The Webster Technique: A chiropractic recipe for efficient labor & delivery
Welcome to your Morning Pour! ☕️
While this topic isn’t specific to my active-and-pregnant population, it’s still an important one to talk about if you’re expecting.
So let’s start with the basics: what is breech presentation, and why does it happen?
A baby is considered breech when they aren’t head down in the womb and are instead positioned feet or bottom first. There are a few types of breech presentation—Frank (the most common), Complete, Incomplete, and Transverse.
Some babies are head-down for months and then decide to do a little womb gymnastics late in the third trimester, ending up breech! Others may stay breech throughout the entire pregnancy.
The reasons for breech positioning can vary. Carrying multiples (twins or more), delivering before 36 weeks, placental placement (such as Placenta Previa), or having too much or too little amniotic fluid can all play a role. When these factors are ruled out by a perinatal provider, one of the most common contributors I see in my office is tightness in the pelvis and surrounding soft tissues. This is when I introduce the Webster Technique to my patients—a safe and effective treatment in helping your baby find their way to a more optimal position!
The Webster Technique uses gentle chiropractic adjustments and soft tissue work to the hips, pelvis, and surrounding areas to help create more balance and space—allowing your baby to find a more optimal position for birth. Unlike an external cephalic version (ECV), we don’t physically turn the baby. Instead, we support the body so your baby can naturally move head down on their own.
With a strong success rate, the Webster Technique can benefit both baby and mom. In addition to encouraging optimal positioning, it often helps relieve pressure and discomfort in the lower back and pelvis as your body continues to change during pregnancy.
In my office, treatment involves a few comfortable positions. You may lie on your back so I can address areas like the pubic bone, hip flexors, adductors, and round ligaments, and on your side to work on the SI joints, glutes, TFLs, and lower back muscles. Through a combination of gentle adjustments and soft tissue mobilization, we release tension, improve joint mobility, and help create space in the pelvis for the baby to move naturally. The technique is safe for both mom and baby—and it’s not uncommon to feel your baby moving during the session as the hips release!
While chiropractic care can be helpful throughout pregnancy, in my office we typically begin Webster treatments around 36 weeks. Before that point, babies naturally move through many positions, so we usually allow time for that normal movement to happen.
In my experience, whether someone is very active or more sedentary, tight hips can still develop and may contribute to a breech position. That’s why it’s so helpful to understand the options available to you—like gentle stretching at home, chiropractic care, prenatal yoga, and other supportive therapies—so you feel prepared if the time comes.
This isn’t about fear. It’s about awareness, support, and feeling ready to advocate for your body and your birth! 💛