I think my baby turned posterior

[HomeBirthMommy]

I am 40 weeks and for the last couple of months the baby has been consistently LOA. The other night I was feeling around and realized things were very different. Now I am feeling lumps (arms and legs, hands and feet?) toward the left. I cannot feel the back on the right side at all. The movement I'm feeling of limbs is more toward my front than the side. At the midwife last week, the head was low. I am really worried about this and dh is less than understanding. I know I can handle labor, but I'm terrified of a very painful posterior baby labor.
I'm trying cat-cow stretches, hands and knees and talking to the baby. What else can I do to encourage a better position?

[kathan12904]

check out this website
www.spinningbabies.com
http://www.spinningbabies.com/05site/pregnancy.html

[Kidzaplenty]

:

Try lots of crawling on hands and knees, rocking back and forth.

[kerikadi]

I would just like to share that my DD turned posterior the day before she was born. My MW told me not to worry and it wasn't a big deal at all. I spent most of my labor on my hands and knees or on the exercise ball. This was my third as well and I didn't think the labor was really any harder.
When my MW got to the house she suggested I sit on the birthing stool she brought - when I did my water broke and as I stood up my DD rotated. She came out posterior but a compound presentation. I pushed her out in less than 10 minutes with only a skidmark from her hand and she was 8/8, so not a tiny baby, a good size.

Do the exercises but try not to worry - it is very likely she will turn in her own time and that just might happen when your water breaks or during labor.

Keri

[hippiemom]

I second that! All 4's even for 5 minutes a couple of times a day will help, but often babies turn in labor. As you are having a MW she will know to leave your water intact too. This helps turn the babe on all 4's as well, gives some cushion in there. Laboring while on supported all 4's (over a ball or beanbag chair) will take pressure off your back, and back pressure happens wiht anterior babies too. I think the horror stories you hear about posterior labors are b/c they can be grossly mismanaged and then do take forever or end up in C sec. Hooking a woman up to a million things, meds all preventing her from changing position does not help. THEN add breaking the water and forcing a malpostioned babe down with Pitocin, a nice recipe for fetal distress.

Do not worry too much mama, that is another biggie. They spina nd turn and come out!

[HomeBirthMommy]

I think s/he is back to a better position. I did hands and knees last night as well as on my knees leaning over the birth ball. I don't know how this baby is finding ANY room to move around in there. Maybe he's just looking for a way out!
Thanks for all your responses. I hope soon I'll be posting a birth story.

[ColoradoMama]

Good luck. I just birthed a posterior baby 13 days ago. If your baby hasn't turned, my btdt suggestion would be to move a lot. Listen to your body. I couldn't sit still during the pushing - I was in a different position with every contraction. I was twisting and turning and moving all around - my mw told me afterwards that it was my body's way of getting my baby through the birth canal since it's harder with a posterior baby. Hopefully your little guy will turn the way he's supposed to and come out the right way!

[pamamidwife]

you know, with third time moms, I don't worry about positioning as much. It's usually only an issue with first time moms because their uterus is a different shape and the baby engages posterior sometimes.

Those early labor contractions will help move your baby.

[urmysunshyn]

My first baby was posterior, a long labor with lots of back pain. She ended up coming out...thankfully without a csection.

I just found out today this baby is also currently posterior.

My MW recommended walking up the stairs sideways and with each step really pulling your leg upward.

She said it's easier to turn them once the head is not so low, since I'm 37 weeks she hasn't dropped yet.

Once contractions start she said to get on the floor with forearms on the ground, elbows out, hips swaying in the air.

Another thing to try is to put something cold near the baby's head on your lower belly and something warm on your back, then the baby will want to move it's head away from the cold.


Good luck!

[Sweetiemommy]

That heat and cold idea is really interesting, I haven't heard that one before. I found that sleeping on my back or (blush) having sex on my back would always cause the baby to move posterior. Usually I could get him back to LOA with proper posture and avoiding chairs/couches, but stupidly I had sex on my back the day I went into labor and there was not enough time to get him to turn, so I had terrible back labor. For first timers, I have heard people say that back labor is easier for them to handle in some ways, because your back hurts so much that you hardly notice the actual contractions. Also, if your partner pushes on your sacrum, it can take a lot of the pressure away from your back - so it relieves a lot of the discomfort.

[urmysunshyn]

sweetiemommy

i agree that i only felt pain in my back and not belly when i had my first daughter.

i'm going to focus on better posture and sitting upright and having sex on top ... which seems easier these days anywya