What is a Breech Baby & What to do When Your Baby is Breech

What is a Breech Baby?

About 4% of babies are in the breech position at the end of pregnancy. Early in pregnancy, most babies sit comfortably with their heads up, but around 30 weeks, they typically rotate into a head-down position (also called a vertex presentation) to prepare for birth. 

When a baby remains in a breech position instead, their buttocks or feet would enter the birth canal first if labor began. Understanding your baby’s position helps your care provider determine the best approach for a safe and healthy delivery.

What are the Different Types of Breech Presentations?

There are several different breech positions your baby may present in. They are as follows:

Frank Breech Baby

Baby’s legs are straight, and his feet are up by his head. Frank breech position is the most common with the babies bottom being closest to the birth canal, and considered the safest birth position for vaginal breech delivery.

Complete Breech Baby

Baby’s legs are folded, and the feet are close to his bottom.  

A Footling Breech Baby

Baby’s foot or feet are below the bottom.  

My Baby is Breech What Should I Do Now?

What to do depends on your due date and how far along you are. One factor is how you feel about cesarean delivery. If you prefer to give birth via cesarean section, there’s nothing you need to do. Just be sure you understand the risks of cesarean birth (for you, this baby, and any future babies).

If you’d like to avoid a C-section, there are two things to do to try to get your baby in a head-down position. You can do one or both (recommended).

1. Find a provider who does vaginal breech births.
2. Consider the tips below.

If You Have a Breech Baby Before 28 Weeks of Pregnancy

That’s normal. Babies are head up in utero until around 30 weeks. You can practice good sitting posture and keep your body balanced to help baby make his/her rotation when it’s time. Be sure to check out Getting Your Baby In The Best Position For Birth.

If You Have a Breech Baby Between 28 Weeks – 31 Weeks of Pregnancy

This is the time during which most babies turn head-down. If your baby is still head up, it’s still normal. But it could also mean your baby is having a hard time flipping. You can change the way you sit and rest, consider a chiropractor who is Webster certified, take a few extra walks, and up your relaxation.

If You Have a Breech Baby Between 32 Weeks – 35 Weeks of Pregnancy

Most babies have gone head down by now. If you find out your baby is breech at 34 weeks, you are lucky because you have some time to work to flip him/her. All the things we do to help babies turn work better before 36 or 37 weeks.

If you’re up for it, try as many of the ways to turn a breech as you can and look for an OB or Midwife who delivers breech babies. You may have to travel.

If You Have a Breech Baby at 36 Weeks – 38 Weeks of Pregnancy

In mainstream maternity care, a provider may not check for breech position until about 36 weeks. At this point, you are “breech at term,” meaning the baby is full term and clinically old enough to be born and still in a breech position. You can work to turn the baby (and they do turn this late!), but you also want to begin looking at your birth options with a breech baby.

If You Have a Breech Baby Between 39 weeks – 40 weeks

Very few babies will turn head down after 38 weeks, though some babies even turn in labor. Try an external cephalic version ECV—if it makes you nervous, ask around for a provider who has a good success rate with them and remember that they are far less risky than cesarean. Look at the other turning techniques and see what feels right.

Spend the majority of your energy on planning the kind of breech birth you want. If it’s going to be a cesarean, you can still have a beautiful birth. Ask (maybe demand—it’s your baby) that you hold your baby immediately. Look into other family-centered or ‘natural’ cesarean practices.

If you’re planning a vaginal breech birth, you’re lucky to have found someone to attend you. Be extra nice to them—we need more providers to bring back vaginal delivery for breech birth. Ask some questions to be sure you have a provider you trust.

Why is My Baby Breech?

No one knows definitively why babies are breech. The best guess we have at this point is that many babies are breech because of an imbalance in the maternal environment. 

It could be that your uterus is torqued, and the baby is more comfortable head up. This may be from stress or sitting on couches or holding a toddler on one hip. 

