How baby comes out.....

[moonbeem]

Greetings,

I have a question for you moms who have "been there, done that...."
Did you notice a connection between what your usual sleeping position was and how the baby came out?
I tend to lie on my left side with my left arm under my head and my arm jutting off over the bed, I'm curiously wondering if this might influence my baby to want to come out hand first, or with a hand nearby....

I'm 33 weeks, and we are planning a home water birth...

moon

[djinneyah]

well, i don't know what position ds was in, as no one was looking and nobody caught him (long story...)

dd did have a nuchal hand, but i never sleep with my hands by my face.

[Emilie]

i dont think so..... but im not sure.

congrats!

[alegna]

It makes no sense for there to be a connection.

-Angela

[frontierpsych]

hmm... maybe I should start sleeping head down!

[mothragirl]

i slept on my back most of my pregnancy and alice was OP.

[Ruthla]

Originally Posted by frontierpsych

hmm... maybe I should start sleeping head down!

I'll chime in with the others- I don't think there's a connection between mama's sleeping position and baby's position inside.

[sapphire_chan]

I read somewhere that slouching can encourage babies to come out face up. But I've seen nothing about sleeping positions.

[mb722toddler]

Didn't notice

What an interesting question. I did not notice this. My midwife told me to do many squats a day, exercise and not sit on couches too much. My DD came out quick and in a good position.

[georgia]

My midwife told me to do many squats a day, exercise and not sit on couches too much

Wow, she sounds specific

[weliveintheforest]

I can see the connection.
My daughter sleeps in exactly the same position I do, and if she did it in the womb as well that could have influenced her position at birth.

I don't think the way I slept influenced her position to that extent, but she was posterior so I should have been more careful about following the fetal positioning stuff.

[pageta]

They say to sleep on your left side. Babies tend to want to be on their back as though the uterus is a hammock. If you want your baby to be LOA, sleeping on your left side puts the "hammock" in the right place. Hands and knees would encourage the baby to be OA with their little back running down the front of your belly.

There are three midwives in the group my midwife is in. One is big on positioning and thinks it is very important. One thinks that babies come in the position they fit best, which isn't necessarily LOA or OA, and thinks that worrying about the position is good just because it gives the mother something she feels like she can "do." And one midwife dismisses the theory altogether.

Personally, after going through back labor, I'm a believer. This child is LOA, so we'll see if it feels like back labor again this time. If so, I might change my mind...

[Peppamint]

Hmm, that's interesting. I prefer to sleep on my left side though I do change positions during the night, pregnant or not.

Three babies... all born anterior. Only one with nuchal hand (horrid back labor with her, two hour labor) and she sleeps that way a lot now and sucks on her two middle fingers, the other two only occasionally sucked their thumb.

Interesting...

[Cloth4Colin]

I don't know if there is a correlation between DS and me, but he was born with a nuchal hand and still at 2, sleeps with his hand up by his face.

[liawbh]

Originally Posted by Cloth4Colin

I don't know if there is a correlation between DS and me, but he was born with a nuchal hand and still at 2, sleeps with his hand up by his face.

DS had nuchal hand, too, and kept that hand by his face all the time. In the NICU, he kept getting that hand out of the swaddle and sliding it under his O2 tuce and pulling the cannula out of his nose. He was sure calmer when they weaned him off it and let his hand free.

[mb722toddler]

Originally Posted by georgia

Wow, she sounds specific

She said it in more medical terms with more specifics -- this was just the gist of it.