What is a malpositioned baby?
Babies and mothers are designed for birth. Nature intends for babies to be in a vertical position, curled a bit, to fit through the mother's pelvis in the smallest tube-shape the baby can get into during labor. When a baby isn't in this "vertical, tube-shape" the fit can be difficult or impossible. That's when I'd say the baby is in a "malposition."
Malpositioned babies are those that are breech, posterior, transverse or oblique babies. Click on the link of the postion you want to learn about, or keep reading for a general explanation of malpositioning.
Breech Posterior Transverse Oblique
Some breech and posteriors are arguably in fine positions for their mother's pelvi. These babies are often flexed, and also in mothers with roomy pelvi. They will have no trouble being born if no one interferes by pulling, epidurals, restriction to back-lying positions for mothers, etc.). But other breech and posteriors show if they are malpositioned by not being able to come spontaneously. Sometimes a posterior presentation is called a slight malposition.
Sometimes the gorgeous design for fetal positioning is tampered with by cultural habits (slouching on the couch), poor nutrition (low iodine), or even the mistaken habits of the health practitioner or other helper (over use of epidural, esp. before 5 cm dilation).
Cultural habits include:
- Slouching on the couch
- Crossing our legs
- Driving, which causes an imbalance between the right and left leg and hips
- Too little walking and exercise or over exercise, and so on
Poor nutrition in these areas might increase
- Low iodine (thyroid function)
- Low Vitamin D (hormonal health)
- Calcium Magnesium imbalance (muscle tone)
- Lifeless foods (function!)
Labor management habits that encourage malposition
- Restricting mothers to bed by monitoring, medications, or epidural
- Epidurals which may soften the pelvic floor (and occasionally this is good but not for a first time mother before 5 cm)
- Ignoring signs (because they aren't recognized!) of posterior presentation or waiting to see if baby rotates without moving the mother
The main thing to know is that its not the mother or the baby's fault. We all have to live in our culture, in a body in gravity and things happen. But we can do simple things and get wonderful results - most of the time!!
What to do?
Mother's may have instinctual movements in labor that correct a malposition but we wouldn't see it if she were in bed being continually monitored or in bed on an epidural which blocks her hormonal communication with her labor. I'm not entirely against epidurals, they are ok when a cesarean is the next step, or to relieve a woman who is truly suffering or can't "let go." But they have consequences that may be potentially long lasting on the hormonal (read brain function) of babies and mothers and relationship building, esp. when Pitocin (syntocin) is added to the mother's body and so the baby's. This needs research, but when Dr. Marshall Klaus is warning the world against these two interventions, we need to listen. They can be the answer to get the baby born, but they are not without effects.
It takes a skilled practitioner to help navigate labor with a slight malposition, if labor is long or borderline difficult. The midwife or doctor must be attentive without scaring and stressing the mother. This is a rare skill, learned by using both sides of the brain, and is one I wish I could boast, but is very much an aspiration.
Find a doula, midwife, doctor, or labor and delivery nurse with training in maternal movement in labor, with labor progress techniques, and who lets you lead your own birth dance.
In your pregnancy, go for balancing your pelvis and whole body to avoid stalls or delays due to long labors. See The 3 Principles in Pregnancy and do what it lists for the 1st Principle, Balance. And here are the pregnancy activities to do first.
