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But their hero was Foster who bounced back from his error on England duty in midweek with a series of stunning saves.
Chelsea dominated proceedings for the entire 90 minutes but they could not find a way past the former Manchester United player.
It was a vastly improved performance by Chelsea compared to their 3-0 home mauling by Sunderland last weekend.
But they tasted defeat in back to back league games for the first time since the end of the 2005-2006 campaign and they now only lead Manchester United on goal difference.
In addition to Foster, City centre-backs Scott Dann and Roger Johnson were outstanding.
Chelsea were quickly into their stride and Salomon Kalou missed an early chance to put them ahead.
Didier Drogba's flick found Kalou with only Foster to beat but his shot went through the legs of the keeper and just past the post.
Foster made a fine save to keep Birmingham on level terms after Drogba was sent clear by Kalou.
It was the kind of chance Drogba would normally convert but Foster raced off his line to reduce the angle and saved low to his left.
Chelsea had quickly established a grip of the game and were taking advantage of having an extra midfield player.
But Birmingham stunned Chelsea by taking their lead via their first worthwhile attack after 17 minutes.
Sebastian Larsson's right-wing cross was headed down by Cameron Jerome to Bowyer who was completely unmarked and lashed the ball past Petr Cech for his first goal of the season.
Chelsea tried to retaliate and Foster went down to his right to hold onto Drogba's effort from the right of the box.
He then made a superb reflex save to keep out Drogba's close range header from Nicolas Anelka's centre.
Chelsea continued to dominate and Foster again did well to beat out an Ashley Cole shot after he had sized onto a pass from Kalou.
Chelsea were carving chances almost at will and Alex had a free header from Florent Malouda's corner but directed it past the post.
Drogba tried his luck with a low 30 yard free-kick and Foster was again alert to turn it around the post.
But he was helpless after 38 minutes when Drogba crashed a header against the crossbar from Malouda's cross.
Ramires was first to react to the rebound but from eight yards out slashed his shot wide.
Chelsea continued in the same manner after the break although there were less clearcut openings.
Johnson produced a superb tackle to stop Ramires after his run into the box needed treatment to his knee before being able to continue.
Kalou had Chelsea's best chance to date of the second period when turning back inside but he curled his shot over the bar with Foster off his line.
Carlo Ancelotti brought on Jose Boswinga in place of Paulo Ferreira after 65 minutes.
The chances started to come again for the visitors with Foster holding onto a Drogba free-kick and Kalou heading wide from Anelka's cross.
Scott Dann's back pass played in Kalou but Foster took the ball away from his feet with a perfectly timed challenge.
Foster parried aside an Branislav Ivanovic header as the pressure again became relentless.
Liam Ridgewell was yellow carded for bringing down Boswinga but Chelsea could not find a way through.
After the match, Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti insists only the result and not the performance disappointed him.
Ancelotti said: "I've already said to the players 'don't lose confidence because you played good football.' The result is frustrating but they deserved to win.
"The team didn't play well against Sunderland and this result is not good but we didn't deserve to lose. We didn't win because we were unlucky and because Ben Foster (Birmingham goalkeeper) played a good game.
"We have to take confidence from the way we played. It is just the result that was disappointing."
Ancelotti added: "It is a strange Premier League this season. There are a lot of opportunities for teams to close the gap at the top. We are losing opportunities but so are other teams. It is a more difficult competition this season because more teams believe in themselves.
"A month ago I said when we were doing well that there would be difficult moments ahead. This is one of them. But if we keep playing like that then we will win games."
Ancelotti refused to blame the departure of his assistant Ray Wilkins for Chelsea's slide in fortunes. He will also make no comment on Wilkins' claim that he had been unfairly dismissed.
He said: "The fact that Ray had gone did not affect things today. As regards his statement, I don't have any comment on that."
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish rang the praises of Foster who put his mistake against France when on England duty behind him with a string of superb saves.
He said: "I've always said a good keeper is paramount. He can win you championships, earn you points, save you points, or keep your team in the division.
"Ben has been superb for us. I thought the criticism of him with England was a bit harsh. He made some great saves today and in other games and has been on top form since he came here."
McLeish admits Birmingham were due a slice of good fortune after being under pressure for the majority of the game.
He said: "We got a bit of luck but I would say that in recent weeks we have deserved to win games which never went our way. We have had plenty of bad luck this season so far. Maybe we got a bit of luck today."
Birmingham climbed out of the bottom three into 12th spot as a result of this third win of the campaign.
McLeish said: "There is paranoia when you are in the bottom three and so much fickleness in the game. It is November, not the end of the season, but you just have to accept all the things that are said and get on with it."
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