Can someone please explain engagement to me please???

[Lazylou]

Have been reading up on the net since my ANC appt on Thursday about engagement. The consultant has written that the baby is 2/5 engaged and the things I am reading seem to contradict each other.

Do I have to be 5/5 before the head is fully engaged, or is it the other way around?

I'm not due until Friday but it is bugging me! TIA

I'm not sure, but I think my Dd was only 3/5th before I went into labour with 2nd baby.

It is to do with the position in the pelvis iirc. I think 5/5 is as low down as you could go and therefore I suppose fully engaged. BUT. It doesn't necessarily matter that much in terms of labour onset. I was engaged for the last few weeks with dd (1st) - variously 3/5 then 4/ then 3/5 blah blah blah and she was born a week later than predicted.

Whereas ds didn't engage at all until labour (bang on 'time') which I believe is more common second time around.

Point is.

Don't worry.

Your baby needn't be engaged now. You may or may not still go into labour on your due date. You'll prob (statistically) go into labour dead soon - like within the next TWO weeks - eek!

Best wishes on your labour and birthing

baby doesn't need to be engaged before labour, and the confusion is because some write it down as 5ths palpable which is measuring what is out of the pelvis and some in 5ths engaged which is measuring what's in the pelvis (by feeling what's out and estimating from that) . i wouldn't worry about it - engaged is sort of good because the head is well down, but it doesn't signify anything about when you'll labour

Also the baby's head bobs up and down all the time in the last few weeks so it doesn't really mean that much.