Longedt Time a Baby Can Be in the Dropped Position During Pregnancy

Why is the fetal position important?
What are the different fetal positions during pregnancy?
What are the risk factors for having a hard fetal position?
Can the fetal position be corrected?
How is belly mapping done?
What are the other ways to know the position of the babe?

Why Is The Fetal Position Important?

The fetal position tin can determine the ease or difficulty of your childbirth. Your infant may assume one of various possible baby birth positions by the end of the gestation period, which is besides a deciding factor for a vaginal birth or cesarean delivery.

If your baby has shifted to a caput-first position by the cease of the term, they can descend through your vaginal opening without difficulty during commitment. However, if your baby doesn't movement to a feasible position, your OB/GYN may decide on an alternative commitment method.

This postal service discusses the various fetal positions your infant may nowadays in when yous're in labor and its bear upon on the delivery process.

Different Fetal Positions During Pregnancy

Earlier the due date, your baby will drop downwards into the pelvis. Hither are the different positions your baby can get into when you are preparing for your commitment.

1. Occiput anterior (OA)

This is the ideal position your baby could attain towards commitment. The baby moves into the pelvis with her head-down, facing the mother's back with chin tucked to the chest. Her caput points towards the birthing culvert. This is called the longitudinal prevarication.

Termed the vertex presentation of the fetus, this position is generally attained between 32nd and 36th weeks of gestation (1). The infant will stay in the aforementioned position for the rest of your pregnancy. This position is considered ideal for the baby to come out of the birthing canal with head first.

There are 2 more presentations in the OA position:

i. Face and forehead presentation: (two) The baby will remain in the OA position, merely her face and not head will be pointing towards the birth canal. This happens when her chin is pointing outward instead of beingness tucked against the breast. The doctor tin place this position during a vaginal examination, by feeling the bony jaws and the rima oris of the baby.

In forehead presentation, the infant volition be in the OA position but her forehead will be pointing towards the birth canal. During the vaginal examination, the doctor tin feel the anterior fontanelle and the orbits of the forehead.

ii. Compound presentation: The baby is positioned anteriorly with one of her artillery lying forth her head pointing towards the birthing canal. The artillery may slide back during the delivering process, simply when they don't, then extra care needs to be taken while taking out the infant safely.

[ Read: What Is Occiput Posterior? ]

2. Occiput posterior (OP)

The baby moves into the pelvis with her head-down but facing the front/abdomen of the mother. This position is besides known as 'sunny-side up' or 'face' position. OA and OP are called the cephalic or head-get-go positions.

Generally, effectually 10-34% of babies remain in OP position during the first stage of labor and and so plough to the optimal (OA) position. Merely, some remain in this position, which tin can make labor difficult, resulting in emergency C-section.

This fetal position can prolong your labor, lead to instrumental interventions, severe perineal tears or a C-section (3).

3. Occiput transverse (OT)

The baby lies sideways in the womb. If she fails to turn to the optimal position at the fourth dimension of delivery, so a C-section becomes necessary. During the vaginal examination, the medico can sometimes experience the shoulder, or the arm, elbow or hand prolapsing into the vagina. This position as well poses the hazard of umbilical cord prolapse, in which the umbilical cord comes out before the infant. About 1% of babies in the transverse position can have a string prolapse (four), which is a medical emergency and needs an immediate C-section.

In some cases, assisted delivery is carried out past rotating the baby manually or using forceps or vacuum to turn the baby into the ideal position.

4. Breech position

The baby is positioned with her caput up and buttocks pointing towards the birthing canal. This occurs in one out of 25 full-term deliveries. In that location are iii unlike variations of breech presentations:

i. Consummate breech: The buttocks point towards the birthing canal with the legs folded at the knees and the feet positioned near the buttocks. This position increases the risk of umbilical cord loop in a vaginal delivery. Moreover, the cord could pass through the neck before the head, causing injuries to the baby.

ii. Frank breech: The buttocks bespeak towards the birth canal with the legs stretching straight up and anxiety reaching the caput. This can as well lead to umbilical cord loop, causing injuries to the infant while attempting a vaginal birth.

iii. Petty breech: The babe'due south buttocks are downwards, with one of her feet pointing towards the birthing canal. This can cause an umbilical cord prolapse that could even cutting off the blood supply and oxygen to the fetus.

5. Umbilical cord presentation

During this, the umbilical string comes out get-go through the birthing canal (v). Even so, there is a difference between umbilical cord presentation and prolapse based on the condition of the uterine membrane.

Whereas a cord presentation happens when the umbilical cord enters the birthing canal before the water breaks, a cord prolapse occurs subsequently the h2o breaks, which calls for an firsthand C-section.

The positions are influenced by the health condition of the mother and the baby.

[ Read: Stages Of Childbirth ]

What Are The Risk Factors For Having A Difficult Fetal Position?

