To help a breech baby flip head down begin with the 1st Principle of Spinning Babies. Balance means to help thesoft tissues of the pelvis and abdomen become symmetrical. To do that, there are techniques to release muscle spasms that pull the womb out of place a bit. The wrong twist in the wrong place can prevent a baby from being head down. Therefore, its good to begin with Balancing the uterine ligaments. Read the thinking behind this non-manipulative way to a head down baby.

Using the Three Principles of Spinning Babies we begin with Balance.

The First Principle, Balance

To balance, we must release muscle and ligament tension and help the pelvic joints to be aligned.

There are several things you can do at home. For some women they work quickly, for others, more help is needed. 

• Release the Psoas (or better yet, come to a psoas resolution!)
• Release the Round Ligaments
• Align the Sacroilliac Joints and the Symphysis Pubis with a Chiropractor, or over time with forward-leaning Inversions
• Webster Maneuver by a Chiropractor
• Do a Myofascial Standing Release (Sacral Release, Buckled Sacrum Maneuver).
• Forward-leaning Inversion (this one is so good, I have it in both the 1st and the 2nd Principle)

Gail became interested in breech birth when her friend's first baby was born breech in 1983. Her mother stayed home to avoid a cesarean and the midwife was late. Though her role was the photographer, Gail was suddenly catching the baby. She was born healthy, pink and crying lustfully. That very baby recently wrote a humorous response to Gail's reminiscence of her joyful birth, "I can tell you that I've gotten made fun of so much over the years for coming into the world butt first. It's good to know that someone admires me for that!"

The Second Principle, Gravity

Go into the position you want your baby to go in. The mother goes upside down. There are some ways to go upside down that are better than others.While the "breech tilt" position is quite familiar, I prefer the forward leaning Inversion. For breech repositioning, you can do the forward leaning inversion longer than 30 seconds (the length of time you'd do an inversion for a head down baby).

Going up side down helps the breech baby tuck his or her chin, the first step in flipping. Going upside down in such a way that the uterus hangs from the cervical ligaments will also help balance the lower uterine segment (help it untwist if its got a little twist from crossing the legs or shifting your weight to one leg when you stand, etc).

• Forward Leaning Inversion
• Good Posture
• Rest Smart 

Having good posture, including the Rest Smart positions, is not enough after 21-34 weeks. Of course some babies could turn head down even in labor, but chances are that the later in pregnancy you are, the more your baby needs you to balance your womb and use gravity to help with the flip.

The Third Principle, Movement

What would I say about movement to help a breech baby flip head down?

• Rebozo sifting
• Myofascial unwinding
  

The small jiggling motions of the Rebozo Manteado, sifting; and myofascial unwinding are ways to help overcome restrictions in the muscles and other soft tissues and create more room and flexibility in the womb for baby to flip on their own.

Cephalic Version, where the doctor manipulates the baby into a head down position in late pregnancy, is also a type of movement, if you allow me to categorize broadly here.

To help a Breech, we want to create more room in the womb and flexibility in the womb and tissues around the womb.

• Homeopathic Pulsatilla used as appropriate to each woman
• Muxabustion
• Acupuncture
• Acupressure
• Forward Leaning Inversion
• Breech tilt with  cold and warm packs - cold behind baby's head and warm in front of baby's face and towards the pubic bone on the side of the mother where we find the baby's limbs.

These are some ways to help a breech baby flip head down.

Read the Breech Timeline to see when to do what. Read About Breech for general information about breech issues. Find a description for the Breech Tilt in the Techniques Section. And, read Flip a Breech for practical steps and exercises.