32+4 Baby positioning?

[mrsnlw]

Hi all,

This is our first baby and at my 31 week check up, the midwife advised that baby is head down (hurray!) and moving down into position but also said the baby is B2B. Cue all the horror stories you read online of long, slow, painful labours, c-sections etc.

I have bought a birthing ball (I did this around 29 weeks as baby had pretty much always been transverse and I wanted to help the baby get into position) and have been sitting/swirling my hips on it for around 30 mins per night. This seemed to have an effect at getting baby to go head down. I have been sleeping on my left and even find myself waking up if I'm not on my left so that I get back on that side. I have started to ensure my posture is correct. I work in an office based environment so spend a lot of time sat on an office chair and have also tried to stop myself slouching at home. I have tried kneeling on all fours and my hips (I am suffering PGP) just can't tolerate it for more than 2/3 minutes. I have tried leaning myself on/over my gym ball and all it does is squish my chest and hurt afterwards.

I know they say baby has plenty of time to turn but I'm worried just incase it doesnt. I'm even concerned that the baby has switched from head down to transverse again :-/

So.... my questions are:

1. Is there anything more I can do to encourage thye baby to spin around if still B2B?
2. How can I tell if the baby has switched to transverse again? My baby often gets hiccups (at least once daily) so I assume where I am feeling the hiccuping is where baby's torso is which is currently bottom right of my tummy.
3. If the baby has gone transverse again, is there a chance it can flip back round to head down again or is that it?

TIA. x

It's still got quite a lot of room to move so they can engage and disengage, flip upside down and spin around with no trouble. It sounds like you're doing all you can but have a look at the Spinning Babies website for more tips.

DD was breech at 35 weeks so I had to go in for an extra scan but she's turned by 37 weeks and stayed head down after that.

Our lil man Gets hiccups everyday! Hes head down and keeps turning back and forth from b2b to the right position. I know as i hardly get any movement like i normaly do and loads backache and arse stiking up and the shit loads pressure. I feel the jerking movement down below of his head hitting my fanny bone >.< and then get the legs going along up top when he gets hiccups. It went on for a whole hr yesterday...i wasnt very pleased -.-....

I think you need to relax a bit mrsnw Baby will be in whatever position it wants to be in and the midwives can do external manipulation if possible or necessary. I really don't think you have that much control over it. Remember, people have been having babies for a lot longer than anybody has known about left-side lying, birthing balls and a whole lot of other things.

FWIW, my DS was transverse at 37 weeks, then in the right position by the following week when they did a positional scan. I did birthing ball, pelvic swivelling and barely sat down from the time my waters broke, and it still went to EMCS because he was so bloody big - not a thing I or anyone else could have done about that!

Any position that allows the abdomen to drop forward is helpful for optimal fetal positioning. Do t worry about left lateral, just avoid lying flat on your back.
Do t know any midwives who do external manipulation, so wouldn't rely on that

Thanks for your replies. I'm not concerned about baby shifting from head down to transverse as in being panicked, just wondered at what point the baby can move into a position and not shift out of it again.