Back to back

[star15]

I just had an appointment with MW and on checking my bump she thinks the baby is back to back, and recommended I go on my hands and knees for half and hour every day to try and get the baby to move round, has anyone else had this and did it work?

I am currently 38 weeks and wasn't panicking about labour but I am now since I have heard back to back isn't the best position for giving birth.

hi star - i just posted about back to back on the due any day thread - sorry i'm just copying what i said here (I'm 40 + 4 today)

"my baby is very much back to back (feet and limbs everywhere), as was my first.

You can check out spinning babies website for techniques to help your baby turn. Or it may be that OP is just the way your baby is meant to be.

I found this article reassuring.

midwifethinking.com/2010/08/13/in-celebration-of-the-op-baby/

I did end up with epidural with DD (had early urge to push mentioned in that article) episiotomy and ventouse - but established labour was only 6 hours! And I was only in hospital 1 night and had very speedy recovery.

Remember a perfectly positioned baby can turn OP in labour, and an OP baby can turn "right way round". "

I think midwives have a dilemma about whether to talk too much about back to back - because you may or may not be able to do anything about it, and knowing about it could cause undue worry/stress (when its quite likely your baby will turn during birth).

My DD wasn't back to back at any point during pg but turned during labour. I was told to go on my hands and knees to try and turn her around but didn't really work as it was too late. So I would DEFINATELY take your MW's advice and get on your hands and knees!!!!

Thanks for the link I'll take a look at it, I'll be on my hands and knees tonight and hopefully baby will turn.

Gosh... that was interesting reading! DD1 was btb and excruciatingly painful labour until I had an epidural. I only had the epidural because I had a massive urge to push and was told not to as I was only 6cm. Ended up keillands forceps with episiotomy. Neither of us had any problems recovering from the birth though and now she's a beautiful 5 year old! Good luck.

Ha Woodifer, I was just coming on here to post that article!

zombies it's good isn't it?

suzie did you follow the link to the article about early urge to push?

She seems to be saying it should be ok to push if your body is telling you to? But when I raised the concept with my mid wife she thought it would cause cervix to swell.

I was pushing from about 4/5cm with DD. then was stuck at 5 a short while (because of pushing against cervix? or Because of anxiety at being told not to push?). Diamorphine didn't stop me pushing. Epidural did. Then dilated really quickly to 10. Was that cos I stopped pushing? Or stress relief of no more pain anxiety? If I hadn't had epidural would I have stayed stuck?? It makes me slightly unsure when/if to go for epidural this time. And whether to decline internal examinations.

I went through a stage where I posted it on every bak to back thread as I found it so useful with DS's birth in 2009. Really explained everything so well!

With both children I had the early urge to push, with DD I fought it for an hour which was excruciating, but she flew out back to back once I stopped resisting.

With DS I had another long slow irregular dilation to 6cm, where I got the urge to push again. This time it was so painful to resist that I started pushing even though the midwives were telling me not to (6cm about ten minutes before). When I pushed the pain completely disappeared, it just became pressure. DS was born about forty minutes after my last VE. DS was a home birth and my second so I don't know if its just because I was more relaxed, confident or just more spacious , but his birth was lovely (apart from the bit where he turned around literally inches before the exit).

zombies I think you have just given me the confidence to trust my body if I get early pushing urge again :-D

Woodifer (hope those are the right smileys, I am on the ipad and they all look different).

I found I naturally got into odd positions for birth as well without help with DS - with DD they got me on the bed and wouldn't let me off, but I managed to clamber up, kneel and lean against the back of the bed.

With DS I gave birth sitting/lying on the sofa as if I was slouching and watching tv, feet on the floor, but it was the only position I could relax all my muscles in and that felt right. But I had been moving around the floor until the pushing urge made me start to writhe around in pain, I was screaming with it until I tried a tentative push and all the pain disappeared instantly. It was like being ripped apart at the hips and then...nothing with the pushes.

Both labours were long, 22 and 19 hours, irregular contractions, slow dilation. But contractions were quite mild. With DD I was eight cm and had been in labour 17 hours before they decided I should be checked in the hospital.

Tens was brilliant as was hypnobirthy stuff, which I thought was bullshit until I tried it. Relaxing etc seems counter intuitive but it really helped. I'd give birth again tomorrow, I just don't want to do the baby stage again....or the toddler stage!

Yes I did see the early urge to push article too. I could just about tolerate the excruciating back pain with some massage from DH (it was much worse than appendicitis) but couldn't cope with that pain and stop myself from pushing. They definitely told me I'd hurt DD1 if I pushed so gave in and had an epidural. After asking for the epidural I couldn't stop a couple of sneaky pushes. Been feeling guilty ever since so that article makes me feel that I'm not such a bad mum after all!
After DD2's lovely quick birth (it was more uncomfortable than proper pain) I'd be happy to do pregnancy and labour again, just not the baby and toddler stage like Zombies

I had a back to back birth it was at home ( she turned back to back just as i went into labour, so didnt know before hand), so no chance for an epidural. It was all in the back no pain in the front and I didn't get an early urge to push. It was honestly for me, not as painful as I was expecting so I don't think back to back is always more painful and I had a really positive experience.

I gave birth in the birthing pool on my knees draped over the side, the midwife said that was the best position for back to back labour.

I had an unexpected back to back birth. It was a surprise to everyone that he came out back to back, reading through that article makes the labour make sense. I remember a really strong urge to push early on, and ended up ignoring the midwives telling me not to. I couldn't do anything else. And we had irregular contractions from the beginning.

It seems like it should be lesson learned really for the hospital, that they should be looking out for these signs so they can manage the birth appropriately rather than just assuming that the labour will follow a set path.

My labour was 21 hours and very intense from the beginning. I started off in the pool but ended up taking diamorphine to manage the pain. Our labour did end up being instrumental with a fourth degree tear. But be reassured that even if this does happen to you, and it's still an if, you do recover. DS is running around like the toddler loon that he is and I am pretty much back to normal.

Good luck!

My ds4 was b2b and was all the way through pregnancy no one said anything about trying to move him round and the only thing I found harder was pushing him out but I don't know if that was because he was b2b or because he was the biggest baby iv given birth to although not huge 8lb3 but bigger than my others.

It is my due date today and I saw the midwife yesterday. Baby is most definately back to back. I went into a bit of a panic last night but feel a little better this morning. Trying to trust my body to sort everything out but its so hard when you are so big, uncomfortable and fed up of waiting for baby to arrive :(