Saturday, June 30, 2007

Midwife Visit

This latest midwife visit could perhaps be the last before we welcome our little one into the world. Not because things are particularly progressing but because things have been going so well that they don't feel that I need to be seen unless I go beyond the due date (Please God no) and they need to come and sweep the membranes to get things irritated and set off labour.

So I had the usual once over. Blood pressure all good. I told her of the events of last week and how there had been no changes over the last week. She examined my belly and said the reason why this has most likely been the case is that the baby is lying Occiput Posterior (OP) or sunny side up!

Here's a little info from the ever informative Internet

The 'occiput anterior' position is ideal for birth - it means that the baby is lined up so as to fit through your pelvis as easily as possible. The baby is head down, facing your back, with his back on one side of the front of your tummy. In this position, the baby's head is easily 'flexed', ie his chin tucked onto his chest, so that the smallest part of his head will be applied to the cervix first.



The 'occiput posterior' (OP) position is not so good. This means the baby is still head down, but facing your tummy. Mothers of babies in the 'posterior' position are more likely to have long and painful labours as the baby usually has to turn all the way round to facing the back in order to be born. He cannot fully flex his head in this position.



If your baby is in the occiput posterior position in late pregnancy, he may not engage (descend into the pelvis) before labour starts. The fact that they don't engage means that it's harder for labour to start naturally, so they are more likely to be 'late'.

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So that's where we're at. If the baby had been in the right position it is likely that labour would have kicked off by now because the cervix is fully effaced and ready to dilate.

So what to do. Well the midwife said that although the baby is quite low there is still enough room for bubs to get jiggy with it and turn into the right position. She suspects that once that position is found then the increase in pressure will set things off.

She has given me exercises to do for as long as I can as many times a day as I can tolerate. I've got to get down on my hands and knees and sway my hips or sit straddling a chair leaning forward so as to open up the pelvis and give the baby room to turn. Or I can kneel and lean against the Swiss Ball. No more couch as the slumped/slouched position just encourages the baby to chill back facing my tummy.

I have done as she said all yesterday afternoon/ evening and to some degree things do feel different when I'm in those positions but whether it has/will turn the baby I'm not sure. The only way I will probably be able to tell is an increase of pressure on my pelvis.

I have read that really this process can take a few days and the exercises may not be enough for baby to turn. Spontaneous rotation to the anterior position occurs in 90% of cases so there is hope it's just that labour may take a while to get started.

We already feel like we're overdue!

So I've been doing some stern talking to our child saying that it really would help everyone concerned if he/she made the move into the right position. Prayer is also figuring in here quite a bit. We know that God has the perfect hour ordained for the arrival of our child but we can still do all that we can to make that arrival a little smoother. I for one do not wish to endure a drawn out painful labour.

So wait with us. Perhaps we will be waiting until the 5th after all.

1 Comments:

Blogger shorty said...

Awww good luck with all that waiting, and there's loads of people back at home praying for all three of you too!! My acupuncturist swears by using acupuncture to bring on the ol' labour, you could try that???
(Bearing in mind that you only have two more days until my bet is dead...)
Love and kisses!! Team Short xo

11:37 PM  

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