Maternal Positioning is a term used for talking about the posture and positions women use in pregnancy and in labor for comfort and labor progress. The 2nd Principle of Spinning Babies is Gravity. Maternal positioning uses the 2nd Principle of Spinning Babies.

There is a growing dogmatism about fetal positioning. Remember, most posterior babies rotate in labor.
But, how do you know whether your baby will be the one that can be born normally, or if your baby will have a difficult time rotating or fitting without rotation? Birth offers a spectrum of possibilities.

Like a rainbow, the statistical tool called a bell curve is highest in the middle. The bell curve illustrates the common idea that most people will experience something similar to each other there are less usual variations on either end of the spectrum. For most women, childbirth involves more work then they expected. That's why we call it "labor." For a few women on the near end of the spectrum labor is easier, at least easier from her midwife's point of view! And on the far end of the rainbow, though their is a pot of gold, there is quite a lot of work, and sometimes a lot of surrender, to finish the birth.

Twisting to help patients and clients on a bed or a massage table can eventually twist and tighten the uterine ligaments.

For instance if you stand on the same side of the bed or massage table and work on a person, you will be leaning in the same direction while twisting your body. Perhaps you are leaning to your right side repeatedly through the work day. Then the ligament on the right gets tighter and shorter. The ligament on the left is longer. 

You uterus will begin to tip over time and stay in that position. Now the baby may not get lined up just so for birth. Labor can be longer and harder than average. Or, even before birth, your womb isn't getting the full circulatory benefit of hormones and oxygen that pregnancy needs.  Reverse the twist from massaging clients on one side to release the ligament that gets shorter on the side you lean into.

This may be why the lore is that chiropractors have more difficult births than the patients they treat!

Its good for professionals to get body work, too! Balance your own pelvic area-ligaments, tone, etc.

Learning about how you use your body and how you can move your body in a balanced way will help. Watch a British Medical Journal video on the benefits of the Alexander Technique, a way to move your body in a more comfortable way.

Using the 3 Principles of Spinning Babies in Pregnancy

Spinning Babies helps prevent common problems from subtle malpositions of the baby's head.

Malposition is a harsh word meaning the head is not coming into the pelvis is the easiest way to mold, or shape, itself to fit.  When the head is at a difficult angle, especially when mother’s muscles or pelvic tendons are tight, hours or even days can be added to the length of labor.