Most babies turn at night. But unfortunately, not every sleeping position provides the baby with enough room to turn. As a result, many babies remain in a breech presentation. Luckily though, sleeping in the right position can support baby turn head down.

In this blog post, we explain exactly how to get into the best sleeping position to turn a breech baby. Moreover, we explain how this sleeping position can help your baby back out of your pelvis and provide your baby with more room, so that your baby has more mobility to turn. And finally, we also discuss how you can turn your breech baby with a more active approach in case your baby does not turn while you sleep.

Before we start: if you prefer watching a video instead of reading a blog post, watch the video below!

In that video, we also discuss the best sleeping position to turn a breech baby. However, if that sleeping position does not help you, we recommend reading this blog post in which we also show you alternative strategies to turn a breech baby (see end of this blog post).

Why do some Babies remain in a breech Presentation?

We are not gonna lie to you! Sometimes, there are good reasons why a baby is simply not able to turn head down.

For example: if the cord is somehow tangled around your baby, then it might be impossible for your baby to get into a better position.

Other complicating factors are certain shapes of the uterus, certain positions of the placenta, and a low amount of amniotic fluid, to name a few.

In such cases, it is often so that nothing that you do changes your baby’s position.

But here is the good news: those cases are really very rare!

In fact, most babies do turn head down at some point.

The only problem is that moms-to-be often unintentionally do things that make it more difficult for their baby to turn.

The two most important problems in this regard are the following ones:

Wrong Sitting Position

We totally get that you are a tired and exhausted mommy! So, we are the last ones to blame you for the fact that all you want to do is slouching on a sofa! You deserve it!

The only problem is: such (semi-)reclined sitting positions are normally not ideal for a breech baby to turn.

Not only does gravity press your baby mostly against your spine.

In such positions, there is simply not much room for baby to turn.

Even more so, when you also elevate your legs or cross them while sitting on the sofa.

But if you want to help a breech baby turn head down, there is a much better way to sit!

We explain this in detail in our blogpost “Best sitting position to help baby find a good position in the womb“.

Wrong Sleeping Position

The other problem which can prevent your baby from turning, is a wrong sleeping position.

Of course, there aren’t that many sleeping positions available when you are pregnant, right?

In fact, your healthcare provider most probably told you to lie on your left side. That’s because it is considered “safe” for the baby.

Indeed, sleeping on your back can be dangerous for your baby because your baby’s weight could put pressure on your “vena cava”.

The vena cava is involved in the blood supply to your baby. It carries deoxygenated blood back to your own heart where it is being oxygeniated (“filled up with oxygen”) again.

As a result, sleeping on your back could decrease the blood supply to your baby.

So far, scientists have thus believed that sleeping on your left side is the only thing that you should really do when you are pregnant. However, recent scientific research on this matter revealed that sleeping on either the left or the right side appears to be equally safe for the baby (1).

So far, so good.

The problem is though that lying on either side usually means that one leg lies on your other leg. As a result, both your hips and pelvis are in a “closed” position.

Even worse: many moms-to-be unconsciously move their upper leg forward at night. This can cause the upper leg to pull at their hips which can cause the hip joint to twist.

As a result, there is almost no room for the baby in the womb. And accordingly, baby will have a hard time to turn.

Luckily though, we can make small adjustments which will provide baby with much more room:

What is the best Sleeping Position to turn a breech Baby?

Despite the findings of the most recent research, at our practice, we still promote lying on your left side when you go to bed.

That said, you don’t need to panic if you unconsciously turn over at night and end up lying on the other side! Again, it seems to be equally safe according to research.

Still, your go-to-bed position should be your left side!

And then, once you are in that position, put a firm pillow between your legs!

(We’ll discuss what kind of pillow it needs to be later in this blogpost).

Make sure that most of your upper leg lies on the pillow! Ideally, the whole leg from at least your knee downwards lies on the pillow!

This position alone will provide your baby with so much more room. So, if you only just used a pillow between your legs, it would already considerably increase your baby’s chances to turn.

However, we can do even better:

With the pillow between your legs, roll over a bit further so that more of your belly is touching the bed!

What this position will do is, it will make sure that your abdomen is in a forward position. Therefore, it can help your baby back out of your pelvis.

So, instead of helping baby engage deeper into your pelvis, we want to help baby move into the opposite direction (for now).

Also, to provide baby with as much room as possible, make sure that – when you roll over – you nearly lie on your tummy!

Don’t worry, this position is safe for your baby. The pillow between your legs will take your own weight off your baby.

With that said, please do make sure that it really feels comfortable! You are not supposed to literally lie on your belly!

If it feels like you are indeed lying on your belly, then you have obviously rolled over too far!

