Transverse lie at 33 weeks

[Jossiejump]

I'm 33 weeks, 4 days pg with baby no 3 (also had 3 m/cs). Baby is transverse, keeps flipping from side to side but that is all. MW made me an appt at hospital for Thursday to discuss care plan. My health authority do turn babies, but at the moment the way it is changing sides it will probably turn back. Has anybody got experience of this to advise me, I know it has been mentioned about being admitted to hospital early to be close to help and also an early C section may be needed (MW was good and did not push this).

I had a transverse baby, but as it was only picked up after my waters broke, I had a c-section. He was two weeks early, and a bit squished (but lovely!) Hope it all goes well with you.

Thankyou Nooka

No real advice for you Jossie but I am 28 weeks and I am sure that my LO is transverse 80% of the time (judging from where most movement is and where the bum/head lump is - just to the left of my belly button) so quite interested to see what others have to say.

At 33 weeks I understand there is still plenty of room for baby to turn (if it wants to!) and the fact it is flipping from side to side means there is still time.

I think they usually try and turn babies at around 37 weeks as then they are less likely to turn back. How do you feel about a possible early c-section?

Beckle-Part of me really doesn't want a C-section as have 2 x DS to look after and I live a car journey away from any civilisation, but the other part of me (after all we've gone through with the m/cs and problems in this pg) wishes they would say "Right this is when it is going to happen" just so I knew!

I know just what you mean Jossie and that is exactly how I feel about it too! Part of me hopes baby turns while the other part is thinking "you just stay where you are"!

Hi Jossie, I'm 34 weeks today and mine's been transverse for weeks, but it's moved into the right position a couple of times now. I think there's still plenty of time for it to get in the right position, but got the midwife on Tuesday so will ask her about it then.

A colleague of mine has just had a baby that refused to turn, and had to be admitted to hospital for a few days, and then had a scheduled c-section. Sorry, don't mean to worry you....

Jossie, there is still very possibility you baby will turn.

ds was transverse, then he was breech for quite a while and then he turned himself at about 38 weeks!

Jossie -- I understand your worries, since I am 35 weeks now and LO is also not optimally positioned. He flipped into transverse several times during the last weeks, but is now LOA most of the time. There is something called optimal foetal positioning, where you try and encourgage a good position for the baby by doing certain exercises (crawling on all fours, swimming etc). Maybe you can find a midwife how knows a little about this? On the other side I agree with the other posters, that 33 weeks is very early to be concerned about positioning. You have several weeks before the final position will be established.

Jossie, if you goofle OFP you will find many webpages on the optimal foetal positioning.

Thankyou all for your help-I did try OFP with DS1 & 2 but they remained back to back, maybe I've got odd shape insides!!
Will try OFP again and hope for success

JJ, not much advice to offer about what you can do now but I just wanted to tell you that my ds was transverse on a couple of occasions when I was pg but it was literally for a few mins and he would flip back again.

When I went into labour and started pushing, he went back up and laid transverse again
But with a bit of OFP he flipped round again and came out face up.

Hi - I just posted this on the Due Nov thread. I'm 33 weeks too, and baby is lying in all kinds of positions. I'm also 5'11 and my mum says we were all exactly the same when she carried us. We settled head down, but not until 38 weeks. She thinks it was due to the fact that we are tall and there is more room for baby to move around. Hence, baby does not get restricted as soon as it would in smaller people, and doesn't rush to get into position. Are you tall too?

my baby was transverse lie at 36 weeks and was head down and 2 5ths engaged at 37 weeks so things can change quickly. dont worry

Bunnybaby-I'm a shortie!! But DH says it is because it's my third baby and everything is loose and floppy-he really knows how to make a pregnant woman feel good!! (He's either brave or foolish!)

Jossie - my baby was transverse at 32 weeks - was told not to worry and now cephalic at 37 (I'm also short). It's very rare for a baby to still be transverse at term (less than 1% I think - much rarer than breech)and even if it does stay there they're much more amenable to external cephalic version (i.e. turning by a consultant) than breeches. However, if you have any feeling that you may be going into labour / waters are breaking when it is still transverse, you need to go to a hospital immediately as there's a risk the cord can prolapse.

Hi Jossiejump

Left side sleeping, cowboy style sitting (turn chair round), leaning forward over birthing ball, and making sure hips higher than knees whenever seated (e.g. in car) - altho try and avoid conventional seated position as much as poss. (See 'useful tips' section at end of page on the link below).

Gentle turning techniques to try are chiropractic treatment (find a practitioner experienced in pregnancy) and also acupuncture. Both very gentle and very effective.

Chriopractic from a skilled practitioner who is also experienced in cranial treatment will help sort you out structurally to ensure there is the right space for your baby to settle in the optimum position. Getting structure or any restrictions sorted are important as these can be reasons why a baby is transverse, breech, or spine to spine etc. Like losts of other MNers have siad, your baby still has a few weeks to sit still yet! Or if not going to settle in head down optimum pos it might be that you can help get the space right and that'll do the trick.

I can't rate chiropractic highly enough. Treatment throughout pregnancy is ideal as this usually means you can avoid any malpresentation altogether but it's also still worthwhile and very good to go and have treatment at late stage as is good to try for getting baby to turn and get comfy in the right spot. Good for both of you and in the long run can aid labour and aid your baby's wellbeing.

Here's a link to a website that will give you some info about how gentle the approach and how beneficial it is.

This is the pregnancy page.
(Also read the 'articles' as very informative)

www.barnes-chiropractic.co.uk/pregnancy.html

And lots of baby info on baby page too xx

Best of luck

Sara x

Jossiejump - both DD and DS were transverse lies and were unstable. The medical staff didn't realise that this was the case with either until a little later in my pregnancy. Both babies were absolutely fine. They were also both born by c-section. The explanation was that I have fibroids that made it difficult for them to get into the correct position.

If the baby remains in a transverse and/or unstable lie (and it may not, of course), you will have to have a c-section and they will almost certainly want to monitor you in hospital for a week or so beforehand. This is because, if you went into labour spontaneously, there is a risk of a prolapsed umbilical cord, with pressure on the cord cutting off the baby's oxygen supply. I hope I am remembering the terminology correctly, but it's the risk to the oxygen supply that I remember most clearly. This will not be a time for angsting about having a c-section. It's the safest option.

I do hope all goes well. My two were both whopping and healthy.