A foot section for a birthing bed has a central panel and two lateral plates that function, in an inclined attitude, as footrests and in a vertical attitude as posts for receiving calf supports. The calf supports are stored in holsters on the underside of the footrests. The mattress is in three sections, with the outboard sections being hinged to a central section so as to be swung upwardly upon the central section thereby exposing the footrests without having to remove the whole foot section. The central panel can be removed with the mattress and is adapted to be stood on its end for temporary storage, thereby conserving floor space.