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4/5th???  

post #1 of 7
12/25/07 at 3:01pm
Thread Starter 
What does it mean when the doctor feels for the babes head and says the head is at 4/5th???

I know the baby is head down but what do the numbers mean? Is it very far down in my pelvis at 4/5th or still has a ways to go...?

This will be my fifth birth and the baby is due Jan 15. thanks.
post #2 of 7
12/25/07 at 6:26pm
Four-fifths???

That means absolutely nothing I've ever heard of.
post #3 of 7
12/25/07 at 8:06pm
The 'fifths' thing is more common in the UK. It is a way of measuring abdominally how far the head has entered the brim of the pelvis. 5/5 means that the head is completely above the brim. 4/5 is a head that is just entering the brim. A 2/5 head is considered engaged by normal terms.

According to an essay in my much-loved 'Midwifery: Best Practice" book: "Assessment in fifths is quantitative and easily reproducible."

As far as what this means for your pregnancy, it is perfectly normal, especially given it isn't your first baby. Once you've had a baby, subsequent babies tend to not 'engage' until just before labor or during labor.

(But, even if it was your first baby, 4/5 is still totally normal at this point).
post #4 of 7
12/25/07 at 10:09pm
Ah, how educational!

Are you in the UK Jennah?
post #5 of 7
12/26/07 at 1:51am
5 fingers on your hand-- and as the baby's head goes further into the pelvis - each finger's width is 1/5-- this measure is used with palpation

here is a WHO web site with pictures-- about midway down the page
http://www.who.int/reproductive-heal...r_C57_C76.html
post #6 of 7
12/26/07 at 2:05am
Well I'm glad to learn this right before my last clinic shift of my training... looks interesting and useful! And easier to master than internal stationing.
post #7 of 7
12/26/07 at 4:01am
Thread Starter 
Great info thanks!!!

No i am not in the UK but I am overseas -- here we have a hospital specially for labor and delivery and all the womens stuff -- midwives do the labor and delivery unless there is a problem plus the prenatal care.... they let u go natural if u wish and they intervene if u wish...

most of the midwives are from the UK or somewhere in Europe and the hospital runs on the UK system...so I guess that explains it. thanks again!!!
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