Transverse lie at 35+5

[NCPuffin]

I've just had a growth scan, which showed the baby is transverse (after being head down for weeks). I will have another appointment some time next week and if the baby is still transverse at that point I will be admitted to hospital due to the risk of cord prolapse. Just wondering if anyone has any experience of this. Did your baby turn by itself? Did the doctors attempt to turn it and was this successful? Does hospital admission mean bedrest? Any tips on how I can get the baby to move head down again? It's all rather taken me by surprise, I was expecting to be discussing the pros and cons of induction as the baby is large, this is a bit of a curve ball!

Have a look at the spinning babies website. It may work and it may not.

I do. My baby was unstable lie and had been transverse or oblique the majority of my pregnancy. (I'd had lots of growth scans and she was head down on one.) I was admitted at 38 weeks as a precaution. I wasn't on bed rest and passed the time going for walks around the hospital and spending time off the ward with visitors. I declined an ECV but was offered it and if it had been successful they would have induced me immediately. I had a planned section at 38+6 and other than her needing a bit more tugging than normal to get her out it was fine.

Thanks for sharing! Did they do regular checks on you in hospital? I literally live round the corner so could easily come in daily. It just seems a bit of a waste for me to be admitted if I can walk around etc when I'm there anyway!

Ooh, why did you decline the ECV?

The reason for admission is because if the cord prolapses they have minutes to deliver the baby i.e. a section under a general anaesthetic. They just had a feel of the baby's position every morning, checked my blood pressure etc once a day and the baby's heart beat twice a day. If she had turned whilst I was in they would have induced me.

I declined the ECV because I personally felt that it wasn't worth the potential risks given the 50% success rate. And considering how much she moved I felt it was unlikely to be successful. But I have had a long road including 4 miscarriages before this pregnancy which did influence my decision. If the success rate was more like 80% I might have given it a go.

Crikey, I hadn't realised it was that much of an emergency! Did you have to keep an eye out for signs of a cord prolapse?

I just had to let them know if I had any tightenings or any suggestion that my waters had gone. I was allowed off the ward on my own but not out of the hospital grounds. It was a bit tedious but the time passed eventually and I felt safer being in the hospital then I did at home.

Is this your first baby? It's quite likely to correct itself, but if it stays transverse an ECV isn't usually recommended as what you have is classed as an unstable lie and the likelihood of it turning back again is high. ECVs are for breech presentation, the only difference would be as PP said where the ECV is done and then you're induced straight away. Usually if your baby will turn cephalic then the contractions will keep it heading in the right direction.

With regards to being admitted obviously take their advice, but if your baby is transverse with the back down then cord prolapse is much less likely than if it's transverse with the back at the top so you may want to take that into account.

My baby was head down up until the 34 week appointment when it was transverse. Like you, I had a bit of a worry, but they were very relaxed she said they would probably turn by themselves by the 36 week appointment, which they did. I think it’s only after 36 weeks that they start any course of action, but my appointment was at 36+6 so I was worrying all that week.

Spent a lot of time on my hands and knees between the 2 appointments!

Yes, first baby. Does that make a difference in terms of the likelihood of it turning by itsel Not sure if it's unstable, it was head down for weeks before this (have been having regular growth scans). The registrar mentioned ECV as an option, but we didn't discuss it in further detail, as the baby has a good week left to turn round. The baby's head is currently by my right hip and its bum is below my ribcage on the left. The spine is up unfortunately. I am pretty sure it turned yesterday, as its bum was sticking out awkwardly (I think because the baby had dislodged its head from my pelvis?) when I woke up, but not anymore later on.

Cross post! Not loving the idea of hands and knees but might give it a go! Intend to sit on my birthing ball a lot, as I think that helps as you're Upright, Forward and Open.

Transverse lie at term is more unusual with a first baby. It's more common with subsequent babies as everything's been stretched before so doesn't have the same tone. If it stays transverse then with a first baby the people looking after you should also make sure they've ruled out any reasons they can look for that's causing it, such as your uterus being an unusual shape. From your description it sounds more like an oblique lie than transverse though.

I've just googled oblique lie and that does seem to describe it better. My scan notes say transverse though. Wouldn't an unusual uterus shape have been noticed by now? I had my first scan at 8 weeks (private) and have had at least 5 since then.

Hi, I had to stay in hospital for a week before my second baby was born. I went in at 38 weeks for a check as movements felt odd and they said my baby had an unstable lie and was transverse. I had a C-section already booked so had to stay in hospital for the week until they could get her out on the original C-section date. I was told if I went into labor or waters broke they'd have less than 30 min to get her out. I spent the week in and around the hospital grounds and had lots of lovely visitors to keep me company. I also watched a lot of Netflix! It seems extreme to stay in but once I knew the risks I didn't want to be anywhere else. They checked on me and the baby twice a day but otherwise I was free to do as I pleased. How that helps a bit. Hope baby turns for you x

The first poster mentioned spinning babies website-definitely have a look. At first glance it appears you have to pay for video info but it’s all there for free. Lots you can do in terms of simple exercises to maximise room for your baby to get into the right position.

