Various Positions for Labor

All the suggested birth positions involve movement of the pelvis, the use of gravity, and leaning forward. These positions also will help in the last trimester of pregnancy, by easing lower back tension and helping your baby to engage and settle in the preferred anterior position.

 Pelvic movement

These positions allow your sacrum and your pelvis to move as they need to move during labor to allow your baby to go down the birth canal and be born. If you put pressure on your sacrum, as you would if you were lying on your back, this limits its movement. Suggested positions include lying on your side, leaning forward on your hands and knees, or squatting. You can sit, but only if you sit in such a way that you are not directly on your sacrum – for example, sitting the wrong way round on a chair or on a ball.

 Use of gravity

Helpful birth positions make use of gravity, which helps your baby to move down in your pelvis, and, in turn, helps to stimulate contractions. This means that generally you are in an upright position or on all fours, rather than lying down.

 Forward leaning

The emphasis in the positions is on leaning forward, which helps your baby stay in a favourable birth position (head down and facing your spine) as well as taking pressure off your lower back, which will tend to ease the pain.