How to Know What Position Your Baby Is In – And Why It Matters

🧭 Why Baby’s Position Matters

Your baby’s position in the final weeks of pregnancy can make a big difference to how your labour unfolds.

When your baby is in an optimal position- head down, with their back to your one side (called occiput anterior or OA) labour tends to:

• Start spontaneously

• Progress more smoothly

• Feel more manageable

• Have fewer interventions

But if baby is in a less optimal position – like back-to-back (occiput posterior) or with their head tilted – it can lead to:

• Longer, more painful labour

• Slower progress

• Higher chances of induction or Caesarean

I’m telling you this not to worry you, but to give you the tools. Because if your baby does settle into a less-than-ideal position, there’s so much you can do (even in late pregnancy or early labour) to help create space, restore balance, and encourage your baby into a better position for birth.

So rather than stressing about your baby’s exact position at all times, use this knowledge as your power. Awareness means you can act early and gently support your body and your baby in working together.

🤔 How to Tell What Position Your Baby Is In

There are a few ways to get clues about your baby’s position. Some involve what you feel, and others involve what you notice during movement, kicks, or even labour.

Here’s what to pay attention to:

1. Where You Feel Kicks and Wiggles

• Kicks on the top left or right side of your bump? Baby is likely head down – good news!

• Kicks near the front of your belly button or both sides at once? This can suggest baby is back-to-back (OP).

• Movements low in your pelvis or down by your pubic bone? Baby might be breech (head up).

• Little fluttery movements or pokes at the front, near the top of your pelvis? These could be baby’s hands. Babies often suck their hands in utero, so if you’re feeling small, fidgety movements at the front, lower part of your bump, it may be a sign that baby’s face is looking up at your bump- another clue they may be in a back to back position.

2. Where You Feel Baby’s Back

Use your hands to gently palpate your bump – midwife-style!

• A smooth, firm curve down one side of your bump is likely baby’s back

• If your bump feels more soft or lumpy all around the front, baby’s back might be against your spine (OP)

• You might also feel a round, hard shape under your ribs (likely baby’s head – which would mean they’re breech)

3. The Shape of Your Bump

• A neat, rounded bump often means baby is anterior (OA)

• If there’s a harder area at the top of your bump and a dip or hollow near your belly button, this can indicate an OP baby. The harder area is often baby’s scrunched-up legs, and the dip reflects the absence of their back against your abdominal wall.

4. Your Comfort and Sensations

• Backache, pressure in your sacrum, or intense kicks in the middle of your belly? These can be signs of an OP baby

• Feeling like you need to push when you are not fully dilated – this can be signs of a back to back baby.

📅 When Can You Start Tuning Into This?

You can start paying attention to baby’s position from around 34 weeks.

Your midwife or obstetrician may also note baby’s position during your routine checks – usually using abbreviations like:

• LOA = Left Occiput Anterior (ideal)

• ROA = Right Occiput Anterior (also good)

• OP = Occiput Posterior (back-to-back)

• Breech = Head up

• Transverse = Lying sideways

🧘‍♀️ What If Baby’s Not in an Ideal Position?

Don’t worry! Babies rotate all the time – even during labour. But you can help by:

• Staying upright and forward-leaning when sitting

• Avoiding long periods of reclined posture

• Doing specific biomechanics movements like Side-Lying Release, Forward-Leaning Inversion, and Exaggerated Lateral (you’ll find these in The Birth Chapter)

📥 Want to Know What to Do to Help Baby into an Optimal Position?

Inside The Birth Chapter, you’ll find:

• A comprehensive section on how to encourage optimal positioning through daily and weekly movement

• Easy-to-follow videos showing techniques like Side-Lying Release and Forward-Leaning Inversion

• A downloadable cheatsheet so you know exactly which positions to use during pregnancy and labour

• Biomechanics based tools to help create balance and space, no matter what position your baby starts in

🔗 Related Reading:

• What Is Biomechanics in Birth — And Why You Need It in Your Birth Prep

• Back-to-Back Baby: What It Means and How to Help Your Baby Turn

• How to Sit, Stand and Move in Pregnancy to Help Your Baby’s Position