Engaging Baby in the Pelvis

After 38 weeks’ gestation, some first babies are already dropping into the brim at the top of the pelvis. Engagement is baby’s first move toward getting born. But it’s not labor yet. Labor may even be a couple weeks off yet! (So many first labors begin beautifully at 41 weeks and a few days.)

Engagement may also begin during labor. If engagement doesn’t seem to be happening easily, you can help baby engage when contractions become regularly spaced. Early labor will hurt more when baby isn’t lined up with the pelvis to make engagement easy.

Let’s talk about circles of your pelvis you can do while standing and dancing.

“Hip circles”  are moves you can make while you stand and sway your hips in a wide circle. Be dancy. One legs might be fairly straight while the other bends to dip the hip during a circle. Find a smoothness to the circles that will rock your baby to sleep.

Pelvic circles tilt the pelvis up and down.

“Pelvic circles” are three-dimensional movements of the pelvis, says Neon, a belly dance teacher on YouTube. The pelvis moves through four points, fluidly connecting them into a circular swinging movement. Right side–front–left side–back: four points. There are side-slides and pelvic tilts in this move. The pelvic inlet is tilting, tucking, and alive with angles to help baby engage.
Pelvic circles may help a baby engage when other changes are happening in your body in preparation for birth, like changes to your hormones and joints in your pelvis. Contractions in actual labor are also likely to enhance the ability of pelvic circles to engage baby into the brim of the pelvis.

Pelvic Circle Instructions

Here’s how to do a pelvic circle, according to my understanding of Neon’s great instructions.

1. Slide your hip up. Let’s describe your right hip first. Keep the right leg straight. Bend the left knee. Contract your glute muscle (buttock) on the right while bending the left knee and dropping the left hip. Now swing the front of the pelvis forward.
2. Pelvic tilt to the front by flattening the lower back and placing your pubic bone (symphysis pubis) forward. This is a posterior pelvic tilt. There seems to be a clench to both buttocks and also a tuck to your tailbone. With this move, by the way, you’re opening the brim or top of the bony pelvis.
3. Slide your other hip up. Tighten your left buttock as you slide the hip up and bend your right knee to drop your right hip. Now swing your bottom back.
4. Bend your knees together and raise your buttocks in the back. This is an anterior pelvic tilt with knees gently together (not squeezing together). You’re opening the bottom of the pelvis and closing the top of the pelvis as you go through this move.
5. Repeat a few times.
6. Switch direction.

If you are practicing in pregnancy, enjoy this dance move with growing confidence.

When hoping to engage baby in the pelvis, the hormones of late pregnancy will help a little, and adding body balancing (see our list of techniques on the website) will help more.

Want more birth wisdom?

If you are in a long labor with pain around the top or hips, then pause in the posterior pelvic tilt position for the entire contraction. Continue the dance as long as you like between contractions.

Uterine contractions are a big help to engaging baby in labor. Make room for baby’s head with the posterior pelvic tilt during the contraction. Tuck the tailbone and push your lower back (no, not the shoulders but down at the bottom of your back). Add a complementary technique called the Abdominal Lift and Tuck to help baby into the top of your pelvis.

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