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Childbirth

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

Optimal Foetal Positioning vs. the most swollen comedy feet ever. What to do?

7 replies

mangosTrickyrice · 18/10/2009 15:34

Am 38 weeks pg. Last labour was back-to-back (although didn't know that till she was born, after days of contractions and every intervention going bar a section). So have read up on OFP, on hands and knees for a bit each day (each day I remember anyway), trying to keep knees lower than hips and lean forward rather than back, etc etc etc...

But in the last few weeks, my feet have been getting more and more swollen to the point where it's really painful in the afternoons/ evenings and all I want to do is lie on my back with my feet up. (And the right foot is much worse than the left, is that normal??)

So what do I do? Does lying down with my feet up undo all the OFP stuff? My right foot might actually burst if I don't...

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Murtette · 18/10/2009 16:47

I've had the same dilemma. I think I've come up with a nighttime solution which is to sleep on my left hand side (good for OFP) with my feet on a stack of cushions (to reduce the swelling).
I'll be reading the posts from other MNers with interest as no doubt there are other things we can be doing to solve this problem...although given I'm now 40 + 10, I'm hoping not to suffer from this for much longer!

mangosTrickyrice · 18/10/2009 17:14

I'm trying to sleep on my left side, but need to keep changing through the night - is your right side worse than the left as well?

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Murtette · 18/10/2009 20:09

Yes. Something to do with the right foot being further away from the heart than the left perhaps?
I struggle to spend the entire night on my LHS too.

alana39 · 18/10/2009 21:29

My right foot is massive too. Has been since about 24 weeks. Have no advice as I'm in the same boat but will watch with interest.

Cies · 18/10/2009 21:31

No useful advice but my right foot also swells up more than my left. Didn't realise it was so common.

alana39 · 19/10/2009 11:07

Looks like the only solution is to get these babies out then!

mangosTrickyrice · 19/10/2009 15:19

Well, at least we know we're not complete freaks with our asymmetric feet - or that we have some equally freaky company...

Managed to get the swelling down yesterday evening by being a bit more careful with the cushions - I think my knee's been slightly higher than my ankle until now.

Murtette - 40 + 11 now, hope baby comes soon for you - good luck!

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