The below factors increment the take a chance of fetal malpositions (6):

Maternal factors:

In loftier parity women, who had more than five pregnancies of less than 20 weeks gestations (7), the intestinal wall musculus tone fails to hold the babe in a stable longitudinal prevarication.

Placenta previa, where the placenta blocks the cervical opening.

Placenta contracture occurs when the stretchy tissues are replaced by not-stretchy tissues.

Pelvic tumors such equally an ovarian cyst or a tumor in the uterus.

Uterine malformations similar uterus cordiformis, subseptus, or septus and uterus unicornis, bicornis, and didelphys can cause space restriction within the uterus.

Distended urinary bladder.

Fetal factors:

Polyhydramnios – excess amniotic fluid in the nascence sac — helps the fetus motility freely in the womb, making it unstable and resulting in its malpositioning.

Oligohydramnios – the deficiency of amniotic fluid — restricts the fetal movements.

If the female parent is conveying multiple fetuses, one or both the fetuses might alter their position frequently, leading to malpositioning.

Fetal abnormalities, such as hydrocephaly (tumors of the fetal neck or sacrum), fetal abdominal distention equally with hydrops fetalis, and fetal neuromuscular dysfunction, tin can prevent the fetus from engaging properly into the maternal pelvis.

These factors increase the likelihood of having an unsuitable fetal position simply yous don't accept to lose hope.

[ Read: Contractions During Pregnancy ]

Can The Fetal Position Be Corrected?

Yep. There are two means to right the position of your babe. They are described below:

one. External cephalic version (ECV)

This medical procedure is undertaken after 37 weeks of pregnancy. The technique involves rotating the baby past applying pressure on the abdomen. The medico places 1 hand over the head of the baby and the other mitt on the buttocks to turn her to the optimal position.

During this procedure, the heartbeat of the baby will exist closely monitored using an ultrasound. In the case of any discrepancy in the fetal heart rate, the procedure will exist stopped immediately.

This process may or may not work. Studies show that about 1 in ane,000 women goes into labor after an ECV while about 1 in 200 women need an firsthand C-department (8).

ECV is not recommended in the case of:

Multiple pregnancies
Unusual shape of uterus
Recent vaginal bleeding
Low levels of amniotic fluid
Placenta previa
Complicated pregnancy

2. During labor

Most babies turn to an ideal birthing position with the onset of labor. If it doesn't happen, if the infant doesn't engage during labor, or if the shape of the pelvis is not favorable for vaginal birthing, then a Cesarean-section is performed.

[ Read: How To Ease False Labor ]

How Is Belly Mapping Washed?

Belly mapping is a method for you to track the position of your baby. You can practice this from the 8th month of pregnancy. Still, brand sure to talk to your md before doing information technology.

Things you lot crave: A marker (the ink stain should be piece of cake to remove)

How to exercise:

Lie down, draw a circle on your tummy and split information technology into iv parts.

Experience the movements of the baby. Endeavour to feel the infant's head past slightly putting pressure level on your belly. The point where you feel a ball similar feature, mark information technology equally the head on your belly.

Use a fetoscope to hear your baby's heartbeat and mark the point. You volition feel a long hard mass, which indicates the back of your baby. The center is the function of this long mass.

Next, endeavour to find the bum, which feels similar a hard part. Mark this point on your belly.

Now feel the kicks and wiggles as they requite you a clue about the location of the infant'south legs and knees. Marking information technology as well.

Bring together all the points you have marked to detect the position of your infant.

Abdomen mapping is complicated, and you may or may not be able to track the baby's movements accurately. Therefore, you may order information technology with a few other means.

Other Means To Know The Position Of The Baby

Here are a few indications:

[ Read: Exercises For Normal Delivery ]

Indications	Likely fetal position
Feel the babe's kicks nether the ribs with your umbilicus popping out	Anterior position with caput-downward
Feel the kicks at the front of the tummy and the stomach seems flattened	Posterior position
Push the lump on your bump and experience the whole babe moving	The lump is the bottom of the baby. Decide the position based on the location of that lump
Lump on one side that moves by itself without any change in the positioning of the residuum of the body	The lump is the head of your baby. You can determine the position based on the position of the lump
Feel the hiccups at the bottom of the belly	Caput-downwardly position
Feel the hiccups above the abdomen button	Head-up position
Extreme pain nether the ribs	Head-up position
Heartbeats felt to a higher place bellybutton	Head-upwards
Heartbeats felt beneath belly button	Head-downwardly

These are just an assumption and a manner to get connected with the baby. They exercise non replace your medico's advice.

[ Read: Baby Crowning ]

The fetal positioning is important during pregnancy and labor, as it decides how your labor will continue. Though the babies move into various positions, at the time of labor, they might move into the optimal position. If they don't, then C-department is the best option for delivery.

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