Especially by the middle of pregnancy, many women are already thinking about childbirth, some feeling anxious for the moment their baby will arrive and others feeling a mix of anxiety and various insecurities. Many women don’t realize that the traditional position of lying down during birth is not the most recommended according to scientific studies; it can limit the baby’s oxygen during contractions and prevent women from having more autonomy at the time of delivery.
The Different Birth Positions for Vaginal Delivery
Squatting Position – This is one of the most recommended positions. In a vertical position, the woman can support herself on a doula, her partner, or a piece of furniture. This position can be adopted on the delivery bed, in a bathtub, or using a fixed bar in the environment. Squatting is one of the positions that most facilitates the baby’s birth since it helps open the pelvis, and if the woman is well-guided, it generally causes less pain.
With the Help of Water
Many women choose water birth, which allows for various positions to be explored. The woman can squat, lie down, go on all fours, or choose any position that makes her feel more comfortable. The warm water helps calm her and relieves pain.
All Fours Position
The woman can be on all fours on the bed, but doulas and other birth professionals usually suggest the floor. This position can also be used under the shower and is just as common as the squatting position in vaginal deliveries.
Traditional Birth (Horizontal Position)
This is the most commonly used position, especially in hospitals and maternity wards in Brazil and around the world. Although not the most recommended, some women feel safer choosing it. It is essential to have qualified professionals present to ensure the birth goes as smoothly as possible.
Stair Step Assistance
This is another resource sometimes used during vaginal birth, where a small surgical step stool is brought in. The pregnant woman’s companion or professional (like a doula) sits on the last step and the woman leans on them. With each contraction, she is guided to lean forward to help the baby come out more easily.
How Did Other Birth Positions Emerge?
In the past, deliveries were conducted by midwives who would go to women’s homes, creating a predominantly female and comfortable environment. About 70 years ago, midwives were replaced by hospital births, and doctors became responsible for deliveries. However, the new standardized birthing practices were often hostile: women could not have someone they trusted with them, were forced into the horizontal position, and many had their legs tied to keep them in the ‘proper’ position. In France, several professionals revolutionized the way birth was viewed—one of them was obstetrician Frédérick Leboyer, who considered the mother-baby bond essential. Though he advocated for a gentler model of childbirth compared to traditional practices, his focus was on the newborn rather than the mother.
IMPORTANT: In the births performed by Leboyer, episiotomy was a routine procedure—a cut made in the woman’s perineum to facilitate the baby’s passage, but which in the long term can affect not only a woman’s health but also her sexuality.
In London, Janet Balaskas led the ‘active birth’ movement, where women were encouraged through yoga classes to be more active during labor. Perhaps the most revolutionary was the French obstetrician Michel Odent, who began using alternative methods such as water births to make delivery easier and to restore women’s right to their own birth experience. The conversation around humanized birth has increased, focusing much more on the presence of prepared professionals armed with respect for the woman and the act of giving birth, than on birth positions themselves. At a time when a woman is so emotionally vulnerable, she wants to feel welcomed and respected, and she expects her child’s birth to be unique. When this does not happen, it can leave an emotional mark that is almost impossible to erase. Moreover, the pain of childbirth that most women experience is closely linked to the conditions they face during labor. A woman who feels calm and cared for by respectful professionals will feel much safer, to the point that the pain will not feel so overwhelming. Today, many women want to choose how they will give birth. They want to decide which of the birth positions makes them feel safest, who will accompany them, and this act of choosing one’s own labor is called protagonism—a concept earlier defined by the French midwife Michel Odent as the ‘Rebirth of Childbirth’. See Also: What Does a Doula Do? Photo: Federal Senate
