Let’s Talk About: Beneficial Birth Positions
Image Credit: Coastal Lifestyles Photography
You may not have spent a great deal of time thinking about what position you will give birth in. You may have even thought, “I’ll just be laid on my back like everyone else surely?”
Well, it may interest you to know that being laid up in a hospital bed with your legs akimbo was actually first invented to suit the viewing preferences of King Louis XIV. You see, he had a real thing for watching his wives/mistresses give birth to his offspring. His preferred viewing position was a chair at the bottom of the bed at eyeline, with the labouring mother lying on her back with her legs spread eagled.
This position was later adopted by obstetricians because it made their job of ‘extracting’ the baby easier for them.
So despite what the media would have you believe as the norm for birthing positions, there is actually 0 benefit in adopting the reclined position. In fact, it is actually counterproductive to the birthing process.
Optimal birthing positions
Before I go any further, I want to make it clear that there is no right or wrong way to give birth. Following your body’s signals, listening to your instincts and doing what feels right for you will often be the best way to birth your baby.
When we consider what is going on inside your body when you give birth we can deduce that there are certain positions which, if adopted, will be beneficial to you and your baby.
This is where U.F.Os come in!
what do u.f.os have to do with it?!
Yes, you probably know that UFO = Unidentified Flying Object. But in the birth world it actually stands for Upright, Forward and Open.
When it comes to giving birth you will be supporting you body in it’s physiological birthing function by adopting a position which is:
upright
This does not necessarily mean standing up but it does mean NOT lying flat on your back.
This is for 2 reasons:
When upright, the pressure of your baby’s head (or bottom) on your cervix, together with the pull of gravity will assist your baby in their descent down the birth canal; and
As your baby passes through your pelvis, they actually push your coccyx - the human equivalent of a tail outwards (don’t worry it goes back).
So standing, sitting upright, bouncing on your birth ball, kneeling and squatting will all be helpful to you here.
forward
Tipping your pelvis forwards increases the space within it by up to 30%. 30%!
Let’s try a short experiment here:
Place one hand on your front where your pubic bone is.
Place the other hand at the bottom of your back where your coccyx are.
Lean back and notice how much space is between your hands.
Now lean forwards and notice how much space is between your hands
You should notice that the space was increased significantly when leaning forwards.
So lean away! Over the bannister, over the side of the pool, on your birth ball, on your partner etc. Anywhere you can lean where you are tipping your pelvis forwards - do it!
open
This part is fairly self explanatory - shutting your legs at this stage is not going to help anyone.
The less obvious part of “open” is that by opening your hands, relaxing your fingers, and unclenching your toes you will also help your body remain relaxed and open. Which is going to help you get that baby out!
So there you have it - beneficial birth positions. Try them out and let me know how you got on!