For women who have had a posterior birth - Page 3

[A&A]

Ds was OP and weighed 8 lbs. 6 oz.

Having a doula really helped, and I gave birth on all fours. My doula kept a hot pack on my back while my dh pushed really hard on my lower back (creating counter-pressure.)

Also having oxygen available whenever I wanted it helped tremendously. (An oxygen mask I could grab at will.)

[staceychev]

nak

Can't address pain b/c DD1 was epidural birth. But, she was born "sunny side up" after an 18 hour labor which included 2 hours of pushing.

DD2 was posterior too, but this midwife caught on at 40 week appt and had me at home on my hands and knees to turn her. She did turn, and was born perfectly positioned, drug-free, after 4 hours of labor (15 mins of pushing).

[cchrissyy]

my posterior baby was my 3rd and final birth, and it went well.

[porcelina]

I just wanted to revisit this post, now that I have had my baby!! During the entire pregnancy, I never reclined on my back, only on my left side. I slept on my left side about 90 percent of the time. I also saw a chiropractor through week 38, and she did Webster a couple of times, but this baby had settled into LOA (with back pretty much right against my left side) by 32 weeks. So, he was in a good position for the labor.

I decided not to get a doula, since I had done a lot of preparation on positions. I also did the Hypnobabies course to help cope with the discomfort. We once again started at the birth center. My water broke at 6 am in the morning at 40+3 weeks. Contractions started at 7.30 pm. Baby was 8 lb 9 oz, two oz heavier than first birth.

The labor itself this time around was equally intense/painful as my first! It felt like a steam train! Contractions started at 2 minutes apart, and only increased in duration, until there was practically no time between them. I worked through the early contractions using my hypnobabies, but at some point, when the pain got to be too much, it didn't work for me anymore (though I still recommend it because it helped me a lot to prepare for the birth and in the early first stage). As soon as the pain got really intense, I had flashbacks to my first birth -- I thought, "this is the same! I can't do it! I should have gone for the epidural/hospital birth." I labored on a birthing ball in the early stage (at 4 cm), then moved to the bed, first draped over a birthing ball and then on hands and knees (with DH providing counterpressure). I had to vocalize between contractions, doing "oohs" and "ahhs'" and then sounding like a whale/cow and then eventually a lion, roaring through transition and pushing. I moved to my left side for the last contractions right before pushing, and pushed him out on my left side.

This time, he came out in 3 hours and 15 minutes! The intense steamroller was extremely hard to withstand, but it was short. As soon as he was out, I felt an amazing sense of relief and elation, as I'm sure my body was pumped with endorphins. It was a fabulous experience!

So, even though I was hoping the pain would be less, it wasn't. This time I was more prepared to cope with the pain, and used different positions during labor. I do attribute his coming so fast to the position he was in (and of course the fact that he was my second vaginal birth). Oh, and he came out with a nuchal hand!

[rad]

My 5th was posterior. The only difference I really noticed was horrible back labor. My previous 4 labor were all quick (4 hrs or under) and while they were intense they weren't nearly as painful as my posterior baby. My posterior birth was still fast at 2.5 hrs but it felt much, much longer cause my back hurt so bad. Hands and knee position with DH pushing really hard on my sacrum with a warm compress was thonly thing that made it bearable. It also seemed like it took a little longer once fully dialated for that urge to push to come on. Usually it'd come on right away, but I had to walk around for about 15-20 minutes to move him down alittle further. Luckily my patience paid off and it only took a couple pushes once I felt the need to push.

Anyways, I planned to start seeing a chiro soon to hopefully avoid another posterior baby. I do think that he wasn't in great positioning since he came 4 weeks early. Maybe if he had sayed in as long as his siblings he would have been in better position?

[JudiAU]

Both of my babies have been posterior thoughout labor, rotating a bit before birth. Water broke with both about 12h before labor. I saw a chircopractor with my second (I was breech for awhile, he flipped) and he loosened the muscles. I also saw an accupuncturist in the same office. It really helped shorten my labor because althuogh baby remained posterior, she had enough room to rotate once she moved down the canal. What you can handle for 2 hours is different than what you can handle for 18.

My midwife thinks that my office job is a complicating factor.

The epidural I had with my first allowed me to avoid a c-section. I am grateful for it. I am also really grateful that I didn't have one with my second. Totally different experience.

I have no idea if my labors were "hard" compared to others but the things people describe are foriegn to me: there is no walking/talking/decisions/interactions/requests. I am pretty much a wild animal most of the time. Hypnobabies helped me through the early parts and gave me a lot of confidence going into the birth. I assume I just don't get a break between contractions like other people.