Baby facing left = back to back labour?

[javotte]

Hello. I'm 38wks tomorrow and at my last appointment the consultant told me that the baby's back was on the right side. She didn't say anything else about it but I am a little worried as I thought it should be the other way round. Apparently it can make labour longer and more painful. Has anyone been in this situation?

My son was 'perfect' position throughout until he changed in the last day to back to back! Theres no reason why your baby wont move..
I had a horrific time in labour, it hurt like hell, all i will say is have that epidural if you feel you need it cause boy did i!
Towards the end before the birth stage i felt every contraction through my epidural.
Its traumatised me and due to give birth in 5 weeks! BUT
Everyone is different, every labour is and id do it a million times
Over to have my beautiful son! X

My baby was always on the left until 38 weeks and has been corkscrewing since then, trying to find a comfortable position to engage (and failing). If you are concerned, read the spinning babies website and spend lots of time (and precious energy) crawling on all fours. But do remember, like the previous poster, that babies can turn at the last minute and even during labour.

Just had a quick look at the spinning babies website. Apparently it's called the "Right Occiput Anterior" position and it doesn't look good.
I'm already spending lots of time on all fours (much to the DCs' delight), but baby won't move.

He/she may well move. Mine has (40+2) so far so good. Just to bear in mind also that my midwife was actually very positive about ROA. It's not as favourable as LOA, but she wasn't that fussed and said it was an ok position (I still did lots of all fours to budge him though).

My mum had 4 posterior babies and had 4 straight forward, drug free births. In fact, I was born posterior so never turned at all.

It can be done!

very interesting, i have a mild biconurate uterus and first baby was back to back...second the spine also seems to be on the right.

no one has said anything to me about the implications etc...ie more painful birth.

ROA is very common in a first pregnancy because of the obliquity if the uterus and its relation to the position of the descending colon which is on the left. Much more preferable than an OP position.

My baby was in the same position as yours and my labour was fine. Only 6 hours in active labour, 3 at home and 3 in hospital, with TENS and G and A.
I too worried about it and read the spinning babies website. I found if I did the move where you kneel on the couch and rest your head and arms on the floor. I think it was called an inversion? He would move his back to the left during the inversion but he just moved back soon after!
Anyway like the others say they can move from a good position anyway so try not to worry. Im sure you will be fine!

It's my 3rd baby. I've had 2 very straightforward births so far, so I don't understand what is different this time! I am also a little worried because the last scan showed that the baby has a very big head.
I'll try the inversion move tonight.

Both my previous DCs were ROA and they were long labours but not overly painful - managed with the pool and G&A. I think it's actual back to back which is the killer. DC1 also had massive head (still does!), 98th centile - someone told me big babies are easier to deliver because they are more scrunched up and torpedo-like! Good luck!

My DS2 had his back along my right side.

Popped out in 4 pushes, no pain relief and his head is over the 99.6 centile. Although that may be a reflection on the size of my bits as opposed to the ease of giving birth to a back to back baby!

When I had my twins the second twin went back to back when the first twin came out, it was painful but no more than the first and my first single baby 3 years before, I was offered an epidural but as it was only the end stage that it makes a difference I opted for gas & air and it was fine!
Try not to worry about, you'll be fine! It's amazing what we can cope with when it comes to giving birth. My motto was to try & hav it as natural as possible as I knew it wasn't going to kill me and any drugs I had would make baby sleepy and harder to feed once it arrived!
Good luck x

My first labour was back to back.

I only know this because I over heard a MW say it. I have read through this thread and I am still clueless.

What does it mean?

Also, this baby has its back to the left. What does that mean?

It's to do with the position your baby is in, in the womb, and therefore their position as they pass through your pelvis and enter the birth canal.

Babies can either have their back facing outwards (OA) or their back towards your back (OP). They also tend to be turned slightly towards either one of your hips (R or L).

Optimum positioning is LOA (Left Occiput Anterior) meaning baby's back can be felt down the left hand side of your bump, with kicks being felt in the upper right, under your ribs (usually). ROA is opposite.