Both my babies were transverse and turned just before I was induced at nearly 42 weeks.
I’m long bodied so they must have had a lot of space!

This was me 5.5 years ago. I've had a lot of abdominal surgery, and midwives were struggling to diagnose DD's lie due to scarring; I was sent for a scan at 36 weeks, which revealed she was transverse. I did have ECV (at about 37 weeks) which was initially successful, but DD turned back. I was admitted at 37+5, and had a planned c-section at 39+1, with a tedious 10 days in between - I was in hospital, but allowed anywhere on the grounds. Incidentally, the 50% success rate for ECV is for breech babies; my hospital didn't know the rate for transverse ones.

Once in hospital, DD's position was checked by hand twice a day; she managed every possible position (including head down), though transverse was her preferred option. I was initially told that if she turned herself (and went head down) I could go home to wait for labour naturally. However once it became clear how unstable she was, I was told she'd have to be head down for 48 hours before they'd consider her stable; she never achieved that.

I was also told that a transverse lie is very rare for a first baby, and they couldn't see why; DD was a normal shape, I wasn't carrying excess fluid and my uterus was normal. However I suspect that I carry scarring from previous abdominal surgery, and I've had bits taken out so I suspect that my internal organs probably aren't in quite their normal places anyway. We just have the one child, though the possibility of having another transverse baby wasn't what put me off - my c-section recovery was good (if not much fun) as the c-section itself had been done slowly and cautiously, which I'm sure helped.

Hope that's reassuring - any more questions, feel free to ask!

My first was transverse and back to front all the way through. I had an emergency C-section at 38 weeks because they were losing the heartbeat, which turned out to be because she had the cord around her neck twice, and apparently when they went in they found she had put her head down only that morning. Attempts had been made to turn her previously but she wasn't having any of it.

I'm now 17 weeks with number two, who is also sideways and back to front - but I have since discovered that this is quite normal with a mother who is hypermobile. At a scan on Monday they were trying very hard to turn her around to be able to get a clear view of the spine and all the other bits due to various concerns. My husband was watching the screen and said they managed to flip her a couple of times but she went straight back to position before they could get their shot. They got there eventually but it was some pretty rough treatment that had me farting through it .

Sheepy that's really interesting what you say about having had abdominal surgery! I had my gallbladder out 10 years ago. I had open surgery because it was so infected and stuck together due to the GP fucking up big time and not diagnosing me for ages. I have a large diagonal scar (6in pre-pregnancy) on my tummy, running in the same direction the baby is lying in now if that makes sense. No one has commented on it and it hasn't caused any trouble, but your comment has me wondering if it might mean it's harder for my uterus to stretch that way. Baby was oblique in the same way at 25 weeks. Might mention it next week!

Lily no dignity in pregnancy is there?😅 If it's any consolation, I wet myself whilst being sick in the middle of teaching year 7...

Hi OP, my baby was breech from at least 32 weeks to 36wks and I was all stressed about it, I did spinning babies and everything else that sounded reasonable to me, and found last week that she had turned head down. What I feel was most helpful was moxibustion, a Chinese medical method which has quite good success in good clinical trials. I had one session with a Chinese medical doctor who showed us how to burn moxa (a herb) at my small toes, an acupuncture point. Sounds random but apparently it's to do with the polarity of the body. Every time we did it I felt her move a lot and didn't notice 'the' big movement but felt that's when things happened.

Although like others have discussed, you're not breech and if it is to do with uterus shape or whatever then there could be a mechanical reason she can't move and there's little to be done about that.

Hope all goes smoothly for you.

I was admitted around that gestation with my son and kept in for 4 days. I tried all the spinning babies stuff, including head down off the hospital bed- they weren't thrilled 😁 to find me thus on evening ward rounds.

In the end I had an ECV, and after 2 goes he was turned by a Dr. Patient (we laughed). I stayed 24 hours to check the bugger didn't turn back. He was then born at 42 weeks... he's very healthy 4 year old and an massive twat at times - but I think unrelated to the turning. Good luck!

Momzilla Are you sure it's unrelated to the turning?😅 After all, he did play up before he had even been born

Personally I blame running whilst pregnant including 3 days before he was born for him always needing to move. Kid is like a whirlwind...

So... I did the forward leaning inversion (see pic) from the spinning babies website. The cat immediately pounced on me and I almost collapsed in a heap in front of the sofa😅 It made hospital admission seem rather appealing! Don't think it was designed for ladies with a high BMI!