NEW BOOK RELEASE

The Belly Mapping® Method

A guide to understanding fetal position through maternal sensations and abdominal mapping, helping parents and professionals optimize fetal positioning for birth.

Ebook
Paperback

What is the Belly Mapping® Method?

A beautifully illustrated guide designed for parents and professionals alike. Inside, you’ll learn step-by-step how to find your baby’s position and what it means for labor. Enjoy creative games and insights, making pregnancy more engaging. Motivate your birth preparation. The Belly Mapping® Method book is an invitation to celebrate your baby, nurture connection, and bring more awareness and ease to your journey.

What You’ll Learn

Playful awareness and gentle touch can bring you closer to your baby while preparing for birth. Open the pages to Belly Mapping® Method and you’ll find:

  • A trusted “companion” for your pregnancy
  • How to feel your baby in the womb and create a map to see your baby’s position
  • Prenatal bonding activities to deepen the connection with your baby
  • Enjoyable activities like belly painting, games, and mindful conversation that celebrate your parenting in pregnancy
  • How your baby’s position influences labor and what you can do to support a physiological birth
  • Photos, drawings, and charts to help you create a keepsake for this pregnancy

Want some help with your Belly Mapping®?

Spinning Babies® Certified Parent Educators are licensed to teach the Belly Mapping® Method in person. Find a Certified Parent Educator near you here.

Belly Mapping® Certification

If you’re interested in hosting a Belly Mapping® Method salon, join the waiting list for our upcoming Belly Mapping® Method Certification.

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    Belly Mapping with Gail Tully by Brooke Walsh


    FAQs

    What is The Belly Mapping® Method?

    The Belly Mapping® Method is a three-step process for you to gently feel your belly and discover how your baby is lying inside your womb.

    When can I start The Belly Mapping® Method?

    You can begin anytime in the third trimester (after 28 weeks), though some parents begin in the second trimester. The further along you are, the easier it is to feel details of your baby.

    Is it safe for me and my baby?

    Yes. Gentle touch using the pads of your fingers is safe and often enjoyable for your baby. Avoid poking or pressing hard. If you feel pain, stop and adjust your pressure.

    Is The Belly Mapping® Method accurate?

    The Belly Mapping® Method helps parents estimate their baby’s position, but it is not a diagnosis. Accuracy can vary based on gestation, fluid levels, baby’s size, and other factors. Repeating the process can improve accuracy.

    How is The Belly Mapping® Method different from an ultrasound?

    Ultrasound provides a two-dimensional image, while Belly Mapping® allows you to feel your baby’s three-dimensional form. Though it may not always be as precise as ultrasound, Belly Mapping® offers sensory connection, bonding, and playful interaction. Many parents find their estimations are later validated by ultrasound.

    Do I need to be lying down?

    Yes. Belly Mapping® works best when you are reclining or lying down with your belly relaxed. For comfort, recline on pillows with a thick pillow under your knees.

    What will I actually feel?

    What you feel depends on your body and your baby. Common examples include:
    • Big, firm areas = baby’s back or bum
    • Strong kicks = feet
    • Smaller wiggles = hands
    • Smooth bulge at the top or bottom = head or buttocks

    What if I can’t figure it out?

    It’s normal to feel a little challenged or confused at first. Your baby may be behind the placenta or turned to the side. Try again another time, ask your provider for guidance, or repeat the steps with a helper.

    Why does baby’s position matter for birth?

    The way a baby enters the pelvis can make labor smoother or more challenging. Knowing your baby’s position helps you and your providers choose birth positions and comfort measures that support labor progress.

    Can baby’s position change at any time before or during labor?

    Yes. Positions can change, even during labor. The Belly Mapping® Method empowers parents to recognize changes and understand how position may affect labor.

    Can the Belly Mapping® Method help if my baby is breech?

    Yes. It can help you recognize a breech position earlier, giving you time to explore body-balancing activities and discuss options with your provider.

    How does The Belly Mapping® Method support bonding?

    The Belly Mapping® Method encourages touch, imagination, and playful connection. Many parents enjoy drawing or painting their baby’s position on their belly as a joyful keepsake.

    Reviews


    “…A wonderfully intimate way for a mother to help connect with her baby in the womb as well as have a sense of baby’s position. The information in this slim volume will make a world of difference in your comfort for pregnancy and birth.
    -Robin Elise Weiss, BA, CLC, ICCE-CPE, CD(DONA),
    LCCE, FACCE, and About.com Guide to Pregnancy/Birth
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    “I wish every person expecting a baby could enjoy Gail Tully’s Belly Mapping(R) Method book. Her book is extraordinary, and I found it fun. My granddaughter is soon to be married, when she embarks upon the journey into motherhood, I’ll be giving her a copy of this wonderful book. May all pregnancies and births be blessed.”
    -Ibu Robin Lim, Midwife, grandmother, activist for reproductive justice and Peace on Earth
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    “What a gem of a book! The Belly Mapping(R) Method is a delightful invitation to get to know your baby before birth. What I love most is how it turns curiosity and gentle touch into real bonding-building trust, joy, and connection while your baby is still inside. This method offers a simple, sweet way to feel more confident and more in love as you prepare to meet your tiniest New One.”
    -Carrie Contey, PhD author of CALMS: A Guide to Soothing Your Baby
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    “Gail Tully combines unique gifts of clinical expertise, experience, creativity, sensitivity, intuition, original thinking, and wisdom to solve the mysteries of the baby’s position in utero. She shows pregnant women and their caregivers a variety of clues that reveal the baby position and how to put them all together to create a picture of the baby inside.”
    – Penny Simkin, PT, DONA Founder
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    “…an incredibly valuable piece of work … highly interesting for expectant parents as well as for healthcare providers involved in prenatal care.”
    -Sylvia Muda, SpB(R)CPE, Fysiotherapiemuda.nl
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    “The Belly Mapping(R) Method is a beautiful way to bridge the gap between medical care and emotional connection. By encouraging parents to get curious, to listen, and to creatively engage with their baby in the womb, we honor both the science and the spirit of pregnancy. This integrated approach nurtures the whole family, before and beyond birth.”
    -Phyllis Klaus, PsyD, DONA Founder
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    Ebook
    Paperback

    The Basics of the Belly Mapping®️ Method

    Fetal positioning has a crucial impact on pregnancy comfort and ease in labor and birth.

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    “Belly Mapping®: Using kicks and wiggles to predict posterior labor” appeared in Vol. 12 Issue 4 (Fall 2004) International Doula, a quarterly publication of DONA International (previously Doulas of North America). This was the first published material on Belly Mapping®. 

    Baby Positions

    Click on a SpinningBabies.com description to find out more about the many fetal positions and related topics.

    belly mapping steps 1 and 2

    What to do if someone thinks baby’s position isn’t ideal

    The Belly Mapping® Method can be a pleasant bonding experience for the family. You may increase your pleasure by allowing your exploration of your baby’s contours be imbued with love and acceptance. Judging whether a position is good or bad is a thought process, not an invitation to bonding. So, bring a breath of compassion and show up with an open heart and open hands.

    Fears about posterior fetal positioning are increased by thinking that nothing can be done.  Simple techniques taught in the Spinning Babies® Birth Preparation Online Course or viewed on their streaming video, Parent Class, help reassure all of us that support is available to help baby turn through the pelvis in the birth process, if not before.

    Other Spinning Babies® Resources

    References

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