As your baby’s birth date becomes imminent, you’re probably eager to hear that they’re in position for delivery.
But breech or feet-first presentation affects up to 4 percent of full-term births. When a baby is breech, doctors must either try to turn the baby head first in the weeks before birth or perform a cesarean section for safe delivery.
More and more people are turning to chiropractic care throughout their pregnancies to address issues that may contribute to breech presentation. One specific method is known as the Webster technique.
Here’s what you need to know about this technique, how it’s performed, and where you can find a practitioner.
Related: Chiropractor while pregnant: What are the benefits?
Definition and terminology
The Webster method is the overall name for a specific form of chiropractic care during pregnancy.
Practitioners perform what is called the Webster technique on their patients. The technique is specifically focused on the pelvis and sacrum, as well as the muscles and ligaments in and around these areas.
Various chiropractors take on pregnant clients to help with anything from nausea to swelling to sleep. The primary goal of Webster-certified practitioners, however, is to address misalignments (also called subluxations) to make more room in the pelvis.
The hope is that freeing up space in this area also frees up space in the uterus, ultimately aiding with labor and delivery.
A brief history of the technique
The Webster technique was developed in the 1980s by chiropractor Dr. Larry Webster. Why did he care about imbalances in the sacrum and pelvis? Well, he was inspired after his daughter’s difficult birth to find ways that chiropractic care could address the pelvis and ease labor and delivery.
At the center of his method is the idea of “intrauterine constraint,” which may cause aches and pains for the pregnant person and possible complications for baby, like the inability to move into an ideal birth presentation.
Throughout his work developing the technique, Webster observed that his gentle adjustments did result in turning babies from breech to vertex (head down).
In 2000, a certification program was launched for the method. Webster also founded the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA), which is currently made up of more than 6,000 chiropractors who specialize in family health and well-being.
Who might benefit from the technique
You might consider seeking chiropractic care with the Webster method if you have:
- a breech baby
- a history of breech babies
- other concerns with your sacrum or pelvis during pregnancy
The technique is an alternative to — and may be less invasive than — the external cephalic version procedure doctors more traditionally use to turn babies head down.
You may seek care throughout your entire pregnancy (preventative) or anytime you have a specific issue (intervention) you’d like addressed.
That said, the protocol actually recommends that you seek care throughout your whole pregnancy, as the hormone relaxin in your system may not allow adjustments to hold as long as they would outside of pregnancy.
How is it performed?
Your chiropractor will ask you to lie down while they make an assessment. In the Webster method, this begins by looking at both feet and then bending them up toward the buttocks to see if they meet evenly. If there are imbalances, that may mean your pelvis is out of alignment.
The actual adjustment happens on the affected side or sides by either using the drop table to help or a special adjusting instrument. Be sure to let your chiropractor know if anything doesn’t feel quite right.
Otherwise, they may ask you to turn over so they can evaluate any misalignments on the front side of your body. Work on the front side of the body tends to be more massage of soft tissue, like muscles in the abdomen and ligaments around the uterus.
If you’re at your appointment specifically for breech presentation, you may be surprised to learn that your chiropractor will not attempt to turn your baby. Instead, the adjustment is about creating space in the pelvis so your baby can more freely move into an optimal position on their own.
After your appointment is over, it’s important that you hydrate to aid with healing, blood flow, and lymphatic drainage.
How successful is it?
One 2002 study on the Webster technique showed a success rate of 82 percent for resolving breech presentation in the eighth month of pregnancy. The researchers called this a “high success rate” but noted that the sample size was small (112 women).
A case study on a 37-year-old woman yielded similarly encouraging results. The woman had sought out the Webster technique to help with her breech baby when she was 35 weeks pregnant. After five adjustments and some bodywork at home, the baby had flipped from breech to vertex before delivery.
Benefits and pros
One major benefit of the Webster technique is that it’s relatively gentle when compared to external cephalic version.
And currently, it’s believed to have a higher success rate, at least according to the very few published studies we have — again, more study is definitely needed. (For reference, the success rate of external cephalic version is a little over 50 percent.)
This data also suggests that if you have regular Webster technique adjustments, you may be less likely to have a C-section delivery and — therefore — may avoid the risks associated with surgical birth.
The Webster technique is considered safe for most pregnancies. It may be helpful throughout pregnancy or simply as an intervention if a baby is breech.
And along with addressing breech presentation, the Webster technique may ease:
- leg pain
- leg tightness
- back pain
- birth canal issues (narrow space, for example)
The bottom line
The Webster technique may be worth a try if you have certain concerns about your pregnancy or your baby’s presentation in the uterus. Even if you don’t have concerns, chiropractic care may help you deal with aches and pains as your body and baby grow.