How to Use the Reset Position to Remedy Contraction and Labor Issues

Sometimes the beginning of the birth process meanders like it’s stuck in first gear. This is called early, latent, or prodomal labor, and can cause moms to get worn out as their mild-to-moderate labor continues for hours or even days. There’s not anything necessarily ‘wrong’, but many times if the baby can be assisted in getting into a more advantageous position (straightening out their head, for instance, or rotating out of a posterior position), then the process can pick up into an efficient ‘active labor.’

There is a wonderful position that mom can use to help this happen, often over less than an hour. While the ‘Hands and Knees Position’ is instinctively assumed by women all the time in labor, this RESET POSITION is a whole different version. So Examine this picture carefully, this RESET POSITION is NOT the usual ‘Knee-Chest’ position!  But it could save your next labor a great many hours. 

You can see incredible differences in the pelvis of this mother and father.  It goes beyond just male and female pelvic shapes, mama’s is spread wider in part because she is not leaning on her elbows.  The mama in this candid photo, who had birthed other children before, had been in on-off strong early labor this time for nearly 20 hours. And you won’t believe how fast the baby came after utilizing this Reset Position.

There are many ways to shift a labor pattern, some more effective than others, of course.  In each situation, and with each mother and the baby, there can be a wide range of potential answers to ‘why is this happening, and what can we do about it? 

• Does labor seem stuck, stalled, or just paused?

• Maybe it’s just a pause best patiently respected?

• Or perhaps there is something off about the baby’s position? 

• Are there too many ‘helpers’ and conversations diverting mama’s focus in the birth room?

• Are both parents comfortable with where they are birthing?

• Has exhaustion derailed the effectiveness of the contractions?

• Is this a good time to leave mom and partner to some privacy?

Midwives and doulas know it’s always great to have a few extra ideas to draw on in situations like these, and especially when prodromal labor comes and goes repeatedly, or drags on wearing out everyone - moms, families, and the birth attendants too.

One of the differences in labors that are attended by midwives and those that are attended medically is how we go about working with labor patterns.  Everyone naturally uses the tools with which they are most familiar.  Since obstetrics is by definition a surgical medical specialty, their most commonly used tools are generally meds and surgery.  Midwives tend to work more intimately with the rhythms of labor and the individuals involved, and are philosophically more likely to be more comfortable with the varied timelines that may be needed for the physical and psychological process of labor to work itself out.

The ‘Hands and Knees’ position is instinctively assumed by women in labor all the time.  And sometimes it’s suggested that women go farther, into yoga’s ‘Child’s Pose.’  I’ve coined the term ‘Reset Position’ for the posture in the picture above.  I thought I invented it (but really, who’s inventing anything new after 1000’s of years of birthing women?!) Then I found out that Sue Rusk, a fabulous midwife who did 2600+ births in Michigan’s Amish community, also figured out this pose and used it extensively.

The Reset Position can be done in any setting, repeatedly, and even when exhaustion has set in or with most modern epidurals.  Best results come from holding it for 45 minutes.  If mamas have the strength, it can be followed by going to the bottom of the stairs, and coming up the stairs two-at-a-time.  This adds some moving asymmetry to her pelvis-baby relationship; we’ve had several babies at +2 forever born at the top of the stairs.  Really.

We have gotten creative to accommodate moms’ needs; like protecting a sore neck by having her at the edge of a bed with her forehead on a chair and pillow.  One mom choose to position herself at the top of her carpeted stairs, and have her head on a pillow on the next stair down. Thinking outside the box is helpful! Home labors sometimes make this easier with a greater variety of furniture and spaces, but there are lots of ways to find solutions in the hospital setting also.

In one labor, mama could only tolerate some tough contractions if she could continue to use water for pain relief, but really needed the reset position.

So, we laid down a yoga mat in their walk-in shower, and dad in swim trunks used the hand-held water sprayer on her back while I kept her face clear of water at the edge and coached her up close.

Yes, this may be very uncomfortable, especially if she needs it very much.  Explaining the potential value of holding this position for a while can really help motivate a laboring mom who’s already working really hard. Who wouldn’t want to try another idea if it could possibly shave some hours off a long labor? Personalized coaching may be needed. Below you can see me using my hand as a metronome on the floor to help this mom pace herself through a contraction. (It became part of her ‘3 R’s of Labor’, if you’ve learned about that from Penny Simkin’s teachings.)

The Reset Position opens the pelvis wide, and provides an opportunity for the baby to back OUT of the pelvis and REPOSITION ITSELF.

Gravity can then help rotate baby’s back towards anterior (towards the floor in this case), and the extra space helps them line up their head.  It has effectively repositioned asynclitic babies, posterior babies, and “I-wish-we-knew-what-is-going-on-with-you!” babies.  And while, of course, sometimes not much happens, quite often things change rapidly for the better. 

Which is just what happened in the first picture at the beginning of this blog.  After 20 hours of prodomal labor that had not cascaded into active labor, they took a short nap. When they both awoke, Dad encouraged her while she went into a knee-chest position, and then was directed to take it more extreme…down lower and arms stretched out behind.  The mama held this Reset Position for 30 minutes. Towards the end, two good working contractions signaled the possible advance of active labor. She went to the bathroom, and then things took off. Her baby was born 22 minutes later!!

Babies are active participants in their labors, probably working just as diligently as their mama.  If the issue is positioning, once they have the opportunity to make their corrections, the pace often efficiently picks up and birth may advance rapidly. This beautiful baby below used his mama’s reset position to help advance his labor, and was born safely, smoothly, (and vaginally) not much later, weighing 11# ! 

The Reset Position is a way we can effectively help our babies with their birth journeys, so they arrive with both mother and baby in great condition and ready to begin their new relationship.

The Reset Position is a wonderful tool in every birth toolbox, whether for your own birth or those of your friends, or those you attend in your work.   It’s free, has no side effects, can be repeated or discontinued at any time, and empowers moms in their work. Happy Birthing!