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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Original poster

Midwife squeezed my baby's head

20 replies

sarah00001 · 13/04/2015 21:09

Hi, I had my antenatal appointment with my midwife today at 28+6 weeks. She lay be down on the bed and had a good poke and prod of my womb to see what position the baby was in. Using her thumb and forefinger, she squeezed my baby's head really hard, to detect how she was lying in the womb. I've been worried ever since that by squeezing so hard she may have hurt or even damaged my baby's head. I have no idea why she had to feel the baby's head at this stage of the pregnancy

I had an antenatal class this evening and mentioned it to the midwife who did the session and she said she was surprised that she felt to see what position the baby was in this early. Generally my midwife seems to be quite competent, but this has really bothered me. Do you think this is a cause for concern? Thank you, Sarah.

OP posts:
eurochick · 13/04/2015 21:10

I found midwives were surprisingly heavy handed when feeling the baby. I wasn't expecting it but they were pretty much all the same.

PotteringAlong · 13/04/2015 21:12

No, I don't. Your baby is massively protected in there. She was just having a good bodge to see. They need to be firmer than you expect sometimes.

AngelBlue12 · 13/04/2015 21:13

They have to squeeze fairly hard as they are going through us! Don't worry about it, your baby will be fine :)

Kundry · 13/04/2015 21:13

Doctors and midwives press really hard when they are feeling your abdomen. Hard to the point of being painful. Tis normal for them to do it.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 13/04/2015 21:15

Yup. They have to squeeze hard to distinguish between head and arse...

gamerchick · 13/04/2015 21:15

I wouldn't worry, the midwife has to get through the stomach fat, uterus and then bag of waters. You would have felt it more than your baby did. So what was really hard to you would have been a bit of pressure for your baby.

MrsBungle · 13/04/2015 21:16

Yes my midwife always checked the babies were head down. I think they have to press quite hard to get through the skin etc and feel about. I can't see how it would be harmful to the baby.

PomeralLights · 13/04/2015 21:17

I would have thought it would be pretty difficult to hurt baby by squeezing your belly considering the layers of skin, fat, uterus muscle in the way? What felt like a hard squeeze to you probably didn't even register for the baby. How did you know it was the head she was poking? Did she tell you?

I think the midwives were checking my baby's position by the 28wk appointment but not sure, sorry

GuiltyAsAGirlCanBe · 13/04/2015 21:17

It is incredibly hard to feel the position of the baby, and unfortunately you have to press quite firmly to feel anything. It is standard practice.

WhatAHooHa · 13/04/2015 21:20

I wouldn't worry, I had to have a lot of extra, very detailed, scans when I was pregnant. The consultant would push so hard with the scanner it reduced me to tears several times. And I gave birth with no more than 2 paracetamol so I'm not soft, by any means. Those babies are pretty tough, and very well protected in there!

PenguinsandtheTantrumofDoom · 13/04/2015 21:20

Yes, quite sore for you sometimes, but not the baby.

seaoflove · 13/04/2015 21:26

That's normal. It doesn't feel too pleasant, but it won't harm the baby.

Original poster
sarah00001 · 14/04/2015 02:29

Thanks everyone for your reassurances. I just feel a bit angry about all the poking and prodding because I didn't think it was necessary to check baby's position at the 28 week appointment. It would have been better if she'd explained why she was doing it. Maybe it's my hormones making me feel this way, but I was expecting just a tape measure on my belly and instead I was made to feel like my body was a piece of dough being kneaded without my consent. Sorry, I'm just very irritable at the moment!

OP posts:
Moreisnnogedag · 14/04/2015 02:32

Pretty standard. I think some midwives start checking position at this stage. With ds1 they didn't but this time round they did. I remember being quite irritated by it too - who cares what position baby is in? It's doing somersaults in there on a daily basis and has weeks to turn!

applecore0317 · 14/04/2015 04:17

I had a consultant appointment the same week as my 28 week midwife appointment and both checked the position of the baby

StrawberryMojito · 14/04/2015 04:23

If you were to go into early labour, it would be useful for them to know position of baby I suppose.

PenguinsandtheTantrumofDoom · 14/04/2015 07:14

They start checking position now so that they can keep an eye on things like unstable transverse lie don't they?

It was poor communication, but perfectly normal practice. Smile

OddBoots · 14/04/2015 07:22

Knowing the position makes it easier and quicker to find the heartbeat which in turn reduces the chance of a few minutes of panic when the midwife is searching around for it. She should have explained what she was doing though.

Later in pregnancy the midwife might not just feel (squeeze) the head but also move or bounce it about a little to see if it is 'ballottable' - free floating not fixed into the pelvis.

PomeralLights · 14/04/2015 08:55

Ah yes oldboots that's the reason - the midwife was always saying that they try and minimise time spent looking for a heartbeat so ppl don't panic. Once it took her ages to find a hb with me and she was so keen to reassure me and even apologised!

Number3cometome · 14/04/2015 09:21

My midwife has been feeling position of the baby since 24 weeks - she uses it to locate HB and mark on notes.

Perfectly normal for them to have a good prod about.

When preg with DC1 I developed a lump under my armpit, I was referred to see a specialist and whilst there he had 6 or 7 students with him who were due to go on to Obs next, they all had a good feel of baby!

Perfectly safe, and they won't hurt baby, baby is well protected.

It's important for them to note the position in case you are still transverse later on.

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