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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

How do u know if your baby is back to back?

30 replies

Rhianna1980 · 27/05/2012 04:41

I keep reading that women go into labour not knowing that their baby is back to back. Do they or not scan first just to double check all is ok? Seems to me that thats the first sensible thing to do ...

OP posts:

Original poster

Rhianna1980 · 27/05/2012 04:42

*some women(shame there's no edit button)

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melliebobs · 27/05/2012 04:57

I didn't know in advance dd was back to back until they did an examination after god knows how many hrs of agony

Izpie · 27/05/2012 05:10

My midwife checked baby's position at all appointments, but no scan after the 20 week one.

jammic · 27/05/2012 05:11

Most of the time they can tell the position of the baby by examining your stomach and if he/she is back to back they can usually turn them. Our baby surprised the doctors and came out back to back when they weren't expecting it. The doctor later said there's always one! It was painful but I don't know if it was more or less painful than giving birth with the baby the right way round. They did give me anaesthetic before doing an episiotomy. Is yours back to back?

RichManPoorManBeggarmanThief · 27/05/2012 05:14

Well the problem is that they move so they might not be back to back at your last midwife appointment, but then they turn as they get into position for labour/engage. My son went back to back either immediately before or in the early stage of labour , despite being the right way around the day before.

My Obs managed to turn him round though.

SneakyBiscuitEater · 27/05/2012 06:12

All of my 3 were back to back. I guess there is something about my pelvis that makes it so? With my last one a senior midwife spotted DD2 was back to back from across the ward as my tummy button wasn't an outy. Don't know how scientific that is but my tummy button didn't pop out with any of them.

Quotationist · 27/05/2012 06:25

DD was back to back when labour started. She'd been getting into the right position in the weeks before birth, but moved back around before labour started. The midwives spotted it from the shape of my bump when I went into hospital for assessment.

I did ask about turning, but they said they didn't do that any more as it was too dangerous. In the end, it took days of labour, a lot of gas & air and being forced to walk up & down hospital corridors & stairs, and she finally turned to come out.

If I had that final week of pregnancy again, I'd be scrubbing my kitchen floors til they shone

HollyMadison · 27/05/2012 06:42

My DS was back to back for weeks before birth. I swam lengths and lengths and watched TV on all fours for hours on end. The MWs could tell he was back to back from their routine examinations. He turned in labour. Thank God for the epidural!!!

RockChick1984 · 27/05/2012 06:53

I didn't know DS was back to back until I gave birth, think he must have moved just before labour, as my last 2 midwife appointments I got told he was in perfect position!

Original poster

Rhianna1980 · 27/05/2012 07:19

No I'm not preg ATM but reading few posts on here where I felt sorry for few women where they have been asked to push and were in deep agony because the baby was back to back and the health professional didn't know that . If the midwife is supposed to tell whether the baby Is in the right position how can some back to back babies go undiagnosed ? Is it that tricky ?

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gnocci · 27/05/2012 07:45

DS was in perfect position until about 39 weeks. I could feel his back, bum and spine down the front of my tummy.

Then I knew he's turned because the whole back just disappeared and my tummy went a bit squidgy. I could then feel knees and hands!

gnocci · 27/05/2012 07:47

ps - he turned on the way out and had just gas and air (he was also 9lb). Don't know if any more painful than usual as had nothing to compare it to.

chocoroo · 27/05/2012 08:05

Nobody noticed DD was back to back until I was in labour. Even then they expected her to turn. She didn't bother and I has an EMCS on day four of labour.

Barbeasty · 27/05/2012 09:38

DD wasn't back to back, even as I was giving birth they could feel her spine in the right place.

The problem was her head was back to back, turned to one side and looking up. Since it's the orientation of the head that's important she wasn't coming out on her own.

Given that the head was hidden in my pelvis, I don't think even a scan would have revealed this. It was only when the midwife felt her head that they realised what they were dealing with.

She slept with her head like that for weeks too.

littlemissnormal · 27/05/2012 12:00

DS2 was back to back, didn't go like this until labour and wasn't discovered until I'd been pushing with no movement on his part for over 2 hours.

Had to be rushed to hospital from a MLU to turn him with forceps then he shot out!

But like someone else said, this was my 2nd b2b and the midwife said it is likely the shape of my pelvis which encourages this.

StarlightMcKenzie · 27/05/2012 14:10

Rhianna, I don't think a back to back baby is considered problem enough to justify a scan and most of them will turn during labour anyway so knowing in advance won't make any difference to the ability to birth vaginally.

ConcreteElephant · 27/05/2012 18:50

DS was back to back and this was only discovered when he emerged face up :) so it was something of a surprise. Labour was quick and quite painful but I was straight in the birth pool shortly after arrival at the MLU and the water really helped with the pain and getting into a good position to deliver.

In some ways, I'm glad he was back to back as the midwives thought he'd have been out in about 20 minutes otherwise and I might not have made it to hospital.

I wouldn't have had time for a scan and I think most babies do turn during labour so I don't know if it would help anyway.

Original poster

Rhianna1980 · 27/05/2012 19:03

Thanks for your replies . Fair enough if one didn't have time for a scan like concrete, but for some reason I thought they would scan the baby anyway just to double check he/she is not a breach nor back to back. Seems to be the easiest scientific way to check rather than wait for a problem to rise then scan. No?

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ConcreteElephant · 27/05/2012 19:18

As it happens, I had a scan prior to being induced with DD as they weren't sure if she was breech. The hard round body part right under my ribs was indeed her bottom and not her head but there wasn't a midwife there who wanted to swear to it before induction! It felt like every midwife had a feel of the bump and there was a great deal of discussion.

She was born a bit prem so I hadn't had as much recent midwife contact as you might, we were going in a bit blind and in that instance the scan was invaluable.

Original poster

Rhianna1980 · 27/05/2012 19:23

Yeah hurrah for ultra sounds ! I thought at one point they were standard procedure seeing as its not a costly thing and very fast procedure and more scientific than feeling the belly to check .

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Suckeddry · 29/05/2012 01:12

DS was in the optimal position for weeks before birth. I could feel his little bum & spine through my bump. His spine would then shift from right to left just before birth. The midwives said they can turn either way when they're LOP & he became back to back in labour.

Zendaya · 29/05/2012 01:13

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Gingersnap88 · 30/05/2012 08:58

DD turned back to back during early labour. She stayed that way! It was painful and progressed slowly but was worth it (probably didn't help that she was born with her hand over her face).
Apparently a good sign is that your belly button dips slightly instead of feeling firm to touch.

justlemonade · 30/05/2012 21:01

I didn't find out DD was back to back until they did an internal examination when I was in labour. Midwife kept feeling as routine during appointments but had no idea. She stayed back to back until they turned her with forceps.

SarryB · 02/06/2012 23:54

LO was back to back. And it HURT. Like a son of a bitch.

His head was also at a strange angle. I think the midwife knew he was back to back, but didn't say as she knew it would freak me out even more.

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