what are the symptoms of a posterior labour?

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and this is my first question. I am 33 weeks pregnant and found out my baby is posterior.

Yesterday aftenoon at around 3pm i started getting very strong back pain and no matter what i did it would not go away DF tried massaging it and i have had a hot water bottle on it over night.

I managed to get to sleep only to wake up still with the same amount of pain and am sitting here once again with the hot water bottle.

I have also been getting cramps like i'm going to get the runs but haven's actually had the runs and when i get these cramps i feel nauseated.

Can anyone tell me what they experienced with a posterior labour?

Hi PM

I had a posterior labour and I experienced backache throughout it. The pain was quite bad (on par with contractions) but a wheat pack helped immensely. I didn't get that let up in pain between contractions that they tell you about, and leaning forward on my hands and knees was the only thing that relieved the pain. Apparently you are also unlikely to get the urge to push, which I admit I didn't get.

Although I managed to birth my son without pain relief (had a bit of gas but I was already fully dilated by then so it did nothing) and without forceps/ventouse, I will be doing everything I can to make sure this bub is not posterior, as it is really not the best way to "enjoy" your labout experience. In my case, having a posterior bub is not the end of the world but there are ideas here on bellybelly on how to have your bub turn the other way.

My baby decided to enter the world at 39 weeks. I had not felt any particular pain prior to going into labour. I didn't have any braxton hicks either.

In the morning I woke up to little kicks... thought they may be BH. But as the morning progressed.. the kicks turned into labour... and within hours it turned into excrutiating pain. We drove to the hospital, and I was sure that I would have the baby in the car. When I got to the hospital, I was only 3cm dialated...and I thought OMG... I have to suffer this pain for another 7cm!!!!

Doctor recommended an epidural, and I can't tell you the relief that it bought. I had 11 hours of labour - which ended in an emergency ceasar.

I don't know if my baby was always posterior... or was turned that way when I went into labour. My obstet never mentioned it prior to going into labour.

Hopefully you have quite a few weeks for your baby to turn around and get into the right position. I think the doctors can also turn the baby manually during labour (not sure on that though - as they didn't try it with me).

As Aurora says... check out some of the threads on BB to get some tips.

Good luck, and congratulations.

Could it be that baby moved? My baby was posterior @ 32 weeks. About 3 Fridays ago i had really bad back pain. Was on the lounge room floor in all four possi rocking to and fro to lighten the pain in my back (DH thought i was in labour, but no, just comfy possi for me). Anyway, when i went to clinic on Monday, bubs had moved.....no longer posterior......just a thought it might have happened to you too...????

At 33 weeks, it is quite possible that the baby is starting to move, possibly even starting to engage.
Nina arrived at 37 weeks/2 days and she was posterior. I'd had a check up with my GP 2 days beforehand, and she wasn't posterior at the time.
Like RoryRory said, the back ache is on par with contractions. So you're getting it from both back and front! I caved in and had an epidural, and it bought enormous relief. An hour after the epidural went in Nina was born. It was 9 hours in total.

I had a posterior labour with DS. Basically there was back pain which was relieved (slightly!) with a hot damp nappy - Dh was heating them in the microwave, he'd apply, the contraction would end, and he'd reheat on a cycle. A shower helped too.

The other classic element of a posterior labour that I had the misfortune to experience is that it goes on for hours, then just when you think you're getting somewhere, the contractions slow down. I started cramping at 3am on the Saturday, laboured all day, then just when we were thinking of going to the hospital in the evening everything slowed down, starting up again on the Sunday morning (I still had the contractions, just further apart - just far enough apart to stop me getting a good night's sleep!). Sunday it was much the same but more intense, this time we went to the hospital about 6pm to see what was happening and as I was 7cm they let me stay, I got in their big tub and the contractions died away again.

About 4 in the morning the midwife broke my waters and there was meconium so I had to go and be monitored - after that I got an epidural and some saline (as I was severely dehydrated) and had syntocinin - got to 8cm and no further, 3pm they said I had to have an emergency caesar and that's how DS was born - he was a whopper though (4.77kg) which probably didn't help much!

Hey proud_mama

at 33 weeks there is still plently of time for your baby to assume an anterior, head down position.

as all the others have posted...a posterior labor is felt mostly in the back, and labors do tend to be longer simply as the baby has to rotate further around before moving into and out of the pelvic cavity. Things that really help in a posterior labor...is firstly not to worry about have a posterior baby...they are this way sometimes no matter what we do.

It is better to labor with waters intact with a posterior baby as this keeps the head cushioned in the pelvis, allowing the baby to rotate to an anterior position easier with the contractions, as the head is not completely engaged. If your waters are broken artificially this causes the baby to engage in the posterior postion, and therefore takes longer, with more effort on your behalf, and more oxygen required for your uterus and your baby...as you tire the interpretation of the sensations of labor become more painful and oxytocin and endorphin levels can begin to fall...which may lead to labor stopping altogether and resulting in medical intervention for 'failure to progress'

Counter pressure on the sacrum works well also to relieve the back ache, as well as certain positions, such as an all 4's or a supported squatt. The bath is also fab as it gives you buoyancy and pain relief

If a mother with a posterior baby is able to move according to her comfort, and left to labor without fear, and surrounded by empowered and nurturing care givers and support team, she can successfully birth

not many women do birth their baby in the true posterior position...

hope this helps

xx yogababy

Wow Natalie, I had no idea that posterior births were so complicated. So that's why Flynn took so long to push out! I swear, if my OB said "one more push" one more time I was going to hit him. I think I actually told him to shut up at one stage LOL!