38 +5 and not engaged

[Mishy1234]

Had my 38 wk appt today and the baby's head is still free and not yet engaged. Is this normal for a second pregnancy or indicative of a poor position.

The baby is head down with the back to my left. so should I be spending more time draped over my birth ball to get them to move into a better position?

I'm sure I also read somewhere that second babies often don't engage until labour starts. Is this correct?

I'm hoping for a homebirth this time, so keen to do all I can to get the baby into the most favourable position.

Yes, it is fairly common for baby's head not to engage until labour in second and subsequent births.

Two possible causes of a non engaged baby are
1- head is bigger than your pelvis.
2- baby is wrapped in the cord and that is literally tying baby back.

Or it could just be that baby hasn't engaged YET. You could ask for a scan to see where the cord is. I don't know if they'll give it to you. But, it is certainly possible to see the cord on a scan.

Or you could wait another week or so and maybe baby will engage.

Neither of my babies engaged before labour. My second labour was 2.5 hours so I wouldn't worry too much and is quite normal for a second pregnancy.