Baby Positions
Read about head-down fetal positions here. Go to the Breech section to read about head-up babies.
The Belly Mapping how-to article may give you clues to your own baby's position.
Will Baby fit?
Head size is less important when it comes to fitting through the pelvis than is the angle of the baby's head. A posterior baby will present a bigger head circumference and can sometimes get stuck in a pelvis that the same baby could have fit through if anterior. See what to do to reduce incorrect diagnosis of CephaloPelvic Disproportion.
Head down is not enough!
Many parents think that as long as the baby is head down in the womb the baby is ready for birth. Head down is only half the story.
It is a big relief to find out the baby is not breech (buttocks coming through the pelvis before the head is born). Especially when so many breech babies are born by cesarean these days. But being head down is only the first step.
For the best chance at a natural birth,
- Baby should have his or her chin tucked.
- For a first time mother, the baby is expected to engage in the pelvic brim (dip into the pelvis a bit) by 38 weeks.
- A second baby or more, may wait above the brim until labor begins (see Open the Brim if baby isn't engaged by active labor).
- And finally, baby's back is to the mother's left (or directly in front) with baby's feet in the right. (Why not on the right or the front on the right side?)
Look at the articles In Pregnancy for tips on what to do when, and why its important.
