I had my second baby unassisted. I just wrote up the birth story (nearly 5 months later) and was reminded about something that nagged at me for months until I'd finally forgotten to think about it.
During pregnancy, Orrin was persistently posterior. I would do the tilts and hands and knees and he'd turn... until I stood up, and then he'd turn back again. During labour, he remained posterior. I could feel his legs and hands moving across the front of my belly, and his head was definitely facing the wrong way.
I started pushing, and I could feel that he wasn't moving. At all. I put my hand in to check, and kept it on his head as I pushed as hard as possible, and he didn't budge. I tried tons and tons of different positions with no change. At some point during pushing I took both fists and pushed them against my lower abdomen as hard as I could. I didn't do it with any forethought, just because it's the only thing that made it hurt less during pushing, and it felt right to do it. After about 8 contractions like this I felt like "something changed." During a contraction it felt like something had suddenly shifted and clicked into place. He was born minutes later- anterior. So that change had been him shifting position.
What I've been wondering- that abdominal pressure I was doing.... What is that? Does it have a name? Could it have been harmful? I've been looking at sites for moving a posterior baby before/during labour and I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere. I'm just not really sure how jamming my fists against my unborn baby's face encourages turning or why it would make anything feel any different. I had no back labour, just this horrible feeling right above my pubic bone.
Don't know why this one little thing (okay, maybe not so little- I pushed with 0 progress for over 2 hours until he turned) is so stuck in my head, but I've been laying in bed thinking about it... again.
Thank you!
During pregnancy, Orrin was persistently posterior. I would do the tilts and hands and knees and he'd turn... until I stood up, and then he'd turn back again. During labour, he remained posterior. I could feel his legs and hands moving across the front of my belly, and his head was definitely facing the wrong way.
I started pushing, and I could feel that he wasn't moving. At all. I put my hand in to check, and kept it on his head as I pushed as hard as possible, and he didn't budge. I tried tons and tons of different positions with no change. At some point during pushing I took both fists and pushed them against my lower abdomen as hard as I could. I didn't do it with any forethought, just because it's the only thing that made it hurt less during pushing, and it felt right to do it. After about 8 contractions like this I felt like "something changed." During a contraction it felt like something had suddenly shifted and clicked into place. He was born minutes later- anterior. So that change had been him shifting position.
What I've been wondering- that abdominal pressure I was doing.... What is that? Does it have a name? Could it have been harmful? I've been looking at sites for moving a posterior baby before/during labour and I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere. I'm just not really sure how jamming my fists against my unborn baby's face encourages turning or why it would make anything feel any different. I had no back labour, just this horrible feeling right above my pubic bone.
Don't know why this one little thing (okay, maybe not so little- I pushed with 0 progress for over 2 hours until he turned) is so stuck in my head, but I've been laying in bed thinking about it... again.
Thank you!
