Are you wondering which position your baby should be in close to your due date? The head-down position is the one that usually means an easier and shorter labour. Your baby’s head is down with the back of her head just towards the front of your tummy and this is known as the anterior position. By the end of your pregnancy your baby is most likely to have found this position. In this position your little one will be snugly fitting into the curve of your pelvis and once you are in labour your baby curls her back over and tucks her chin into her chest. If your baby gets into the anterior position then your labour
and birth should progress smoothly and here are the reasons why:
- Even pressure is applied to the neck of your uterus by the top of your baby’s rounded head during your contractions and this enables your cervix to widen producing the hormones required for labour
- When you are pushing during labour your baby moves through your pelvis at an angle so that the smallest part of her head comes through first. If you imagine putting a roll-top jumper on without tucking in your chin you can visualise how this works
- Once at the bottom of your pelvis, your baby will slightly turn her head so that the widest part of her head is in the widest part of your pelvis and then the back of her head can slide underneath your pubic bone. As your baby is born her face will sweep over the area between your vagina and perineum
If your baby is in the posterior position this means she has her head down but the back of her head is against your spine. Approximately one in ten babies is in this position when labour begins. Most babies in the back-to-back position are born vaginally but it can make your labour trickier and especially if your baby’s chin is pushed up and not tucked in. If this is the case you may have experience the following:
- Your waters break early on in labour
- Backache due to your baby’s skull pushing against your spine
- Long and slow labour
- An urge to start pushing before your cervix has fully dilated
Once your baby is at the bottom of your pelvis she will need to turn nearly 180 degrees to then be in the best position for birth. This can be a lengthy process or your little one may not want to turn at all! When this happens babies are born with their faces looking up towards the ceiling and forceps or ventouse may be required to aid delivery.
Babies can be in the posterior position for various reasons. It could be because of the shape of your pelvis. If you have an anthropoid pelvis (oval and narrow) or android pelvis (wide and heart-shaped) you are more likely to have a posterior positioned baby than if you have a round-shaped pelvis. With anthropoid and android pelvises babies are also more likely to be in the back-to-back position at the widest part of the pelvis because the babies’ heads can rest easily in this position. Another reason for the posterior position can be your lifestyle. Certainly the posterior position is more common in the Western world than in developing countries where women do more manual work in fields and squat to cook and eat. Western women who work at computers for lengthy periods and sit in armchairs to relax will have pelvises that tilt backwards and this encourages their babies to move into the position where the heaviest part of their bodies; spine and back of their heads, swing around to the back resulting with them laying on their mothers’ spines. To encourage your baby to move down into your pelvis and get into the anterior position try and do as much upright activity as you can as this will mean your pelvis is tipped forwards more of the time.
By Eirian Hallinan