Posterior babies

Hi,

A m/w just told me i need to encourage baby to move as its posterior at the moment.

Can anyone who had a posterior birth tell me their experiences and the risk of having a c/s with a posterior baby?

Thanks :)

Hi Kristi,my second baby was posterior and other than having a back labour - lots of pain in my lower back I honestly didn't find it any different to my other births. I think if you spend as much time not on your back during labour and try to get into postions like on all fours you might get some relief.

You still have pletny of time for bub to turn around though. Try not to slouch too mush when sitting down. Sit so that your knee's are higher than your hips. Have a look on the spinning babies website for some idea's/ You can also have some acupuncture done to try and encourage bub into a more favourable position. I really don't think though that just because bub is posterior you would need a c section. Bub stil comes out the same way, just facing more upwards. Also with my son as he was being born they rotated him around gently. Nothing that I felt or noticed at the time. He was born in a birthing centre so I had no drugs either.

I have heard that posterior babies make for a longer labour but I didn't find this to be the case for me. My labour was only just over and hour so if it were a longer one I hate to think how quick it would have been then :)

Good luck hun. I'm sure you will do a great job :)

Jenna was stuck in a posterior position, and nothing got her to move during labour. I had a horrible back labour, which meant I was confined to one space - I just couldnt' move, and then I opted for the epi, so what that meant was I was then confined to a bed and gravity couldn't help her move down.

Best thing to do is prevent it now. I believe all fours, or on the ground with your arms over a fit ball? Maybe get a fitball out and sit on it instead of the chairs? And I thought it was knees lower than hips....... Am I wrong?

Jenna ended up being a forceps rotation birth. So they tried to rotate her by hand, that didn't work, so they took me into theatre, rotated her using the forceps, then pulled her out with a different set. I was prepped for a c/s just in case, but I told them I didn't want one, and to do what they had to to get her out through my fanny!
Spinning babies has lots of suggestions too.

Hi,

Thanks heaps for telling me your experiences. I am clueless on posterior babies cos ive never had one before.

The m/w didnt tell me much, just said to encourage baby to move and i said why? does it make for a more difficult labour and she said yes. She asked me if i had had all my other babies vaginally and i said yes and she said "right, you need to get this baby to move" and that was it. So i wasnt sure if that meant risk of c/s or what?

Judging from the two very different experience you both had, i do need to get baby to move if i can.

Unfortunately i wont be able to move during labour as i am being induced and also a high risk pregnancy so i will be strapped to the ctg monitor the whole time.

I will check out the website you both mentioned, where can i find the link to that?

Thanks again :)

Kristi, we can't put a link on here as such, but if you google spinning babies I'm sure you will come up with it ;)

If you sit/lean on a chair the wrong way around (facing the back of it), with a pillow between the chair back and your belly, that will help bubs turn...good luck :)

Have a look at the thread at the top of this forum:
https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...ead.php?t=6838

Its all about posterior & breech babies & different websites to help you find positions. I often sit on chair the wrong way around & I am positive that has helped this time around.

Hmm Kristi, seems my hint was too close, even though I'm sure i've seen it written linke that elsewhere. If you want the site and can't find it email me for it :D

Agg so it is alright to have the link to that site. If you use the link Christy has left the link to the spinning babies site is there :)

Trish I knew it was on the site somewhere, I'm off to let Sarah know ;)

Thanks Christy :)

Thanks heaps ladies :D

I really appreciate it :D:D

Oopsies!!! Sorry Trish.

That's ok Sarah. Sorry for being cheeky ;) well maybe alittle, anyway.

Kristi, Nina was posterior during labour and I too had to be strapped to a CTG as I was induced with the drip. The best way for me was to stand over the bed (that way they could still strap the CTG to me) and with each contraction I would bend my legs up and down. (if that makes sense?) The back pain was awful, nothing like I'd ever imagined!!! I did end up with an epidural, however that was 7 hours of no pain relief and I just gave in too easy. In the end, during delivery, she turned.
I tried for weeks to move her, but she just wouldn't budge ... too stubborn!
Good luck with it all

My second was posterior & compared to my first the labour was just as bad. My first was induced.
This time round I was also told at 33 weeks that she was posterior & I just stopped slouching back on the couch & that seems to have done the trick because the last 2 visits I had she was in a good birthing position.
My second got a little stuck on the way out but I got him out on my own none the less. Just took a bit longer.

I think the risk of C/S is because when they are coming out posterior, they can't tuck their heads in so that the smallest part is coming out first. So they can get a bit stuck. Maybe Kelly can come in here & explain it better.
Glenn did get stuck on his way out, but we managed to get him out with out any need for help (forceps etc). We didn't know that he was posterior till he was crowning. But When I described my labour to midwife friend she picked it striaght off with out being told that he was. Wish I had her for my labour, maybe we could have had it all done a bit quicker if the midwife knew what she was dealing with.