In some cases, it’s easier to conclude the cause, such as those diagnosed with placenta previa, where the placenta lies low in the uterus and may cover part or all of the cervix, which can affect the baby’s ability to move into a head-first position.

Here are Some Other Possible Reasons Why Babies are Breech:

• Your first baby was breech
• You are of advanced maternal age
• The amniotic fluid levels are off
• The umbilical cord is short or tangled
• Your baby’s hips are immature
• There’s breech in your family tree
• It’s your first pregnancy
• Congenital problems with the baby
• The placenta is in an unusual location

How are Breech Babies Born?

Breech babies in the U.S. are almost all born by pre-labor cesarean. Vaginal breech birth was offered in most places worldwide until a flawed study in 2001 gave doctors and insurance companies a reason to discontinue them.

The study has since been debunked, and more research has been published, but the damage was done. Performing universal cesareans for breech babies is unfortunately now the norm.

The good news is that vaginal breech birth is coming back! Doctors, midwives and activists are organizing re-training for breech delivery skills and reminding the maternity world that you have a choice.

Your ability to find a confident breech birth supporter is largely based on geography. Some people travel cross-country for a vaginal breech birth.

Is Breech Birth Safe?

Breech birth (vaginal or cesarean) is higher risk than head-down birth, but breech babies are born safely every day.

There are increased risks of problems with delivery when the baby is in a breech presentation (feet or bottom first). The baby is more likely to have trouble coming down the birth canal, the cord is more likely to sweep out, and breech babies may be slower to perk up after birth.

Many other factors influence the safety of vaginal breech birth, but breech experts are confident that vaginal breech birth offers significant benefits over a cesarean. These benefits include a shorter recovery time for the mother, lower risk of complications associated with major surgery, and reduced impact on future pregnancies. Additionally, vaginal breech birth allows the baby to experience the natural hormonal and physiological processes of labor, which can support lung development and the transition to life outside the womb. 

Can I Turn a Breech Baby to Head Down?

Yes, you can make the environment more conducive to turning. There are quite a few tricks that moms and providers have developed over the years that can help a baby flip.

Things You Can Try:

• Use body mechanics to balance your pelvis with exercises, postural changes, and trips to the chiropractor. You will want to seek out a chiropractor who specializes in the Webster Technique.
• Connect with your baby and encourage him/her to flip using music, light, gentle massage, and visualization.
• Relax and release your tension and let all your pelvic tissues make way for the baby to move.
• Get an external cephalic version (ECV), a procedure in which the doctor applies a gentle gel to your abdomen and uses their hands to guide the baby into a head-down position.  More than half of ECV attempts succeed, though sometimes baby will return to breech position. 
• Take our Breech Baby Options Course to learn 17 techniques that may allow your baby to turn.

What are the Risks of External Cephalic Version? Is ECV Safe?

Yes. In Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth, Henci Goer studied 3,700 women in twenty-six studies on ECV. There were only 2 cases where complications led to a cesarean.

• It is considered very safe; in many cases, it is done in a labor and delivery ward in case it puts you into labor or distresses the baby.
• It may be a better choice than cesarean for you and the baby.
• Consult with your Doctor or Midwife 

Why Won’t My Doctor Deliver a Breech Baby Naturally?

Very few health care professionals today have the specialized training or hands-on experience needed to safely support a vaginal breech birth. Many hospitals and insurance carriers are also cautious about offering this option, often defaulting to pre-labor cesareans because those risks are more clearly defined and understood. While you can ask your doctor or midwife about their experience with breech delivery—or for a referral to someone who does—such providers can be difficult to find.

That’s why our Breech Birth Course is such an important resource. It’s designed to help you understand your options, learn evidence-based techniques for encouraging baby to turn, and confidently advocate for the safest and most natural birth possible. If your baby is breech, this course gives you the knowledge and reassurance you need to move forward with confidence.

Cited Research

Goer, H. (1999). The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth. New York City, NY: TarcherPerigee.

Disclaimer: Pregnancy by Design’s information is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. Always ask your healthcare provider about any health concerns you may have.