Active Labor Positions
All-Fours
Tools - None
Purpose - Open pelvis; gravity
Good for - Rotating baby; bringing baby down
How - Rest on your hands and knees. Try tucking and untucking your sacrum.
Shake the Apple Tree
Tools - Scarf, sheet, or Rebozo
Purpose - Soften the pelvic ligaments and glutes
Good for - Releasing a tight pelvic floor
How - Wrap the scarf around the glutes, starting at the top of the hips, ending at the base of the glutes. Bunch the scarf on both sides to make a tight fit. Move hands up and down in alternate motion to shake the glutes. Do in-between contractions. Best in the all-fours or standing, bent over position.
Toilet
Tools - Toilet
Purpose - Gravity; open pelvis; relaxed pelvic floor
Good for - Bringing baby lower; relaxing pelvic floor; rotating a baby
How - Sit, pants-less, on the toilet facing forward or backward.
Standing, Bent Forward
Tools - Bed, chair, or table
Purpose - Gravity
Good for - Bringing baby down; rest
How - Lean forward over a bed, chair, or table. During contractions, allow your knees to be soft, and hips to sway back and forth.
Moutain Pose
Tools - None
Purpose - Stretch rib muscles
Good for - Make space for baby to rotate into an optimal position
How - Stretch arms into the air during contractions or for short durations. Try grabbing the top of a door frame for support.
Side-lying Release
Tools - Bed
Purpose - Release PSOAS and pelvic ligaments
Good for - Bring baby lower; rotate a baby
How - Lay on your side, with your bottom arm straight above your head. Adjust in the bed so your belly is hanging off the edge. Have a support person stand by your belly for support. Your support person will lift your top leg up, forward, and then gently bring it down to hang over the bed. They will use their hands on your hip to keep your pelvis stacked. Do this for three contractions, then switch to the other side.
Hip Circles (Ball)
Tools - Birth ball
Purpose - Gravity, open pelvis inlet
Good for - Bringing a high baby down; rest
How - Sitting on a birth ball, make slow circles with your hips, then rotate the other direction.
All-fours Over Ball
Tools - Birth ball
Purpose - Open pelvic; gravity; rest
Good for - Bring baby down; rotate a baby
How - Rest on your knees with your shoulders and head over a birth ball.
Lean and Rest (ball)
Tools - Birth ball; pillows
Purpose - Gravity; open pelvis; rest
Good for - Resting; bringing baby down
How - Bring a birth ball up to the side of your bed. Stack pillows to a comfortable height, and rest forward.
Kneeling Lunge
Tools - None
Purpose - Bringing baby through the midline of the pelvis
Good for - Rotating a baby; bringing a baby down
How - Kneel and bring one leg up into a lunge, with your knee to the side. This can be down resting over a birth ball or the raised back of a hospital bed.