Posterior baby woes.

[WindyCityMom]

It's looking like this will be my third posterior baby.  I'm 32+5 today.  

I've spoken to my midwives about it and they're down to the guess that my pelvis is just shaped oddly and baby feels the need to be posterior.  Both of my previous pregnancies had anterior placentas; this time around my placenta is posterior.

Spinning Babies isn't really working.  I try not to lounge around too much.  I work 10 hour shifts on my feet 5-6 days/wk, so I'm upright most of the time.  Is there anything else I can do, or should I just be content with the fact that my pelvis is.. weird? 

And what can I do during labor to alleviate the back pain?  My first birth was a pitocin/foley catheter induction at 42 weeks and I was confined to a bed for the entire 14 hours of my labor.  I was 17 and didn't know better, but baby was indeed posterior and back labor was terrible.

With my second, I had a ton of prodromal labor and it was all back labor.  I went into labor shortly before my external version (DD turned breech at 39 weeks).  I was dilated to a 3 or 4 and then ended up with a c-section.  She was head down and posterior at first, and still posterior when she flipped breech (cartwheels in the womb, anyone?).

[fruitfulmomma]

peppermint essential oil is supposed to encourage baby to move, they don't like it I guess, so you would rub it along the lower back during labor. did not need it but i forgot and set a washcloth with some on it against my tummy a few months ago and could feel her move away.

the tens thing might help with pain if your hospital has one.

[womenswisdom]

I had a c/s for persistent posterior position with my first so I did a LOT of research about how to prevent it the next time around. Chiropractic is very helpful, as is a knowledgeable prenatal massage therapist who can work on any tension in your ligaments, fascia and muscles that might impede rotation. I would find someone who is very experienced and skilled, especially since you might have scar tissue that needs to be worked on from you c-section. The spinningbabies stuff is good too, but it will only get you so far if you are not properly aligned or have other structural issues.

[etsdtm99]

I agree with the chiropractor suggestion, my babies like to flip around late int he game, my last DD was spinning around (on her head) and around while i was IN labor but she ended up coming out the right way but boy was it uncomfortable - and also, its still very early - esp. if you had enough room in there for your last baby to turn breech at 39 weeks! this baby could be moving all over the place for a lot longer..  in my experience ligaments and other issues that a (webster certified) chiropractor could help with may be just as likely to cause position problems as something with the structure of your pelvis.. 
 

[WindyCityMom]

Thanks everyone!  I may look into going to see a chiro the first week of September if baby hasn't settled down by then.  She was transverse last night, head down again tonight.  Boy, this is fun...

[spinningbabies]

Dear Ones, 

Spinning Babies doesn't equal maternal positioning for Optimal Fetal Positioning, can you give a moment to think about that? 

Spinning Babies begins with Optimal Fetal Positioning and brings in The 3 Principles, Balance, Gravity, and Movement. 

Balance means to bring the pelvis and the pelvic muscles and uterine ligaments into alignment or "balance."

Then maternal positioning becomes more successful. A transverse baby is a symptom of a twist in the lower uterine segment. Often a "3 breath" forward-leaning inversion does the trick, but don't twist your SI joints crawling out of it. So see if you can swing back UP to release the stretch of the ligaments from the inversion. Don't do this for more than 30 seconds! And yes, your head may pound the first few times you try it, so those of you with high blood pressure or other risk of stroke, no you can't do any inversions safely. Skip it. 

But if you are healthy, a short inversion is likely to help reduce pelvic pain, transverse lie and start to align your pelvis after many repetitions (repeat but keep these very short lasting!).

Here is the link for The Three Principles of Spinning Babies so that you can see the list of Balance activities you can do yourself or get help with, http://www.spinningbabies.com/more-info/for-pregnancy/3-principles-in-pregnancy

Remember, as Spinning Babies gets mainstreamed, the details of what Spinning Babies is really about get diluted. Learn what to do before assuming its not working. And know that each woman, such as the lovely woman who began this thread is some where on a continuum and those on the "far end" may need body work. Sometimes labor contractions finish the fetal re-positioning. So its not over til its over. 

Love to you all here at the Mothering Community! Blessings and happy births. 

[linnea27]

I second (third?) chiropractic. My first was OP, with his bum on the extreme right side of my body throughout my pregnancy. I did the spinningbabies moves and they didn't do anything (they hurt, actually- I did the inversion and I felt this intense full-body pain and I lost my vision for a moment. I didn't try that one again. I'm eyeing up the "don't do them if you are at risk of stroke" comment above, and although I don't have any risk factors that I know of, it felt bad). My first was delivered via c-section because after three hours of pushing, he just wouldn't come out. The poor positioning was blamed.

When my second was also lining up OP with his bum way over on the right, I became concerned that maybe something about my body was causing my babies to sit that way. At the suggestion of a friend, I went to see a chiropractor. I was extremely skeptical. She poked and prodded and quickly identified the site of an old injury in my sciatic joint and felt that it was causing my hips to be misaligned which caused my babies to sit funny. She did some stretches and dug her fingers into certain ligaments and told me to come back in a week. I was skeptical leaving, because it didn't feel like she had done much, but when I got home I noticed that for the first time in either of my pregnancies, my baby was sitting OA, with his bum centred. It was such a relief to not have his bum digging in painfully to my right lower rib. I went back every week or so and I noticed that by the end of the week, baby started to drift back to the right, but after each appointment, he was immediately front-and-centre again.

I ended up delivering after a super-fast two hour labour. I credit chiropractic.

[MichelleZB]

About 80% of all posterior babies turn in labour. My son was posterior up until an hour or so before he was born. It could happen.

I had the pitocin/strapped to the bed thing, too. My labour started to stall and I insisted on getting up and walking around. I felt the baby turn then. It's worth a try, am I right?

Good luck!

[WindyCityMom]

Wanted to say that baby isn't posterior anymore :)  Also.. She's been consistently head down for awhile now, though she does like to poke me in the ribs with her toes.  Bladder punches are no fun!