During my last pregnancy, I wasn’t able to get my first ultrasound until I was 30 weeks along. My baby was breech at that point and I began researching ways to turn her immediately.
One of the first things I learned was that laying upside down could possibly help turn the baby.
I was more than half way through my fourth pregnancy and that means I was REALLY HUGE!! Lay upside down? Are you kidding? Please, don’t try to picture this – it’s too scary! 
As it turns out, this is one of the most successful ways to turn your breech baby. The earlier you can catch it, the better with this technique. I used this from 30 weeks all the way up to 41+ weeks. It seems to me you would need to be careful if you have high blood pressure. Considering the large belly and balance issues, you probably need to be careful no matter what other conditions you might have!
The idea behind the method is to make the baby a little uncomfortable, since he or she is obviously way too comfortable when you are standing up! You may also open up some new wiggle room for the baby and then your little one will have more space turn around.
(*Please note: I bent my ironing board by doing this! Go ahead and laugh, I’ll wait. Just don’t send me the bill for your ironing board if it happens to you – I warned you!)
Here’s how I did it:
I propped my ironing board up on my bed, one end in the air, one end on the floor. My bed is close enough to the wall so that the end on the floor could touch the floor. If you don’t have that opportunity, put something there to keep it from moving once you are on.
Now, to get on, upside down, while pregnant – just make sure no one is watching! I sat my bottom down in the middle of the board with both my feet off to the right side of the board (feet still on the floor). Then, I layed down on the board on my right shoulder. As I rolled onto my back, I pulled my left leg over and rested both feet on the bed. You will slide down a little bit. Once you are settled, try to relax all your muscles and really think about that baby turning.
The goal is to stay in this position for 5 minutes. You can work up to that amount of time if you need to. Try to get some time upside down at least three times a day.
How do I get down? Since a woman’s body creates so much more blood and fluid during pregnancy, I was always really careful about getting up. If you’ve ever gotten up from bed too quickly and felt a little light headed, just imagine what you’d feel like getting up too quick from this position!
I would push with my feet until my head was on the ground. Then, I rolled my body off the board onto the floor very slowly. I would lay comfortably right there until I felt all the blood that had rushed to my head had equalled out a little bit. Get to standing incrementally – first roll onto your side, then sit, then knees, and slowly up to your feet.
In the event that your ironing board does bend or break, I’ll tell you what we used in its place.
- Wood! My husband is a carpenter and happened to have a large (really large) sheet of oak plywood that he thought of using. It was wider so that made me much more comfortable. We put a blanket on it and pillows near my head. Make sure to wrap the blanket all the way under the wood and pinch it between the bed and the wood, otherwise it will start to slip.
- Inversion Board. I do not own one, but it was suggested to me during this time that I find an exercise bench that can be lowered on one side. It is padded and is specially made to hold your body weight without tipping or slipping.
Try not to worry or think too much about the position your baby is in. The more you worry, the tighter your muscles will become, thereby keeping your baby in that same position. If he or she is growing and moving, that’s the most important part. More than likely, everything will work out just fine in the end. My baby did not turn after nearly 3 months of trying every technique in the book and everything worked out perfectly! You can read the story here.
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