My son was posterior through the entire birth and never turned. Unfortunately no-one seemed to be aware of this (despite me having very bad back pain during contractions and no strong urge to push) until I had pushed for over 2 hours and gotten no where! Anyway, he was born vaginally with the help of an episiotomy and ventouse, however they did warn me that it may not work and I might need an emerg c-section. In my situation he basically got 'stuck' because his head did not mould at all due to being the wrong way and a lack of pressure on the right spots to make it do this. I must admit I was pretty peeved about the whole situation, and would have expected someone to pick up that he was posterior. I would have liked the opportunity to try different positions to get him to move as it did result in a very long, painful labour with a lot of damage to my perenium due to ineffective pushing. Anyway, didn't write this to scare you lol! Hope it didn't, but just wanted to say I'd do everything to get bubs to move because I do believe it will make for an easier labour. HTH

Marcia,
I know what your saying! I was lucky that I didn't get any damage while pushing Glenn out. But when you said about the head not moulding. I tmade me remember how perfectly shaped Glenn's head was at birth. Even the midwife commented on how I managed to push out such a head with not even a graze.

Interestingly enough, quite a few babies born by C/S for being stuck end up being posterior bubs, or malpositioned. This sort of thing seems to be happening more and more with positioning problems and many believe this is a lifestyle thing, with humans being more sedentary than they once were. Yes do look up spinning babies and there is an article on the main site, optimal fetal positioning which has some exercises you can do so that you can help bub move into the most optimal position possible.

Yes it can be more painful not only being in labour but backache as well, so many women do have pain relief - but it is possible to birth naturally and vaginally with a posterior bub. There are some positions more ideal in labour for posterior bubs (I have had posterior babies in labour with clients and sometimes even the midwives dont know what to suggest or help so do your research or get a doula). Prevention is better than cure if you can get onto it early :) If nothing is working you can try acupuncture perhaps. Walking up stairs and walking in general all help move your pelvis and therefore bub.

Seems like I was one of the lucky ones. A fast labour, totally unassisted, no forceps, episiotomy or even grazing. Brandon was born without any problems, his apgars were all perfect. He was 3.7kgs so not a small bub either. Sure I had backache labour but no different to my others.

Not all posterior labours are bad and scary, if I wasn't told at the time - even though I knew he was posterior, I would not have noticed the difference.

Don't go into the birth with only negative thoughts of how bad it could be, it is a birth like any other and all births are different.

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- but it is possible to birth naturally and vaginally with a posterior bub.

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I did it :) Drug free & all!

And even if it seems bad (liek mine did with a forceps birht and an epidural) still perspective can help you realise that healthy baby and healthy mum count for alot :)

Hi,

All this information is so helpful, thankyou :).

None of you are scaring me at all, this is my 5th baby. I just want to go into this labour knowing all the things that could happen and what to expect as i have never had a posterior baby before.

With my question of increased risk of c/s, i was just wondering because of the way the m/w approached me about it, she asked if i had all my other babies vaginally and when i said said was very adamant that i had to get this baby to move, so i took this reaction as there being a possible risk there.

But like i said, i just want to prepare myself and be educated on posterior babies and births so that i know all the possibilities.

Hi,

While i was typing 3 more of you posted LOL so im back again.

Just to comment on what Kelly said about it being lifestyle as people become more sedentary. I think i have figured out why my baby is posterior when all the others have been in a good birthing position. Since 25 wks i have had bad reflux and heartburn for which i am now on Ranitidine for. The med works but doesnt stop the reflux and i have to sleep sitting up basically, propped up by about 6 pillows. I have tried to lay down with half this amount and every time i wake up within half an hour choking on stomach acid. So the only positions i have in every day life is sitting, sitting and sitting basically. It hurts to try and lay on my side being propped up so high. In my other pregnancies i was able to lay on my side to sleep all the time and i think this is the difference.

With the sitting, try sitting forward where you can, sit on a chair backwards or lean into a beanbag etc - so you are upright but forward leaning. Hips above the knees! :)

Hi,

Do you get really awful lower back and pelvis pain with a posterior baby during late pregnancy too?

Last week i had lower back period pain like cramps that were quite painful and today i have had a bit of pain in my lower back and pelvis, down low. Its so painful it almost brings me to tears.

Kristi I had lower back pain to the point that sometimes I couldn't walk. I'm not sure if it associated with bubs being posterior or not.

I should have added that I did also manage just with gas through labour, and Hudson was monitored constantly through the labour with no signs of fetal distress and born with a great Apgar (9 I think), and the perfect shaped head like FionaJill said lol! So it didn't cause any probs with his health, just unpleasant for me. But as others have said, a healthy bubs is the main thing, so it ain't all bad LOL!

And I did have pretty bad lower back pain late in pregnancy, although don't know if this was because he was posterior.

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I think the risk of C/S is because when they are coming out posterior, they can't tuck their heads in so that the smallest part is coming out first. So they can get a bit stuck. Maybe Kelly can come in here & explain it better.

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My son was born just last week - he was posterior as well and unfortunately I did end up with a c/s. However he also had his head flexed back instead of chin tucked forward - this was the main reason for the c/s. If he'd just been posterior he probably would have righted himself during labour and even if he didn't he could have still been born that way. Many ladies do it, it's just a bit harder work.
But I would look into doing exercises and maybe acupuncture to encourage him, it's probably best to avoid starting labour that way if you can.
Good luck :)