LOP-left occipitio posterior position,can i 'encourage' my baby to turn round in the next 5 weeks?!

[divastrop]

hi.i am 33+2 with baby no.5 and have been booked in for induction at 39 weeks(due to history of pre-eclampsia).i had a mw appt this morning and,as ive suspected since week 30,the baby is in the LOP position.my first child(ds1)was the same,nobody told me what a horrendous experience labour would be and i was in agony for 3 days,i was drugged up to the eyeballs and it took over an hour to push him out.
the mw said theres plenty of time for baby to get into the right position,but i really need to know if theres anything i can do to help this,and if she should remain that way round,is it possible for me to have a reasonable labour??
any advice /experiences welcome!thanks

[TheBlonde]

this thread should have some tips

[lulumama]

right

optiaml foetal positioning

and

spinning babies

around 10 % of babies are OP.so it is not the end of the world, if he stays OP......yes, you had a hard labour last time..but the best thing you can do with an OP labour is to stay mobile, active and upright, and encourage baby to come down right onto the cervix....also, don;t lie on your back ....!! I had an OP baby, she turned during labour..which was intense..but then my labour went very well!

your labour can start slowly, due to unequal pressure on the cervix, so best to stay away from hospital until you are contracting every 3 -5 mins or so,IMO as more likely you will be in established labour..rather than going in and being sent home !

try using a gym ball a lot at home, and wtch the way you sit.....try to sit upright and not slumped back in your chair

also, you have had babies since, your body knows what to do ..and you know you can cope...so even if baby stays OP, not a reason that you will have a horrendous time again

hth! X

[PrettyCandles]

Scrub the kitchen floor several times a day! Apparently crawling is good for encouraging the baby into a good anterior position. I think accupuncture also (or is that for turning breech around?).

Never lean back on a chair, turn the chair around, straddle it, and lean forward onto the back of the chair whenever you sit down.

[lulumama]

this thread is good too, with lots of good info and advice!

[divastrop]

thank you!havent checked out the links yet but will in a second.when i had ds1 i was strapped to the fetal heart monitor and forced to lay on my back throughout the whole labour which i'm sure didnt help matters.luckily the hospital i am going to give birth in this time is alot better and even though i was strapped to the monitor with my last two ,once i got to the 2nd stage i was allowed to move around and they just listened between contractions.

[lulumama]

at lying on your back with an OP labour! glad this hospital a bit more enlightened.. i didn;t even know DD was OP until after she was born....!

[divastrop]

thanks for the links-i feel alot better now,especially after reading the stuff about it being more difficult with first babies.

now i'm wondering if ds1's behavioural problems could have something to do with the birth(his head was flat at the back when he was finally born)after some of the things ive read.

think i'll be getting myself a yoga-ball thingy

[lulumama]

his head would most likely be flat from the way he was lying in the womb, not from the actual delivery...but a very traumatic delivery can possibly have an effect...

did you try cranial osteopathy after his birth?

[divastrop]

no,nobody mentioned that the birth could have affected him in any way.he's 9 now and being assessed for possible aspergers syndrome.

[lulumama]

well, being deprived of oxygen at birth does have consequences, but again, the birth might be totally unrelated to his possible aspergers..

i am not remotely learned about this sort of thing though....

i do know two children with asbergers, one an elective c,s and one a straightforward delivery..so who knows if it is an issue relating to birth....

[divastrop]

we've gone a bit off topic

the child psychologist asked me loads of quetions about his birth so i'm sure they will look into that side of things further if they think its necessary.

thanks for all your help,i'm not panicing as much about the LOP thing now

[lulumama]

glad to be of some help xxx

[JillybeansNW]

I had loads of concerns about babe position (I was breach, my mother was breach, my grandmother was breach [sigh]) I was advised to go on to elbows and knees (not always the most comfortable or dignified, but quite fine on my squishy sofa). Don't know if that helps, but all mine were perfectly positioned .

Good luck by the way!

[divastrop]

thank you

[3rdTriMossTer]

Have finally gotten around to reading all the links, as at my mw appt last week I was told lo had his back to my back also.

Am feeling a little now though. On one of the links, it says that it's more likely when you have an anterior placenta. Which I found out I had, at 19 weeks at my scan.

So why tf didn't anyone in the hospital think to tell me about the increased chance of a posterior baby, and that there were exercises I could do to change this and to get him into the best position?

And my mw, who is a lovely woman and everything, but even so shouldn't she have known something about this and advised me accordingly?

I suppose I should just be glad that I found out now and that it's not too late to turn him around.

Diva glad you're feeling a bit better!!

Thank goodness for Mumsnet and all the helpful folk on here!!!!

[lulumama]

hi mossy

try not to feel angry... i never even got told DD was OP and i'm glad in a way, as i would have worried about that too ! x

[3rdTriMossTer]

Hi lulumama!! [smiles]

Now I don't know whether to say "thank heavens for MN" or to say "oh bloody MN giving me something else to worry about thanks a bunch"!!

[lulumama]

you can have a brief worry...say, 30 minutes or so...then you must banish it from your mind and think happy happy quick birth thoughts !

read the links and the birth stories..will help !

[3rdTriMossTer]

Right, I'll save the 30 mins worrying for the train on the way home tonight

It'll give me something to do, because once again I've forgotten to bring a book for my commute. I think my nutella butties take up too much space in my bag!!!

[lulumama]

there you go ! i have done you a favour now !

[3rdTriMossTer]

One of many favours you have done me lulumama thank you!!!
XXXXX

[lulumama]

post me a nutella sandwich !

[3rdTriMossTer]

[preggerspoppet]

hi, I went to a mc'timmoney chiropractor in the late stages of my last preg, the baby was in a terrible position; engaged in the pelvis with it's neck flex and head pointing upwards -it was agony, probably for us both, but she got him shifted! i remember her saying she had some success with lop babies too....

just a thought. good luck.

[lulumama]

a what ?!?!?