please come and talk to me if you have had posterior babies!

[mabel1973]

I am 39 weeks pg with DC3. Ds2 was posterior and looking back now, i believe DS1 was as well (although I was never told this), both overdue, long labours, terrible back pain, had to have ARM
I tried to go for a waterbirth with DS2, but after 4 hours in the pool and nothing happening, i was examined and my waters broken, to be told the he was posterior, ended up getting out of the pool and having an epidural ,as I couldn't cope with the pain....V disappointed.
This time round the midwife has told me this one again is posterior, so I am doing all I can to try and get it to turn.
Sitting on birthing ball, hands and knees, I went for reflexology yesterday...but the kicks are stubbornly staying in the same place, all round the front, so I am guessing from that this baby just does not want to turn.
I have gone from willing this baby to come, to dreading the whole experience.
Again I was hoping for a pool birth, but I can see that slipping away.
I am feeling very negative about the whole thing.
Can someone give me advice / encouragement / experiences...anything. I just need to try and get into a positive frame of mind about this.
TIA

My second baby was posterior until I went into labour. I was worried but it was ok because when I went into labour she seemed to turn into the correct position. Stage 1 lasted 10 hours and stage 2, 5 minutes.

try not to worry. DD2 was posterior, and a very hard birth, but the midwives manually turned her and she was born at home in the birthing pool. I was shocked afterwards it was so awful. I've just given birth to ds (four weeks ago), and was terrified of the labour, especially as he was also posterior. But at some point during the labour he turned and his birth was very easy, (still painful!) and he was also born at home in the birthing pool. I spent the whole of the labour on my hands and knees, and gave birth that way too.

My DD was LOP when I went into labour. I stayed as upright as I could for as long as I could, then I lay on my left side and rocked with the contractions. I am convinced this helped to rotate her into the correct position.

Thanks.
I think the mistake i have made in the past, is due to the long labours I have had, is I have got so exhausted that I've ended up almost feeling like giving up and ending up lying on the bed on my back...possibly the worst thing I could've done from what you have both said?
Having said that, if the midwife knew the baby was posterior, you would've though she would have advised me to change position.
I am going to take my birthing ball in with me.
I know later babies often chnage position at the last minute, so i guess if I concentrate on trying to get it to swing round once i do go into labour.
Belgo I am guessing you just had gas and air, and you have encouraged me into thinking maybe I can still do it in the pool this time..

no I didn't have just gas and air, I didn't have anything, the midwives here don't provide any pain relief for home births.

But they did encourage me to keep as active as possible during the labour, and I'm sure going on my hands and knees helped get the babies into the right position.

the water also helped me into a good position for giving birth.

Yes, try not to lie on your back at all and if you possibly can -- get the trace off. Or don't let them put it on, as it could immobilise you.

My experience is first posterior labour leading to CS. Second posterior labour VBAC with only gas and air but it hurt like hell. I had stayed at home as long as possible because I knew it would be a long posterior labour and they would start the clock from when I arrived at hospital. The baby turned during late labour and then it became "easier" ahem. You know what I mean. I had tried to keep as mobile as possible which included avoiding the doctor because they always make you get up on the bed for an exam. Well they always used too.

Third labour, normal lie, but for the first time I managed to say, do you mind awfully taking off the trace and I couldn't believe it when they actually did it. Gave birth on all fours which was less painful.

So I suppose I would say, stay at home as long as possible, stay as mobile as possible, get the belt trace off as quickly as possible and avoid the consultant ob. as much as possible.

Very best luck and be confident.

am I hopelessly out of date? do they even use a belt trace any more?

DD was back to back for weeks. On the day I had her I had a sweep at 11am and spent the next 4 hours on the ball, then onto all fours. By 5pm when the midwives got here she had turned.

We try not to use CTG monitoring any more than necessary. If there are no predisposing risk factors, i.e meconium stained liguor, reduced fetal movements or syntocinon infusion etc then we tend to intermittently listen in to the fetal heart using a sonic aid or pinards.

Oops I meant liquor not liguor

Belgo - wow! I thought G&A was provided for home births....not that I ever found it did much for me!

I don't even know what a trace belt is? So prob not had one on before.

I had no idea about the 'clock watching' aspect of it all once you get into hospital either, until I did the hospital tour this time round and was told that you are not allowed to stay in the pool longer than 6 hours, they expect you dilate and so many cm per hour...etc...etc.
I stayed home for ages with DS2, but had I known it was going to be another 9 hours before I had him, i would've prob stayed at home much longer.
I am also a bit more clued up about the ARM thing this time, as I have had it done with both DS's and looking back, i don't think there was any good reason for it, well I certainly wasn't given one!

Ds1 was posterior - very long induced labour, ended up being delivered by forceps.

Ds2 and dd were not posterior and were born unassisted.

