Breech Release Sessions: Midwife-Led Support for Breech Babies
A gentle, midwife-assisted approach to helping breech babies rotate
Finding out your baby is breech can bring up a lot of questions, particularly as pregnancy moves closer to birth.
Some women want to actively explore ways of creating more room for baby to move. Others feel comfortable accepting baby's position as it is, sometimes trusting that there may be a reason or wisdom in where baby has settled, and choose to focus their energy on planning for birth rather than trying to change baby's position. There are many ways families navigate breech, from Breech Release or ECV to planning for cesarean or vaginal breech birth.
There is no expectation that every breech baby needs to be turned. Breech Release is simply one option for women who would like to explore that possibility.
For women who do want to explore rotation, Breech Release offers a gentle, hands-on approach to creating space in the mother's body and assisting baby toward movement.
Breech Release Session · $250
Sessions vary depending on what we find together. Please allow up to two hours.
What is Breech Release?
Breech Release is a gentle, midwife-assisted approach to helping a breech baby rotate. The work begins primarily with the mother's body, combining soft-tissue and fascial work with gravity, movement, and three-dimensional space.
Much of the session takes place on a slant board. Changing the angle of the mother's body allows us to use gravity differently while working with the abdomen, pelvis, fascia, and surrounding soft tissues to create more freedom for movement.
As baby begins to shift, the work becomes more interactive. I may use my hands to maintain the space baby has already moved out of while we change angles and positions, helping encourage continued rotation rather than baby simply settling back into the same place. As we rotate off the slant board, I may also use my hands to maintain space beneath the mother's rib cage, helping baby's head clear that area as the rotation continues.
The goal isn't to force baby through a turn, but neither is this simply body balancing and hoping baby moves afterward. We're actively creating the conditions for rotation and, when baby begins to move, gently assisting that process.
My approach is informed by Breech Release training through ReStory Birthwork as well as my training as a Spinning Babies® Aware Practitioner.
A Gentle Alternative to ECV
Breech Release can be thought of as a gentle alternative to a traditional external cephalic version (ECV). Both approaches are intended to help a breech baby rotate, but they go about that process differently.
A traditional ECV uses external pressure on the abdomen to manually guide baby through a turn. Breech Release begins by working with the mother's soft tissues and position, using gravity, changing angles, and movement to invite rotation before adding gentle hands-on assistance as baby moves.
Some women choose to try Breech Release first because they would like to explore a gentler approach before deciding whether to pursue an ECV. Others already have an ECV planned and use Breech Release beforehand to work with maternal tension, mobility, and available space in preparation for the procedure.
What a Session May Include
Each session is individualized, but may involve:
Gentle soft-tissue and myofascial work
Pelvic and sacral mobility work
Attention to patterns of tension or guarding when relevant
Gravity-assisted positioning using a slant board
Changing positions and angles to create three-dimensional space for movement
Gentle, hands-on assistance as baby begins to rotate
Will My Baby Turn?
There is no way to promise that a baby will turn after Breech Release.
Sometimes babies rotate during the session or change position afterward, and sometimes they remain breech. There are many reasons a baby may remain in a particular position, and not all of them are something we can identify or change from the outside.
The purpose of the session is to work with what we can influence: maternal mobility, soft-tissue tension and restriction, positioning, the space available for movement, and baby's response as we invite and assist rotation.
If baby remains breech, our conversation doesn't have to end there. I can also help you understand what you're seeing, think through questions you may want to ask your provider, and explore the options available to you as you prepare for birth.
When to Consider a Session
Before 32 weeks
When baby is breech earlier in pregnancy, I generally think more broadly about body balance, comfort, mobility, and patterns of tension or restriction rather than treating baby's position as something that needs immediate correction.
Around 34–35 weeks
This is often a good time to begin more focused Breech Release work. Baby's position is becoming more relevant to birth planning, while there is typically still room for movement.
Later in pregnancy
It's not necessarily too late. Breech Release can still be useful later in pregnancy, and whether a session makes sense depends on your individual circumstances.
Before or after an ECV
Some women choose Breech Release before a planned ECV to work with maternal tension, mobility, and available space beforehand. Others come after an unsuccessful ECV when baby remains breech and they would like to try a different, gentler approach to assisting rotation.
Get in Touch
If this feels like something you’d like to explore, you’re welcome to reach out.
You don’t need to have everything figured out. Just share where you are, and we’ll go from there.