How to tell baby's position?

[BettyBi0]

Are you any good at working out which way up your baby is?

I'm 34 weeks now and the baby has been consistently transverse on scans and I thought I could feel his head wedged above my right hip. Then on the last scan (I've been having serial growth scans) he was head down - woohoo! Except now I can feel that head shape lump above my hip again. Does that mean he has flipped back to transverse?

Is there a trick to knowing which bit is where?

[April2013]

I had this, growth scans plus transverse and unstable lie, I would recommend having a good chat about it with your consultant, it is tough to tell where the baby is but inevitably we are going to try work it out aren't we or at least be conscious of it - I've had one consultant telling me very firmly not to even try work it out ever incase i am wrong and another trying to teach me how to feel for head down myself, I really dont know what is best. Ask them at what stage transverse or unstable becomes a problem and how they manage it and you can look at the NICE guidelines about this - but I think in a lot of cases the baby goes head down in the next couple of weeks. I'm 39 weeks now and from 37.5 weeks he seems to have been head down after being transverse, oblique and occasionally head down before then.

[bingeddybongo]

I'm 36 weeks and mine's been pretty much consistently breech for the last 10 weeks or so. I got the hang of knowing when she was which way up based on my own comfort levels and some of her movements: her head is like an absolute rock in my stomach when she's breech - far more so when it's been a bottom there - it's really painful and makes me feel sick, gives me reflux etc; and then the thrice daily hiccuping is much lower down under my bump when she's breech, plus the kicking is much less strong because I guess maybe there's less room for it down below? When she's been head down - and during the week she had her feet in her face - the foot movements were much more pronounced visually, and just underneath my ribs. Can't see any movements at all when she's kicking now.

I realise breech and transverse are totally different but maybe that helps a bit recognizing your own signs?! It sounds to me like you're probably right though. And it also sounds even more uncomfortable than breech - hope you're not suffering too much!!

[kiki22]

Mine was breach for a while we found this out because I went in with reduced movement, once he turned back round (thank goodness) the kicks became a lot stronger again. Oh and when he was in breach my bump looked different. When he flipped round i think about 37 weeks I felt it happen 😷

Don't know if this will help any but as previous poster said it might help you work out your own signs, if you have an idea you might be able to tell if your baby shifts again.

[BettyBi0]

They are tricky little wrigglers aren't they? Do people get a quick scan when they are going into labour to check which was up the baby is? Maybe midwives are old hands at knowing what's going on in there

[kiki22]

I don't know if they would give you a scan they generally do know by feeling right from when ds turns from breach he was in a great position until I was actually in labour then suddenly he was back to back this was diagnosed by feel.

In my experience some babies are just wrigglers and move lots things can change right up until labour, funnily my wriggler is a fidgety child hes always got ants in his pants.