Baby head down on right side

[dmpmercury]

I'm 38.5 weeks pregnant right now. My baby's back is along my right side right now. Baby was really low but floats up still. I heard that optimal position for baby right now is to enter on the left. Is there anything I can do to encourage baby to change positions. Will it make labor or pushing harder if the baby enters the pelvis on the right? Is it common for baby to not be in the perfect position at this point? Could the baby turn posterier coming from the wrong side?

[lunarlady]

I don't have the answers to your questions, but check out spinningbabies.com. They have some great things to do to encorage optimal positioning. I think being on the right is not perfect, but better than being truely OP. But I'm not sure.

[Galatea]

My babies have all been ROA and it was fine and very quick, easy labors. My MW says she has never seen being on the right being a problem. As long as it is anterior, I'd leave it alone.

[dmpmercury]

The baby isn't really anterior or posterier right now. The back is facing the right but not anterior or posterior. I'm not sure what position that is.

[chellebee]

nak

sounds like rot--right occiput transverse. rot has a higher probability of baby spinning clockwise (and thus being posterior for at least a portion) when making way to loa/oa. if baby has been hanging out consistently rot, then its more of a concern.

things you can do:
gravity friendly positions are your friend...
like hands and knees
hands and knees w cat/cow
rebozo sifting (manteada)
forward sitting
moxa/acupuncture if babe is being stubborn

there is of course the possibility that you do nothing and baby does what s/he needs to do on their own.

[BtotheG]

This is the exact position my dd was starting at about 27 weeks pregnant. My midwife told me to spend 15 minutes on my hands and knees several times a day to get her to turn OA.

It didn't work for me...DD was still on her right side when I started labor. I think that is why I didn't progress at all for six hours. It was only once I finally realized I needed to labor standing up, knees bent, hands on knees, bending forward that it worked. I felt her turn, drop, and she was born about 45 minutes later.

Will you have freedom of movement during labor? I am absolutely certain that if I hadn't been able to labor in the above described position, she wouldn't have turned, and I don't think I would have made any progress.