Ds3 turned out to be posterior but no-one realised until he came out back to front! It was a much quicker, easier labour than ds1 had been, the only "problem" was the second stage took a little longer than expected but when he finally came, the midwives saw he was posterior and said "ah that is why he took his time coming". I was unaware that they thought he was being too long. I tried all sorts of positions to get him out: standing, kneeling, crouching, leaning over back of bed etc but he actually came when I was in the supposedly no-no position of half lying on my back, half sitting.

So you never know which position will work for you until you are there doing it, and, I was told, with each subsequent birth, your body gets better at dealing with posterior babies. Ds3 and ds1 were the same weight and yet one just popped out and the other was in distress and needed assistance.

Good luck with your birth.

Also, with ds3, I spent the entire active part of stage one lying in a bath with dh spraying hot water on my stomach during contractions. I can thoroughly recommend hot water as a pain reliever, but I guess reading other posts here, I was not doing myself any favours lying down the whole way through the active stage. Trouble is, when I am in pain, lying down is all I want to do!

my waters didn't break with either dd2 or ds until the very last contraction, there was no need and it may only have increased risk of infection if they had been artificially ruptured.

I guarentee you will not want to spend more then 6 hours in the birthing pool! I'd say two hours max was enough for me.

mabel, I live in Belgium and neither pethidine nor gas & air are used during labour. Only epidurals, which I didn't want.

dd was back to back and my midwife didnt realise! She kept saying to dh that I was frightened to push - there was contrary evidence to this......I was 7or8cm when I went into hospital at 2am-ish and dd was born at 4am her head was right 'there' for hours. Once her head was out she flew out - literally! She had her cord wrapped round her stomach so I think she must have been turning while I was pushing. V v v v painful but I imagine its better without everyone telling you that you aren't pushing hmph. Have to say tho I adored my midwife she never left my side from when we got into hospital.

ds1 was posterior and turned in induced labour.
dd was turning in the late pregnancy weeks I think but ended up right way round and 'shot out' in my bathroom as a surprise entry!

ds1 was posterior and turned in induced labour.
dd was turning in the late pregnancy weeks I think but ended up right way round and 'shot out' in my bathroom as a surprise entry!

I birthed posterior last time, augmented labour (through "failure to progress"). Baby never turned, but they came out after a looooong labour. Just G&A in the transition.

My midwife this time tells me

1. there are things one can do to try to turn a baby but

1. some women's uteruses are just shaped a way that makes the babies and

1. for 2nd or subsequent babies, being posterior is much less of a problem than first time because your body has btdt.

I'd say: FIRM lower back massage, either hot water bottles or packs of frozen peas on your back (I was a cold junkie last time, though the mws said I was weird ). Stay upright as much as possible, or on your left side if you have to lie down but not on your back - jeepers, that must have been agony!!!

Both of mine were posterior Both were very different experiences, with dd being induced and failing to turn. I did manage to give birth without ventouse or forceps, but it was a close run thing after 2 hours of pushing and lots of intervention (epidural and pretty much confined to my back due to all the drips and monitors on me. She came out looking up, and having looked at diagrams of babies who are born this way it's no wonder it took so long!
Ds was a very easy and lovely birth. My attending midwife was an active birth teacher and encouraged me to adopt a standing posture, leaning across the raised hospital bed. Ds turned during labour, which I wasn't conscious of at the time, but after wards the midwife said 'o, didn't you feel it?' and in hindsight I had but not really realised what it was iyswim, so it was a shock to see him come out the right way up, 3.5 hours after first twinge, 8 minutes of pretty effortless pushing and no intervention whatsoever. I had wanted a waterbirth, but she said it was not the best idea with OP babies as you would tend to lean back in the water, whereas the best thing for OP is leaning forward. After dd's birth I was really worried about ds's but it really was amazing. I have been told that as I have now had 2 OP babies it is probably the shape of my pelvis that encourages them to lie that way, but I was immensely reassured by ds's birth, and should I have another OP I would not worry. Good luck

I wasn't told DS was OP until I was in labour. I never felt him turn that way so pretty sure he must have always been like that. My labour was all in my back which is how I always get my period pain. I was actually glad it was like this. It was sort of a numb dull pain. Established labour was only about 2 hours however and out in a few pushes. It only got really painful when they broke my waters but I had held out on G&A until then. It might have been less effective had I given in and had it earlier when they were suggesting it although I wasn't in that much pain.

sorry, haven't time to read all the responses now, so I might be repeating others:

my 2 were both posterior and turned at the last minute before 2nd stage. Had lots of back pain - was far worse in the bath with DD, maybe due to lying on my back?

With DS I was on al fours mostly, but with a huge beanbag under me to support my weight - this was much better for the back pain.

Heat also helped, applied to lower back, either a cloth nappy dipped in bucket of v hot water, or a microwave heat bag.

Best wishes.

Thanks for all your experiences. It has given me some encouragement, and also made me feel not so alone! When I was told that DC3 was also posterior, I felt that that it was just me and I was the wrong shape ( I was a breech baby myself and have alsways had hip problems and wonder whether this has affected how I carry my babies).

mabel and v best wishes

ps astrophe really nice name