Monthly Update: When baby moves from left to right, free course, and more!

By: Gail Tully |

March 5, 2021 |

Community Updates

Pictured: Gail Tully belly painting her goddaughter. “Painting the baby in the belly impresses even the warrior with the wonder of pregnancy.”

March 2021 letter to our community from our founder:

Dear Community,

Spinning Babies® brings nuances to light in how we think about birth preparation. We offer enough simplicity for parents to engage in a process with their own bodies. The comfort gained so quickly adds confidence to their ability to give birth. Spinning Babies® also significantly shifts how a provider thinks about birth. Many experienced midwives and nurses say, “I see birth with new eyes!” and similar exclamations of an unfolding paradigm.

We are not machines to be oiled. We are living beings, with emotion, history, and adaptive aspects to our anatomy! Living in gravity grounds us but it is the fire within, our living determination, that moves us into action. Movement keeps us in ideal function. Good eating, plenty of pure water, vitamins, and minerals including salt-to-taste, protein, and dark greens are vital. But movement is often misunderstood. Suppleness will provide advantages that strength doesn’t allow for. Exploring the physiology of birth is being in movement with birth.

We seek to awaken each birthing parent to the power within – their own physiology and the state in which they begin their experience.

I hope to be in movement with you, my community!

With visions of the new paradigm,

Gail Tully
Founder of Spinning Babies®

In this month’s update:

What to do when baby moves from left to right
How to get a free online course taught by Gail Tully
Learn how to teach Spinning Babies® to parents
We’re launching a new conference site
See all upcoming Spinning Babies® Workshops

Birth Tip: When Baby Moves from Left to Right

Why did the baby move out of a good position? The uterus is not a water balloon but we tend to think it is shaped like one. So if the baby is in position when the head is leaning 3/4th of the way toward the bottom why wouldn’t the baby remain in that position when descending to the cervix?

Let’s recall the uterine ligaments. The broad, cardinal (transverse) and uterosacral ligaments attach to the lower uterus along the area of the cervix, give or take some millimeters. The pelvic floor is also coming up to snuggle the lowest parts of the uterus. Once baby’s head comes down towards the inlet, the head will interact, if you will, with these anatomy structures.

Twists and tensions in the tissues below the level of the inlet will reduce the space available near the inlet. When many structures are tight, once one is resolved another one will become the tightest of the bunch. The baby will then interact with that ligament, area of fascia, or muscle.

baby on the left by gail tully

Baby might even move out of a flexed position on the left. In these drawings, we see the baby on the left in the first picture but as baby descends towards an unreleased tension near the cervix or pelvic floor, the baby turns posterior.

Old patterns of torsion can remain where there are so many structures while the parts of the broad and round ligaments above the brim were released with daily stretches and the basic body balancing described in our foundational level of learning offered on our site and workshop.

turning to find room by gail tully

When a baby leaves a position that is considered good or optimal, they will slip right back to it once the remaining anatomy is released to balance. Not too tight, not too loose, and not too twisty. Check out our Three Principles of Spinning Babies℠ page.

How to Help Baby Move From the Right

Help a baby move freely from the right side by freeing up the posterior muscles at the pelvic crest. Dip the hip is a gentle version of Deb Lawrence’s figure-8 hip movement. This is a manual technique for non-dancers. It starts a bit clunky until the hips warm up. Freedom in the movement means the exercise met the need it seeks to meet: suppleness in the posterior back muscles connecting to the iliac crest. Repeat several times a week in late pregnancy or try this in labor.

For dancers, the figure-8 with a hip hike releases the posterior muscles at the pelvic crest. Start slow and deliberate until the movement is smooth.

pelvic crest by gail tully

Changing Birth on Earth Course

Did you know you get a FREE video course for reading Gail Tully’s book Changing Birth on Earth: A midwife and nurse’s guide to using physiology to avoid another unnecessary cesarean?

Changing Birth on Earth Course is your free guide to renewing your passion in birth care. The course consists of a 60-minute video, transcript, and workbook. You will explore your role in your own birth setting, hear from professionals like you who changed the birth culture in their setting, and interact with the online world of Spinning Babies®.

Purchase a copy of Changing Birth on Earth today to receive access to your free video course! Link to course included in the book.

Changing Birth on Earth free course

Teach Spinning Babies® to Parents

Make an impact by working with parents with the Spinning Babies® approach in pregnancy. Become a Spinning Babies^® Certified Parent Educator (SpBCPE) to teach our structured Spinning Babies^® Parent Class in group and one-on-one education. SpB^®CPEs are listed on SpinningBabies.com, and use Spinning Babies^® curriculum to teach pregnant parents. They can promote themselves and their services using the Spinning Babies name, logo, and designation on their website.

Learn more about our Spinning Babies^® Certified Parent Educator Training and how you can enhance your established childbirth education offerings with a Spinning Babies^® Parent Class (to teach in person or online).

New Confluence Website

We can’t wait for the Spinning Babies^® 2021 World Confluence this year in October. Stay tuned for updates! We are launching a new conference site SpinningBabiesConference.com where registration will open in April. Be sure to bookmark it and set a reminder to grab your ticket!