Here’s how to use a hospital bed to your advantage in each position.

• Standing or leaning — Raise the bed to its highest setting, adding a couple of pillows to rest your arms on depending on your height. You can also place a birthing ball on your bed to lean over for additional support.
• Squatting or lunging — Use your hospital bed to support your squat or lunge by setting it to an appropriate height. Make sure someone is nearby to offer more hands-on support if needed.
• Sitting — There are several ways to use a hospital bed in a sitting position. Sit on the edge of the bed with your feet reaching toward the floor, or in the bed with your legs stretched out long or in a cross-legged position. When sitting on the bed, position it on the lowest setting so that your feet can rest on the floor.
• Hands and knees — A hospital bed can be used in multiple ways for a hands and knees position. Get on all fours on a flattened bed, lower the bottom half of the bed to use as a shelf with your knees on the ground, or raise the top half to lean over with your knees on the flat part of the bed.
• Side-lying — If you’re going to use a hospital bed for lying down, it’s ideal to lie on your side. While this doesn’t have gravity working in its favor, it works well with epidurals and fetal monitoring. A pillow or birthing ball while side-lying can help open up the pelvis.