How To Tell If A Baby Is Head Down

When a baby is born bottom first, they are in a breech position.  A breech position can be a more complicated birth, but it is a situation that can easily be detected and addressed by your prenatal providerTo find out if your baby is in a breech position, you can look for certain clues such as where your baby’s head is and where you feel kicks.

All About the Breech Position

By the time you are at 36 weeks, your baby will probably be in a head-down position. The baby doesn’t turn into the correct position in four percent of cases. In the early stages of pregnancy, there is lots of room in the uterus for your baby to turn around. However, there is less room as your baby nears its due date.

Why your baby may be breech

There are many reasons that your baby may be breech. Sometimes, the uterus has a shape that tends to nudge the baby to a breech position. It may be heart-shaped or have a small piece of tissue running from the upper portion to the base of the uterus called a septum. Some people have small non-cancerous masses called fibroids that protrude into the uterus.

Sometimes there is too little amniotic fluid. Maybe the placenta is in the way or the umbilical cord is too short. Maybe there are more than one baby and the other baby (or babies) makes it hard for the baby to move head down. These small differences may make it difficult for your baby to move into a head-down position.

Types of breech

 There are three kinds of breech position:

  • Frank breech: In the frank breech position, the baby’s buttocks are in position to come out first. This is the most common breech position.
  • Footling (or incomplete) breech: In the footling breech position, one or both legs are positioned to come out first.
  • Complete breech: In a complete breech position, the baby’s buttocks are positioned down near the birth canal. Its feet are near the buttocks and the knees are bent.

how to tell if a baby is head down in the womb

A breech position can be diagnosed in a number of different ways.  One way would be during a fetal ultrasound.  It may also be found while your prenatal care provider checks your cervix.

How To Tell if a Baby is Head Down

An ultrasound scan is the only fool-proof method for how to tell if a baby is head down.  There are clues that you can look for, though.  Signs that your baby is in the correct head down (cephalic) can include:

  • Sit quietly and relax. Concentrate on your baby’s movement without distraction for at least 15 minutes.
  • Your baby is probably head down if you feel kicks up high and “butterfly” feelings down low.
  • If your baby is in a head-down position, you will probably find that you can feel his or her hiccups beneath your belly button.
  • If you notice that there is a lump to the right or left of your tummy, gently press it. If when you do so you feel your infant’s entire body move, it’s likely that it is your baby’s bottom.
  • Try pressing gently just above your pubic bone. Do you feel something hard and round?  This is probably your baby’s head. If it feels ‘squishy’, it’s likely your baby’s bottom.
  • After you find the baby’s head, move your hand along the baby’s back. You may feel your baby’s limbs or belly.
How do I know what position my baby is inside of me, and where will I feel movement?

Tips for Helping to Promote a Head-Down Position

There are certain things that you can do to help promote a head-down position.  Let’s go over some of them here:

  • Do exercises that can encourage your baby to get and stay in the right position. Make sure to consult with your doctor or midwife first.
  • If you swim, avoid doing “Froggy legs”. The breast stroke is fine but keep your legs as straight as you can when you kick.
  • Some people swear by crawling on your hands and knees. If you’re going to try this, I recommend cleaning. It may not be evidence-based, but at least you’ll have clean floors. 
  • Avoid putting your feet up when you lie back. Doing so might make your baby go into the posterior position.
  • Crawl on your hands and knees as an exercise. You should do this for as long as you can, around half an hour if possible.
  • Positions that encourage your baby to get into a head-down position often include harnessing gravitySquat! This position is ideal for getting your baby into the perfect position by incorporating both gravity and wide open hips to make room in your pelvis.
  • Get a massage by a skilled provider. Sometimes massage can help the soft tissue and your ligaments relax.
  • Do exercises that can encourage your baby to get and stay in the right position. Make sure to consult with your doctor or midwife first.
How to help baby turn HEAD DOWN | 5 at home exercises to NATURALLY turn baby

What if baby is breech?

It depends on your gestational age. If you are closer to 36 weeks, you can try different positions to change your baby’s position or your doctor may be able to help. If it’s closer to your due date, you may have less likelihood of either of those working. However, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t some techniques left to try.

Inversions: Before trying an inversion, discuss with your prenatal care provider to make sure it’s safe for you and your baby.

Use your couch: Put your forearms on the floor and go on your knees.  Put your bottom upwards.  You should stay like this for 15 minutes.

Floor: Lie down on a flat surface.  Then, lift your pelvis up about nine inches off the floor.  Support your hips using a pillow.  You should remain in this position for 15 minutes.

Breech tilt: This requires a support person! Put an ironing board (or plank of wood) with one end on the couch and the other on the floor. Put a pillow on the floor. Have your support person make sure that you’re stable and that the ironing board won’t move. You will lie with your head pointing toward the ground and your feet up in the air.

Open-Knee Chest: The open-knee chest position provides plenty of room and uses gravity to help turn the baby. The knees and shins should be on the floor, spread apart. The person’s chest and face should be on the floor. The chest and shoulders should move forward while the knees stay in place. A pillow can go under the chest. A support person may use a blanket, towel, or rebozo to help support them. 

Chiropractic care: Sometimes muscles and ligaments in the pelvis or sacrum of your spine are misaligned or tense. Finding a Webster-certified chiropractor may increase the likelihood that babies will flip heads down on their own. The maneuvers are gentle and safe and the chiropractor does not turn the baby. 

Other techniques that may be helpful for turning a breech include complementary medicine. These methods include acupuncture, which is the insertion of thin needles through the skin at specific points on the body. Moxibustion is the use of dried herbs to stimulate an acupoint to encourage the baby to turn. 

What if those techniques don’t turn the breech baby?

There are a few medical procedures that you should talk to your prenatal care provider about. Some choose to turn the baby, others choose 

External cephalic version (ECV): A procedure called an ECV is an option your doctor can use to turn a baby from a breech position to head down. Your doctor will apply pressure to the baby to physically turn them from head up to head down. They will monitor your baby to ensure that baby remains safe during the procedure. For people who haven’t had a birth yet, the success rate of an ECV is 40% while for those who have given birth is 64%.

Cesarean section: If the baby is still in a breech position when you’re nearing your due date, your prenatal care provider will likely schedule a cesarean section. A cesarean section is not without risks, but it will be done in a controlled environment to make sure that the baby can be delivered as safely as possible.

Vaginal breech delivery: It is very rare to see this option nowadays. Some doctors and midwives are skilled in the vaginal delivery of a breech presentation. However, there are risks. Because the baby’s bottom comes through the cervix first, sometimes the head can be larger and not fit- a life-threatening condition called head entrapment. There is also an increased risk is cord prolapse, where the umbilical cord comes through the cervix during labor, cutting off the oxygen supply to the baby.





Having a breech baby can be stressful. To decrease the likelihood of a breech presentation, stay active. Focus on using an upright position, proper posture, and sitting upright (lying on your side) when relaxing. Most importantly, be sure to have confidence in your body and your baby. Your baby is helping to write their birth story.
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Caitlin Goodwin
DNP, APRN-CNM
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Edited by

Caitlin Goodwin DNP, APRN-CNM
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Caitlin Goodwin is a board-certified nurse-midwife with more than a decade of obstetric experience. She has a doctorate in nursing practice from Frontier Nursing University.

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