toddler off your head.

Steep, Forward-Leaning Inversion This one is more tricky. Have someone support and stabilize your shoulders and you kneel on the stairs and walk your hands down a few stairs. Hold for at least 30 seconds, many times a day. Please see detail on the page on spinningbabies about inversions. It may be the most useful link on this site. You can also do this on the couch or any stable surface about the right height. Or try bean bag/large pillows: You can stack pillows or use a large bean bag to create an inversion. Here is a video where a woman does an inversion using a bean bag at 1:30.

Ironing board: This is kind of a hoot. I had trouble not falling off when I was doing it at 38 weeks for my footling. Best to do it with someone there to help you get on and off. Prop an ironing board up on your bed or on an ottoman or something about 18-24 inches off the ground and lay on it upside down. Maybe put some rolled up blankets under the board and your neck for comfort. When you are very pregnant it is difficult to get out of this position, so be careful and have help at least the first time you try it. Don’t iron? Go to a steep hill and lay with your head down hill. Bonus points for relaxation. If you have access to an inversion table, such as at your chiropractor or other alternative health practitioner’s, you can use that. About 20 minutes, 2-3 times a day. When you are comfortable with this, add hot/cold, talk, light, or music while you do it.

Yoga: Scroll down on this link for explanations of yoga positions for breech mamas.

Why it might work:
Part of the idea is to release the utero-sacral ligament and give baby the extra room. If you twist a lot for work or do a lot of asymmetric movement (holding a child on one hip, for example), you are more likely to have a twist in your uterus. Also, gravity makes the baby fall out of your pelvic and when the baby’s head hits the top of your uterus, it will ideally do a somersault. The inversions also help a baby tuck his chin so he can flip.

Either way, you want to do what you can to keep a butt-down baby from engaging (wedging itself in your pelvis, ready for birth). As my sweet OB explained it, “It’s like a toilet. The baby is floating in the water but as you get closer to flushing him out the water goes down and he gets stuck in the narrow part down there.” OK, obviously a man, and admittedly not a direct quote. The point is, keep the kid from getting low in the bowl. And, the earlier you start trying to turn, the better chance you have. Start between 32-35 weeks. Part of the goal is to keep a butt-down baby from getting his butt wedged into your pelvic, thus becoming harder to turn.

Had enough still life? Try the active version:

Elephant walking, Crawling

Crawling is supposed to be great for all pregnant mums. Letting your belly hang helps the baby snug into just the right position. Elephant walking is like crawling but on your feet instead of your knees. It is not very easy and is basically, as far as I can tell, just doing a breech tilt on the move. This way you can go around with mitts on your hands, dusting the hardwood as you get your inversions done for the day. Perhaps the extra movement during the inversion/tilt will help get a baby out and down. “Out or down boys, out or down!” (Didn’t the boatswain used to run around below decks threatening to cut down the hammocks of sailors who didn’t wake up in a timely manner?) Out and down, baby!Why it might work:
See tilt/inversion (above)

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