Come and talk to me about back to back...

[JazzieJeff]

Hi, I'm 38+2 today and the midwife told me at my appointment this afternoon that the baby is back to back. This is recent, since we had a growth scan 2 weeks ago and he wasn't back to back then. In the past couple of days, I've had lower back pain which has been pretty persistent.

I'm really scared now that the birth is going to be bloody horrific and I'll be a mess by the end of this.

Is there anything I can do to help him turn, and I'd so, how successful is it?

Please help, I'm really fretting about this :(

Xxx

Do you have an active birth class near you?

Could you google it? There are lots of things you can do to encourage the baby into the right position. I remember sitting on a chair backwards, like the Christine Keeler photo, for long periods of time to do exactly that.

However, my second one remained back to back all the way through. The birth wasn't horrific. I had two midwives. When the time came, they put me on my side, one held my leg up and the other helped DD1 out. This position apparently helps ease the baby out the birth canal.

My PFB was back to back, had an easy labour, three and a half pushes and it was done and I didn't even realise he was back to back until he popped out and my husband said. Perhaps I was just lucky but I didn't have any problems.

Hope this sounds reassuring rather than smug :)

No Cornish that's actually really comforting, thankyou :)

effjay didn't end up going to the birthing classes locally because the woman who ran them was just awful lol! But I'll definitely google it. I've spent the evening on my hands and knees... Which is ironic since it's how I got into this situation in the first place...

How will I know when he's turned, if he does? All I've managed to read about back to back births so far are hideous horror stories with nasty sounding injuries and lots of screaming and blood. I can't get it off my mind!

Xxx

Back-to-back labours are generally longer and more painful as baby isn't putting the right pressure on the cervix and doesn't fit quite as well into the pelvis but there are things that you can do whilst in labour to help things along.

1. Try and rest as much as you can to conserve energy whilst in early labour.

1. When in established labour, try to remain upright, or use a birthing pool. Don't lie flat on your back.

1. Try to avoid an epidural.

My 1st pregnancy ended with a back-to-back labour and I went against all of the above advice and ended with a c-sect but it was definately not all blood, gore and screaming. In fact it was quite calm. Very painful in my back, the epi didn't work there but I have no other labour to compare it to.

I am currently pregnant with No2 and I am going to do all of the above this time and keep my fingers crossed. Good luck!

My 3rd dc was back to back. It was the most painful I've experienced but it was also at most half the length of either of the others. I also had SPD so I was unable to move about during the birth as much as I would have liked.

Go into it with an open mind. Do what you can to help him turn but if he doesn't then don't stress - he's got to come out and the MWs will have seen back to back hundreds of times!

My son went back to back during the labour, birth is birth it all hurts like a bitch, don't worry too much!

DS was back to back but I only had one scan (20 weeks) so no-one knew until he got stuck face up at 9cm.

EMCS for me and a slightly bruised forehead for him.

Theincrediblesulk makes a good point

I had a doc appt today and asked about back to back labour as I thought my girl was back to back. He said not to worry too much about it as babies can turn up to the last minute so there is no point stressing about it now (I'm 37 + 5). He said that he did not think much can be done to change the position but it was only his opinion. I had an independent midwife who said that being on your hands and knees each day can help. So go figure... He said that B2B is not ideal but there are ways and positions to deal with it and that not all B2B births are terrible!
Xxx

This is a great resource-
www.spinningbabies.com/
Selina

My DS was back to back until the last minute (he was birn at 40+3). I didn't sit on a settee at all (had birthing ball in the lounge), spent a lot of time on all fours, swam breast stroke which I think helped a lot - in fact I think I felt him turn while I was swimming. And remained very active in labour. Good luck - I posted a similar thread too, and lots of people gave me very reassuring advice. The only person I know who had a back to back labour actually had a baby in the right position until the last minute - they can turn right up until the last minute so try not to worry too much.

Mine was back-to-back for 6 weeks before he was due, even when my waters broke, he eventually turned himself around in labour.

Don't panic, he could turn at any time! I'm 38 weeks, and my baby was left occiput anterior until yesterday morning, when all his limbs seemed to be poking out of my belly - he'd gone back-to-back. By teatime he was right occiput anterior, and this morning he's back to his position on the left!

(I can tell all this from the position of his limbs, he's a big baby according to growth scan and it's quite easy to tell which bits are which)

Other than that, try to keep your knees lower than your hips when sitting (cushion under your bum on the sofa, birthing ball etc) or kneel on all fours over a beanbag/ball.

DS turned back-to-back at some point during labour. Had been in the perfect position throughout the pregnancy. They only told me at the very end (just as we were wheeling down to theatre...) so I'm not sure they had even realised.

It hurt like hell but, as it was my first time, I didn't know any different.

DD1 was born back-to-back. three hours of (very active ) labour. I was at home and walked between contractions - that must have helped drop her downand out.

i had tried some of the stuff to reposition her (bum waggling etc) but it didn't work.

There's loads you can do to try and turn the baby, have a look at the spinning babies site linked about - time on all 4s, not reclining on sofa etc.

Having said that, by DS stayed back to back, which meant I was really nervous about the birth as everything I've read said that b2b births are more painful and longer, but it was fine honestly. It was less than 8 hours in length and pain totally manageable, I had some g&a but not much. Did need a ventouse in the end as he got a bit stuck due to his position, but it was a really good experience.

Hope that's a bit reassuring.

Thankyou ever so much to everyone who has replied, honestly it's so kind and reassuring. I know in reality that it's going to hurt like a bitch anyway, I think it's more of a mental block than anything!

Where would I get a Swiss ball from? It's not something I've ever looked for before.

Thankyou to the lady who left the link to the spinning babies website, it was a really good resource I'd never have found on my own!

Xxx

If a Swiss ball is a birthing ball or exercise ball, I got mine from TKMaxx for £7.

I had an osteopathy treatment to try to turn this baby from back-to-back at 40+5, and it has actually turned... now I'm just working on keeping it that way! Good luck and hope it turns for you