Your Baby's Position before
birth
Babies are often quite active
before birth — not just extending their arms and
legs, but turning their entire bodies. By the time labor arrives, most babies generally figure out how to
get in the right position to make their way out into the world.
The position that your baby is lying in
at the time of labour and delivery can have a
huge effect on the experience you will have. We
have outlined what the different foetal positions
are, and how they might affect your labour and
delivery.
Anterior Position
The best position for your
baby to be in when you go into labour is head
down, with the back of his head slightly towards
the front of your tummy. In this position, he
fits snugly into the curve of your pelvis and
it's easy for him to move gently down during labour.
Around 93%-96% of all babies move into this position
without any assistance. Being positioned this
way enables your baby the most simple way of exiting
your uterus through the cervix, down the birth
canal and out from the vagina.
If this is your first baby
it is likely they that they will move into the
engaged position around the 35th-37th weeks of
your pregnancy. For second time mums it is more
likely that your baby will not settle in your
pelvis or engage until just before, or once labour
begins.
Posterior Position
The posterior position refers
to when babies go down into the pelvis with the
back of their heads towards their mothers' spines.
Many babies will start labour this way and turn
themselves before they start the descent down
the birth canal.
If your baby has
not turned to the anterior position prior to your
labour starting, it can make it a more painful
experience for you.
You will probably suffer from backache during and in between contractions.
Labour is slower.
It is more likely that your baby will need to be assisted by forceps or vacuum extraction in the final stage of delivery.
Your baby will be born facing upwards.
To relieve the pain of backache during labour you should try to remain active and move around.
Avoid lying down or leaning back for any length of time.
Your partner can massage your lower back and also can direct warm water from a shower nozzle onto your back.
Remember, most posterior babies will turn during
labour , but even if yours doesn't, a baby can
still be born vaginally in the posterior position
- "face to pubes" - and this can happen at a homebirth.
Breech Baby
Breech babies present with
their bottoms down and their heads up. At 28 weeks,
the baby has a 25% chance of being in the breech
position. As the pregnancy progresses, the likelihood
of a baby staying in the breech position gets
smaller. At 33 weeks of pregnancy there is around
a 5% chance of a breech presentation. At full-term
around 3-4% of babies remain in the breech position.
If a baby is in the breech position at term he may be delivered by Caesarean section. If your baby is breech in the last weeks of pregnancy, though,
you can be reassured that he will probably turn himself before labour actually begins: Types of Breech
The Complete breech, where the baby sits cross legged
The frank breech,where the baby’s legs are straight and held flat against his/her body. kneeling breech, where the baby is in a kneeling position.
Footling breech, where the baby’s foot or feet are coming first (before their bottom).
kneeling breech, where the baby is in a kneeling position.
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