Turning baby round (spine, not feet)

[motherinferior]

Sprog still spine to mine at nearly 37 weeks. Yes, I know there's no need to panic but I'm panicking, OK? Am I supposed to crouch on all fours wiggling my bottom in the air?

hi, i had an op labour last time and have picked up some useful stuff here on mumsnet to try and avoid it happening again! if you search on "second time" (telling, isn't it?) you will find a lot of useful stuff.

hth and good luck!

"Optimal Foetal Positioning" is what you're after. Basically, get a large infatable ball and spend the remainder of your pregnancy leaned over it. I did it 2nd time round and DS2 came out the right way round. A friend's breech baby also turned at around 37 weeks when she did this (for a few weeks previously I think).

The principle is to make your stomach like a hammock for the baby to lie in. With our "modern lifestyle" we tend to spend a lot of time lounging back which means the "hammock" the baby lies on forms along your spine. Does that make sense?

Probably works better second time round as you are already stretched... DS was breech, sat like the Buddha, legs crossed, looking out, spine to spine, despite having a large inflatable ball that I leaned over for weeks. My midwife gave me a handout on OFP with little pictures, but it boiled down to no more getting comfy on the sofa with my feet up anymore. Apparently second babies can just turn themselves around at will...Midwife also said that I should sleep on my left side for positioning of baby.

Motherinferior - if this is your 2nd labour (I know it's your 2nd baby and I presume you had a vaginal birth the 1st time) - having a back to back or OP labour is NOT such a big deal this time... as your uterus will be much more efficient at turning him/her in labour. It is well known that 2nd time around OP is no big deal...
Still if you don't believe me.... read the OFP stuff. A quick search on the internet and you will find loads !

Thanks everyone. Shall search, and/or attempt to crouch, and/or find inflatable ball and/or stop worrying. Am quite worried enough as it is. It is my second labour, which has its good and, of course, its rampantly awful points!

Nome, hope you don't mind me asking, but did your baby turn in the end, or did you give birth breech. I'm in the same position at the moment 35 weeks and no sign of baby turning. It is my second but everyone says the bump is very neat so I'm not sure that there's much room for moving. (Must have done too many sit ups after ds). I really want to avoid a c-section and will try normal breech delivery if they will let me but would be easier if it turned.
Thanks
PS Motherinferior hope your baby turns round as well

This might help, ways of turning a baby

Not at all KeepingMum. The consultant tried an ECV (external cephalic version) at 37+5, which was basically gripping baby's head and bottom through my tummy and attempting to rotate like hands on a clock. Apparently works better in 2nd pg (because of stretchiness), even so only 40% success rate. Anyway, ds' head stuck at 2 o'clock (head on my left) as he hit my ribs. GMC advice is every breech presentation should have an ECV because if it works then you can have normal labour, if it doesn't then nothing lost really. They like to do it quite late in pg.

With his legs tucked under, not up by his ears, I was told it would be unlikely that there would be enough pressure to open cervix, but a foot could come down and break my waters, plus higher chance of prolapsed cord. I had a planned cs and it went well. I didn't want an emergency cs, which is what I would have had if I had gone into labour.

A friend's baby was also breech (feet by ears) and the ECV failed too - turned out her baby's cord was too short to allow him to turn. Happy outcomes in both our cases though!

Thank you, www - have just been crouching on all fours wiggling bum. I do feel I should be wearing some sort of skimpy Ann Summers outfit, and not vastly pregnant, for this...

Thanks for that image motherinferior

Hi Motherinferior

I found out that my second baby with back-to-back at 36 weeks and did turn it round by the time I went into labour. I crawled on all fours for 20 mins every morning and every evening in front of the tv (I crawled in front of every 10pm episode of 'Big Brother' in 2001 -but it doesn't seem to have had an adverse effect on DD!) and never, ever sat in a chair without using cushions to push my back forwards so that I was tilting forwards at the right angle.

Having heard a few stories about the births of b-to-b babies (you rarely hear the good ones of course) I think it was definately worth the effort.