With an OP baby, you will tend to see a less rounded bump, a dip around your navel, and will tend to feel kicks towards the middle and front of your bump.

During labour, whilst you're dilating, your uterus is also squeezing your baby into the optimal position for it to descend through your pelvis. This can take longer if your baby is positioned OP or ROA. Contractions with an OP baby tend to be felt in the lower back.

Most babies, whatever their position when labour commences, will turn into and OA position during the course of events, so that they are born face down.

Some babies (like me ) persist in the OP position and are born face up. Not often though.

My first was technically rop but he actually presented with his ear first and side of head. Labour was long and painful, but not a traditional back labour as such. Second was straight oa and came out like a 747 down heathrow main runway. It did make a difference for me in terms of lengthy labour (72 hours rather than 12) but both were just as painful and I felt the pains the same way. Hoping this will be another oa!

Ok. I think I am somewhere between LOA and OP.

Hi, Your labour will be longer and you'll probably have a consultant present incase baby becomes distressed but the obstetrician will put a pudendal nerve block into your pelvis, all my wife's pain went away. It was brilliant. We used a technique of plastic surgeons, skin stretching the opening to birth canal, as our friends from Pakistan did, and my wife a first time mum, pushed out a 7lb baby, described on www.naturalbirthsimulation.com Why be cut when you can stretch the skin, and enjoy sex again sooner. Apparently, Saudi Arabia,Africa use glassbottles of increasing sizes to stertch this skin, as cuts in hot countries get infected -I assume some mums there have no clean water to bathe with, eg in the jungles. Epi-no is available on internet, now in USA Canada, Poland Italy and probaly in other countries including England.So stretch twice daily if you can and have a normal birth. Good luck the power is truelly with you. Get your other half to help if you have him, or your sister, or any expectant mum you trust. Don't be embarrassed, having a baby -everyone sees your bottom, and it is only that a bottom -your are recognised by your beautiful face and your smile.Let us know how you got on.Believe in the obstetric stretch it worked for us, no forceps, yes a bruised backwall to birth canal and very dry for 6 weeks after baby was born, but then every thing back to normal.

Both mine had their backs roa. I have the stretch marks to prove it both were quick births 7 hours and 3 hours. Both natural births, not b2b's. They seemed to twist last minute. Let us know how you get on.

Hi! Thanks for the messages. I'm still spending lots of time on all fours and doing a couple of inversion moves every day, but baby is still ROA.

mine was too and i also did lots of scrubbing and cleaning in all fours and sat on ball most of time,...

Mine was ROA the whole time in my last pg, and I had no problems at all in labour. His head was pretty big too! Good luck.

Hi just wanted to add as well as spining babies as a resource there's a whole chapter on back to back labour in Ju Ju Sundin's book "Birth Skills: proven pain management techniques for labour and birth" my friend's baby was back to back and she used the techniques to deliver him with no epidural just gas and air.

Best wishes with everything.

I think the lie of the baby can be anatomical too. LOA is supposedly more favourable because the caecum takes up room on the right. However in some women, space may be taken up on the left by other things such as uneven pelvic ligament tension, or in my case a tight psoas muscle which causes PGP for me. Because I know about this, I'm happy that my baby is ROA and probably in the roomiest place. A MW once said to me that they aren't worried about ROA or LOA, just posterior babies. And it sounds like even LOA babies can turn back to back.

All 4 of mine were back to back and only the 4th one turned to come out. The labours were all very differrent; 20 hours, 4 hours, 9 hours and 38 hours. Each pregnancy and labour is differrent. It doesn't mean you will be in agony. I had no pain relief for my 2nd and 3rd. Just try not to worry about it when you're in labour as being scared can make pain seem worse. Good luck.

Update : the baby has finally moved and is a perfect LOA now.
(about time, EDD was last Friday. I am still waiting for a single contraction).

I always thought my DD had her back on my right, as all kicks etc were on my front left. I had a very straightforward labour with her so whether she moved or she was in the 'correct' position I don't know. All I'd say is what will be will be - at least baby is head down!! :) Good luck.