Position question

[cfc09]

I went for my 32 week check-up today and my little girl decided to take a nap during the ultrasound.. we couldnt get any good pics at ALL except of her ribs/spine/heart because of the way she is laying. Head down, face down. My dr wants me back in two weeks to get another u/s to hopefully get pictures of her face. Could she flip back to face up by then?

[MammaB21]

Why do you need to get pictures of her face? Why does your doctor need to do an ultrasound so late into pregnancy? I wouldn't want baby flipping out of the correct position.

[Sagesgirl]

MammaB is right. My youngest daughter was sunny side up. Trust me, you want that baby to stay in the position she is now.

[cocoanib]

Originally Posted by MammaB21

Why do you need to get pictures of her face? Why does your doctor need to do an ultrasound so late into pregnancy? I wouldn't want baby flipping out of the correct position.

She's exactly where she should be.
Curious; why is he concerned with getting pics of her face and especially so late in your pregnancy?

[kms7z]

I'm guessing he wants a pic of the face to check for things like a cleft palate or hairlip. I just had an u/s at 37 weeks to check position, and they did an anatomy scan at that time as well, definitely looking at the face (which I admit was fun since this is our first, and hopefully last, u/s).

At 32 weeks the baby could change position, and I agree with everyone else-- it'll be best if she stays face down, head down.

[sweet_tart_vt]

I dont understand why all these providers are doing u/s so late in pregnancy just to check for position. An experienced care provider, whether OB or MW should be able to tell a babe's postion (even if all they tell you is either vertex or breech) by external manual palpation! If they cant then Id really question their authority to practice Obstetrics or Midwifery! Why were they so interested in her face if it's been confirmed that she's vertex? A LO can be born posterior (face up) with out difficulties as long as you know the best positions to be in and expect that you may have back labor. (my 1st baby was born posterior after a 24 hr labor and 1 1/2hrs pushing. I had quite a bit of back labor, but I used the shower a lot, had freedom of movement and birthed in water which i think made a world of difference. My 3rd was also post.) If your providers had a concern about lips/face/palate that should have been looked at during your 20wk anatomy scan and if they noticed anything out of the ordinary you would have been informed and im sure a level II u/s would have been carried out. Not something they would wait this late to suddenly decide to look at. Your babe is head down and as long as everything else looks healthy there's no reasons to be having a u/s this late to ck position if youve got a provider who knows how to use their hands.

[cfc09]

I was also thinking that should be the position she should really stay in for birth. But, they do ultrasounds at 32 weeks and of course the 18/20 week scan before. They say they just feel better if they get a scan of the face and open palms. Though nothing looked wrong at our 20wk scan.

[MammaB21]

Originally Posted by cfc09

I was also thinking that should be the position she should really stay in for birth. But, they do ultrasounds at 32 weeks and of course the 18/20 week scan before. They say they just feel better if they get a scan of the face and open palms. Though nothing looked wrong at our 20wk scan.

The doctor 'feeling better' about it isn't reason to do it IMO. If everything was fine on the 20wk scan, I'd decline the 32 week scan all together. At that point everything they need to know they can tell from just feeling the baby from the outside. I'm still not sure what they are looking for or why it would make them 'feel better' if they see the face. Is a cleft palate suddenly life threatening? I don't see the point in stressing over cosmetics at 32wks. If it wasn't there the first time they looked, it won't be there this time. And on the contrary, if it is there, looking at it 20 times isn't going to make it go away

It sounds like your baby is doing excellent, and in the perfect position. Good luck, and congrats on the new LO coming soon!!!