Supine position



The supine position is a position of the body: lying with the face up, as opposed to the prone position, which is face down, sometimes with the hands behind the head or neck. When used in surgical procedures, it allows access to the peritoneal, thoracic and pericardial regions; as well as the head, neck and extremities.

Using terms defined in the anatomical position, the dorsal side is down, and the ventral side is up.

Semi-supine
In scientific literature "semi-supine" commonly refers to positions where the upper body is tilted (at 45° or variations) and not horizontal. In the Alexander technique semi-supine position, the knees are raised bent upward while the soles of the feet and the upper body remain in contact with the horizontal surface.

Relation to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
The decline in death due to SIDS is attributable to having babies sleep in the supine position. It is believed that in the prone position babies are more at risk to re-breathe their own CO2. Because of the immature state of their central chemoreceptors, infants do not respond to the subsequent respiratory acidosis that develops.