Thanks Nome, just a bit worried about having a c section and how difficult that might make looking after a new baby and a toddler. My GP was a bit more doubtful about whether to even try the ECV since there is the risk of baby getting distressed or placental abruption which would end in an emergency cs or it being successful but then the baby turning back round again before going into labour!. She thought I should just try for a normal delivery (obviously this could end in emergency cs as well if baby in completely wrong position). I'm glad you and your friend had such good outcomes. I'll just have to keep scrubbing the kitchen floor and hope it decides to turn on its own.

Once the breech was confirmed by scan (how many people prodding your bump did it take?), I was refered straight to consultant. Still saw gp for day to day stuff, but birth plan 'determined' by consultant, so saw the expert in silly baby positions from day one of official breech-ness. poor English, but five month old squirming on lap, thumping keyboard...

I was on a monitor before and after ECV and had to bring my hospital bag with me. Minor contractions which went away after 30 minutes.

Sorry to hijack your thread motherinferior, you clearly said spine!

Hey, don't worry about hijacking, I'm too busy crawling around and looking for a saucy French maid's outfit!

lol motherinferior!

Both my sons were back to back. One was born in that position and the other was flipped using a ventouse while I was pushing (he had tried valiantly to flip him by hand, but it wasn't working). With the first who was born in that position, the delivery hurt my hip, but wasn't anything serious, just a bit painful (ibuprofen took care of it so, really, no biggie). With the second, once he was flipped he popped right out.

Both times I had an epidural, tore and had an episiotomy. Honestly, the stitches afterwards were nothing to complain about (for me). I consider that I had two very good births -- the second better than the first (because of the ventouse). Just so you know that even if the baby doesn't flip, the birth doesn't have to be a horrible experience. Good luck!

My dd was OP, nobody told me, I'm not sure if she was in that position when I went into labour or if she moved during labour. Anyway they didn't tell me and after 22 hours I was taken to theatre for a forceps delivery. I was told after I was back in the delivery room recovering that dd had been in the wrong position, how long they knew I don't know and why they didn't tell me I don't know either (probably because at that point there was nothing they or I could do to rectify the situation), but next time I'll be prepared.

I'm now trying for my second and I will be making sure at every appointment with midwife/dr that I ask what position the baby is in and if it's OP I will be crawling on all fours in an attempt to move it into the right position.

keep crawling around motherinferior and good luck

I've had two OP labours. My first was many years ago before OFP had been thought of. I had an epidural but delivered without the needs for forceps. My 4th baby was also OP. She didn't turn despite my crawling around, but then shifted position constantly while I was in labour. She was born in the normal position and I had just had G&A to help me through.

I found out DS was OP 3 days after he was born when my GP popped round to see us and read my notes saying "Oh, that's the most painful labour!" or something similar!

Motherinferior, I've just posted on the fresh pineapple thread about this, my dd was spine to spine and I ended up with epidural & Ventouse, before the epidural I did find it very hard going with no gentle build up etc just the most awful pain, so this time I was determined to get ds to move round when he settled into same position at about 36/37 weeks. I did loads of walking, probably about 2/3 miles per day, to be honest it was the last thing I felt like doing, I was knackered from looking after a lively 20 month old and when we did go out, she would invariably want to be pushed in the buggy rather than walk especially up the hills! I can't prove it obviously, but I'm pretty sure this is what made ds turn and as I've said on other threads, I ended up with ds in optimum position and a very speedy labour. HTH

In my labour with dd she was in a good position until 8cm dilated, and then she flipped all the way around to OP. The midwife said "I thought this one would be born on my shift but you'll be HOURS now" which I thought was very helpful - not! Anyway half an hour later she flipped back out of the OP position and was born facing normally in the end. So I think even if you are OP going into labour you can be quite efficient at turning them during the course of labour.

Mind you the midwife said "gosh you must have a nice roomy pelvis" which made me feel the width of a three seater sofa, bit depressing

It was discovered while I was in labour that my ds was back to back, although I had had classic signs of this for weeks (when they were looking for the heart beat etc). I was in labour for 32 hours when I finally gave in and had an epidural, and he was born about 4 hours after that - My advice would be if you go in to labour and the baby is still back to back have an epidural as soon as possible - I wish I had!

yes, I had a very nice epidural in place while dd was flipping around like a dolphin

My epidural last time didn't work properly...oh soddit, sounds like crawling can be worth it but may not be, and that the little wotsit will just do what it feels like. Which is, in a way, quite reassuring.