Finally, once you have rolled over, make sure that your uppper leg rests forward so that the knee either touches the mattress, or at least almost points towards the mattress, depending on the thickness of the pillow that you are using.

This will provide your baby with even more room to turn. Why? Well, because it prevents that your leg pulls at your hips which could cause your hip joint to twist.

This is the ideal sleeping position to turn a breech baby! 

First, the “forward position” of your belly can help your baby back out of your pelvis! Second, the pillow between your legs will provide your baby with more room to turn. And third, the “forward position” of your upper leg will prevent your hip joint from twisting.

As a result, this position will considerably increase the chances of your breech baby to turn.

What kind of Pillow do I need for the best Sleeping Position to turn a breech Baby?

In order to make sure that both, your pelvis and hips really do stay in an open position, it is important to know that you cannot use any pillow.

First of all, don’t just use a feather pillow!

Feather pillows won’t work here because they do not keep their shape when you put your leg on them. As a result, a feather pillow won’t keep your hips and pelvis in an open position.

Therefore, ideally, you use a thick foam pillow. Alternatively, you can use any other kind of thick pillow which keeps its shape when you put your leg on it!

A great example is the pillow that we use in the images above! It is a foam pillow. And as you can see, it does not change its shape.

Alternatively, you can also use a nursing pillow / breastfeeding pillow if you have got one already.

They usually come with the right thickness and size which allows you to keep most of your leg on the pillow while keeping both, your hips and pelvis in an open position.

Can I use a U-shaped or C-shaped Pregnancy Pillow for the best Sleeping Position to turn a breech baby?

Unfortunately, U-shaped pregnancy pillows are not ideal for what we are trying to do here. They don’t really allow you to keep your abdomen in a forward position so that you nearly lie on your tummy.

Moreover, some of these U-shaped pillows are really “superthick”. And many moms-to-be claim that such superthick pillows are not really comfortable.

Plus, they don’t let you keep your leg in a “forward position”.

However, C-shaped pregnancy pillows will definitely work. Their shape naturally provides you with room for your belly, right where you need it.

In other words, such pillows do allow you to keep your belly in a forward position.

What can I do if my Baby does not turn?

While the best sleeping position can certainly make it easier for a breech baby to turn, there is one thing that it does not do: it does not actually encourage your baby to turn.

In other words, it is still up to your baby to make a decision to turn or not. Therefore, if you cannot make a baby turn with positions alone, your may need a more “active” approach.

For example, you might have to combine positions with exercises.

That way, you do not only “open the door” for your baby with positions. You also encourage your baby to “step through it” with the help of exercises.

By the way: This also applies to other position-related things we want baby to do, such as engaging in the pelvis:

If you want your baby to engage in your pelvis, you could combine positions with deep squats.

That way, you do not only provide your baby with more room in your womb. In addition, deep squats help “press the baby” into your pelvis.

A similar strategy has helped us turn many babies head down. Though in that case, we combine positions with exercises and “moxibustion”. This is a TCM-based technique which we have applied very successfully to help pregnant women with all kinds of things.

So, if this sleeping position does not help turn a baby, we normally try the following strategies:

Other Strategies to turn a breech Baby

What if my Baby still does not move into a better Position?

If the things that we have explained so far do not help you turn your baby, then we would consider seeing a chiropractor!

A chiropractor cannot always help. However, we have come across many cases when a chiropractor did help turn a baby.

But of course, it really depends on the exact reason why your baby is not turning.

As mentioned earlier, sometimes, there are circumstances which can make it impossible for a baby to turn!

Therefore, it is important that you don’t blame yourself if baby doesn’t turn!

Please always keep in mind that – at the end of the day – all that matters is that a healthy mother holds a healthy baby in her arms!

This is what we wish you too, with all of our hearts!

What else helps with a smoother and faster Delivery?

Helping baby find a good position for labor can obviously help you have a smoother and faster delivery. But there is more you can do!

Did you know that the way you breathe during labor has a direct effect on how smooth your delivery will go?

Well, that’s because if you do it the right way, it does not only help you relax. It also helps you keep your pelvic floor in motion! And that’s exactly what you need when your baby moves through your pelvic floor!

Because of that, in our free mini birthing course, we show you how to breathe and how not to breathe during labor.

We even use a device to prove to you that some breathing techniques are superior to others. And we show you how different techniques have different effects on your body during labor and thus on your delivery!

Plus: you also get a handout about breathing techniques that you can download!

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Click the button below to sign up for our free Mini Birthing Webinar!

Medical Disclaimer: The information on this page is not intended to diagnose, prevent, mitigate, treat or cure any disease! It is not personal medical advice. We recommend that you ask a doctor whenver you are looking for medical advice!