baby in posterior position in second pregnancy. Will it be okay?

[beka277]

Am now 36 weeks 2 days along with second baby...Had a routine check up yesterday with doctor and he said tht the baby is lying posterior, with back tilted out my right side and baby looking toward my left side, if you know wht i mean..
I was so hoping second labour will be easier than first time round ... but have read tht posterior babies are usually longer more painful labours. HELP!!!
How many of you had posterior babies at about 36 weeks and how many babies changed position to anterior? Did you do anything to help change the babies position?
Whats the difference in contractions when baby is posterior comhpared to anterior?
The doc says I shouldnt be too worried abt it because its my 2nd pregnancy (would b alot worse if was 1st preg) and tht it will only make labour different because will be harder to push .... but should still only take abt 20 mins to push because will be second labour.....is this true?
Sorry abt all the questions...!!!!!!
Thanks girls...

[Minkus]

beka I'm in the same situation, last week at 36 +2 with second preg I had a scan and babe was (is? don't know) posterior. When I spoke to my midwife about this I had the same concerns, oh gosh it's going to be more difficult than my first one etc etc but she told me more or less the same as your doctor has said. I.e. pushing tends to be harder but as 2nd/subsequent babies don't take as long as 1st babies anyway it shouldn't be worse than 1st time. Also said that it miht hurt more in my back than last time but not necessarily.

Did you have a tough ride first time round? You sound pretty worried.

[clayre]

my 2nd pg was posterior, i had an hour and a half labour, 45 mins of that was contractions and 6 mins was pushing, ds didnt turn till he was coming out, i had a small tear, i think they said it was because he was coming out too fast and it was the old scar that tore, the worst part was after the birth, my back was agony for weeks because it was a funny shape because of the way ds was lying.

[beka277]

Minkus - its a bit of a relief tht your midwife has told u the same thing my doc told me..

But yes - I am worried! I guess I was lucky first time round because I didnt have any intervention - (although was VERY close after very close to two hours of pushing...!) (oh and def had a shot of pethidine!- would have had more than tht but am TERRIFIED of needles so epidural was outta the question!!)
BUT yes..my first labour I screamed the hospital down, and the baby was anterior...so just dreading anything worse..I need positive stories! Goodluck, let me know if your baby turns or not!!

[kiddiz]

I had a very long difficult labour with ds1 who was normal presentation and 6lb 1oz. Ds2 was posterior, delivered within 1/2hr of arriving at hospital with no pain relief and was 9lb 6oz. Just a very small tear which needed 1 stitch. Don't remember delivery being much harder, just having to push his shoulders and hips out too unlike ds1 who once his head was out just kind of slithered out! Ds2 was delivered looking up wards with his back to my back iyswim HTH

[MrsTittleMouse]

I was told by the MWs that if I have another posterior baby that I won't have such a difficult delivery because the baby will have more room to move. In other words, DD has stretched me already and I'm not as toned. Unflattering, but reassuring!

[SaucyMoo]

im 39 weeks and i was told the baby is posterier too, its my second. Im not sure if its turned round yet though but apparently your contractions will spread to your back so you can expect backache and yep the labour could be harder and longer, so im a bit scared too. Sitting on an exercise ball leaning forward is supposed to help too. My first push was over an hour so hoping it will be shorter this time and not longer!

Just realised theres 2 threads about this

[ILikeToMoveItMoveIt]

You've got loads of time for the baby to change its position, it may even move in labour.

In the meantime read up on Optimal Fetal Positioning (OFP) and do what you can to encourage the baby to move.

[Wade]

Mine was in this position but turned during labour. It wasn't a long labour but quite a long second stage. No problems though, all straightforward.

[smartiejake]

Both my labours were posterior. The first was very difficult she didn't turn and dd was delivered with ventouse and forceps after about 19 hours.

I was really dreading the second labour. It seemed to be going the same way with no progress (still 2cm after 6 hours and contractions every 2 mins) but then all of a sudden she turned and I was at 10cm 30 mins later and 10 mins of pushing later she was delivered.

My mum was almost the same with me and then my sister.
A second posterior birth is supposed to be easier if as painful. Good luck!

[beka277]

Sorry guys yes i accidently made 2 threads on this - one is titled "Untitled".

[helips]

At 36 weeks the baby can still change position, especially at it's your second pregnancy. However, there are things you can do like sit on a birthing ball, sit upright in chairs rather than leaning back, swimming and getting on all fours. If the baby is still posterior during labour it may mean a longer labour but again there are things you can do to encourage baby to turn. Good luck!

[blot4]

My first pg was posterior for weeks but shifted round during first stage labour. Meant that during the first few hours I didn't seem to be getting anyway, but then suddenly it all started moving and ds turned up the right way round! I did have agonising backache in the first few hours, which then shifted round to the front as ds moved round.

[Pruners]

Message withdrawn

[BigBadMouse]

All three of mine have been posterior. I'm a total wimp but I coped fine.

Labours we 32, 16 and 6 hours respectively but the pushing bit was only 10mins max for each one. I can't compare it to an anterior labour but I went through it all again twice over so it must have been worth it. In fact looking at little DS who is 3 weeks old and turned posterior at 37 weeks (having been prefectly positioned up until then) it was definitely worth it

You have plenty of time to let the baby turn but if it doesn't don't worry about it. My MWs were lovely and sympathetic and I took full advantage of that . Good thing is that if you labour is long you are less likely to tear etc. Also don't be surprised if you have a bit of stop and start contractions before labour starts properly - that is just your body trying to turn the baby and you'll get plenty of warning that your baby is on its way (V useful if you need to arrange childcare in the middle of the night for your DC1).

Good luck.

[rozzyraspberry]

Hi there. My third was posterior and was by far my best labour (first 2 anterior). When I got to hospital he was still back to back and the midwife said he would turn before he was born. He did and was born just over an hour later after 3 pushes.

Like bigbadmouse I did have a few false starts but the 'proper' contractions didn't start until about 4 hours before he was born.

Contractions did feel slightly different this time as I felt a lot of pressure around my back passage for a few hours before he was born. MW said it was because the membranes were bulging (didn't break until I started pushing) so that maybe didn't have anything to do with him being posterior.

Like others have said you can do things to try to help the lo into a better position. But if baby doesn't move try not to worry it doesn't necessarily mean you'll have a hard time and it will definitely be worth it!!!

[WhipMeIndiana]

I had a posterior face first baby for my first one...I am 35 weeks with number two and this sucker is coming out via c-section!

I suffered a 3rd deg tear, and needed two operations for retained placenta. I cant risk extending my tear/fecal incontinence so c-sec is my only option.

There are exercises you can do, 10 mins a night watching tv on all fours, this makes the spine swing to the anterior position as it is heavier. My friend had success doing this.

[scottishmum007]

don't agree with that point bigbadmouse, ds was posterior position, i had a long labour (over 18 hours) and had a bad tear (third degree) so longer labours don't necessarily mean you don't tear.

[Thankyouandgoodnight]

Do you mean that aby is actaully lying on it's side? That is different to posterior. My first one was in that position and labour was totally manageable - without any drugs and no tears either. Waterbirth. This one seems to be in the same position.

[Ate]

I was birth partner at a young friend's first birth. Her baby was posterior (turned to this position at the start of labour, strangely!).

She birthed at home, active birth, pool available, no pain relief, no tearing, lots of (good support) and within 18 hours.

The books 'Active Birth' by Janet Balaskas and 'Pregnancy and Childbirth' by Sheila Kitzinger were invaluable!