Right Occiput Posterior

Right Occiput Posterior has the back on the right and hands wiggling in front.Baby is head down and the back is to the side- The right side. This position can be deceptively reassuring. ROP is the most common of the four posterior positions.

The ROP baby has the forehead in the front, lined up with the symphysis pubis and bladder. Little baby hands are likely to wiggle on both sides of the center line (linea nigra) just above the pubic bone area, but below the mother's navel. 

 

 

 

There are some tips the midwife, nurse and doctor can use to tell whether the baby is right occiput posterior or right occiput transverse (lateral). The ROP baby may need a longer time for fetal rotation in labor. 

I found this comment on a forum, the mother is uninformed about right-sided babies.   "Last update was that the midwife thinks baby is occiput *right* but I don't think the right/left is too big of a deal. At least the midwife thinks baby is no longer posterior."

The right sided baby is posterior if the forehead favors the front, even if the baby is looking diagonally, between the symphysis pubis and the left hip.

A midwife may not feel the clues or details to tell if the baby is ROP or ROT or ROA. Even an ultrasound technician can ignore certain clues. The easiest clue for pregnant women to feel is whether the baby has limb movements on both sides of her abdomen, right and left. If the hands and knees are on either side of her navel (below and beside it, usually), its a good bet the baby is posterior.

 

How to tell if the baby is ROP or ROT and does it really matter?

 

The first baby coming from the mother's right more often has his or her back extended to match the right obliquity of the uterus. Extension is the biggest challenge of any posterior baby who has that posture.

The midwife will feel that the head is narrow and may think it is the nape of the neck.

The difference is that the baby won't play with the hands behind his or her back. So if the head feels narrow and their are hands present you can be confident that the baby is facing forward. The head may remain high in a first time mother. If the baby had been breech recently before flipping head down, this is a common position to "land" in. Heart tones are heard far to the right and with a little difficulty, hearing them, then loosing them, then hearing them again.

 

 

The ROT baby's head will feel broader. The hands, if felt at all, will only be on the left of center. Heart tones are heard on the right side.

The ROA baby's hands can not be felt at all. The back is broad and obvious and the heart tones can be heard with a simple fetoscope over a wide area. 

 

 

 

 

The Right Occiput Posterior Baby in Labor

Example A:  Baby has not engaged when labor starts

The first baby will use strong contractions to rotate to the Right Occiput Transverse, occasionally taking a day or night of strong contractions. Then there is often a resting period. Then the first time mother's labor will  start up again and attempt to move the baby to the left occiput transverse position. Strong contractions will be necessary and suddenly the baby will be left occiput transverse. A second lull or resting time is likely. The mother can sleep with a little encouragement. Labor may have taken a day or two to this point and the mother is not further dilated than 3-4 cm typically, and could be less. It doesn't matter, once the baby is rotated and tucked, the head will come on the cervix and labor will progress as expected.

Next time labor starts up the labor pattern will be just like in the books, because now she has a LOT baby. The baby's head can now tuck and let engagement happen. Labor begins again gradually, increasing in strength and the mother finds this bout of contractions much more manageable and predictable, not suddenly long and strong like before.

Do the routine;  Rebozo sifting, forward-leaning inversion, standing sacral release, pelvic floor release and move freely in active birth practices.

 

Example B: Baby is engaged or "dropped" when labor starts

Labor strength will  pick up fairly quickly but dilation may be slow. This will depend on head flexion and how the mother's pelvic floor is and how her pelvic outlet is. 

Balance the pelvic floor in early labor so that later, when the baby comes down on it it will be symmetrical and we can avoid an asynclitism (tipped head) or we can make room for an asynclitism if we have one.

With a pelvis that is longer front to back (anthropoid), or with a round pelvis (gynecoid) and a small or average baby we expect labor to proceed well.

If the outlet is small or the mother's tailbone is positioned far inward hiding deep in her glut muscles there will be a need for some intense work to move the baby down to finish dilation and for pushing. In this case, body work including  myofascial release and Cransiosacral releases can open the outlet, as well as maternal positioning.

Also, do the routine:  Rebozo sifting, forward-leaning inversion, standing sacral release, pelvic floor release and move freely in active birth practices.

 

More on laboring with any ROP baby

The ROP baby is the classic posterior baby in the literature comparing "long arc rotation" with "short arc rotation>" 

In long arc rotation the ROP baby rotates over to an anterior presentation and emerges as an OA baby (when people can finally see the baby they may never have known the baby was OP unless they paid attention before or during labor before the long arc rotation occurred. A few of these babies get stuck in a transverse arrest before rotating all the way to anterior. Where the rotation happens varies and so then does the length and events of the labor accordingly.

In short arc rotation the ROP baby rotates a little ways (45 degrees) to direct OP for birth. Half of these babies can be born with out surgery.

Whether the ROP baby has a hard time rotating and descending through the pelvis has to do with the usual things: balance in the mother's soft tissues, symmetry in the pelvic floor, pelvic size and shape, and how well the baby's head is tucked... oh yes, and whether the mother labors actively, upright when she isn't resting and free to move and eat in labor.

 


Story

Blythe's Blissful Birth Story of her third baby, which I palpated and painted the night before! She has a fast labor, even though her baby started out ROP. Her earlier labors were fast, her pelvis roomy, so this fetal position wasn't the challenge that it can sometimes be for a first-time mother. See her baby painted on her belly and how fun this is as she lowers into the birthing tub. See her with her baby after the birth!  http://onbeingblythe.squarespace.com/journal/2011/7/23/born-at-home-peppers-birth-story.html
 

  

 

 

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Helping baby into an ideal position in pregnancy isn't the only goal at Spinning Babies. Easier labor progress is the reward for taking the time to prepare everyday in pregnancy. Here's what I mean,

Sandra Larca posted, "I wasn't able to turn my posterior baby but all the effort using techniques from Spinning Babies helped to keep my labor progressing and I didn't have back labor at all despite her position. You guys were a life saver!"