Comparing OA and OP labor patterns

There are differences seen in the labor pattern of an anterior baby and that of the posterior baby. These signals may help you determine whether a baby is in the occipital posterior position. These signals may also show up in labors where the baby has to get symmetrical for labor to progress, whether or not the long labor is caused by a posterior position.

 

 

These labor patterns describe labors for women with round or triangular pelvises.

Women with an anthropoid or oblong pelvis is longer front to back than side to side and can have a rather quick and straight forward posterior labor (24-32 hours, no extreme back pain, maybe no back pain, and no start and stop pattern, etc.

Enjoy the photos of this second time mother who shares her posterior labor. She did yoga every week and still had a posterior baby. Yet her added flexibility allowed her labor to progress steadily and helped baby to rotate in labor to an anterior position.


                           Anterior (ideal)            Posterior (sunny side up)

In latent labor:               Gradual onset                                 Start and stop pattern common

                                        Short contr.s that get longer         Contr.s can start very long
                                                                                                And get shorter later

                                        Mild contr.s get stronger               Can seem like transition in latent labor and get milder later

 

 

 

 

 

During Contractions

Raina does an abdominal lift and tuck through each of ten contractions.

Raina enjoys the break inbetween contractions!

This simple technique helped Raina's labor progress. She was happy to have her work done and her baby in her arms!

See more of Raina's birth pictures

in Real Stories

 

 


In early labor:               Manageable if not fearful                 Often no back labor yet

                                      Occasionally a 3-4 cm lull                  Strong contractions but dilation not more than 3-4 cm.
                                                                                                  for quite a while, hours often.

                                Time to 4 cm not clinically im-             Time to 4 cm can be 24 hrs
                portant, meaning healthy women                          if rotation needed to enter brim

                can eat; labor at home now, etc

 

 

 


In active labor:        Primip rotation typical at 5 cm            Rotation if roomy midpelvis

                                 5cm is an emotional time                      5 cm can be peak of pain if rotation happens then, trans can seem milder,

                                8 cm peak of labor pain                         Lull at 6 and  lip at 9,

                                Symmetrical contr pattern                     Contr.s double peak, cluster

 

 





Pushing:                  Lull of 5-30 min.s common                    Lull of one or several hours before urge to push at 10 cm        

                               Lull possible when flexion is slight         Contractions can be spaced far in long labor, mother could rest between 

                              and molding necessary
        
                               OK to curl back and tuck chin                Straight back, arched helps baby fit and descend better than a curled back!

 

 



A posterior labor is different than an anterior labor
The position of a "sunny-side up baby," one facing the front, is called occiput posterior. A posterior baby fits less easily than the anterior baby. A posterior baby's head seems bigger because of the angle it’s in when in the pelvis.

When a baby starts labor with his or her back on mother’s right, or along the mother's spine, labor may be longer, and sometimes may even need a doctor's intervention to finish the birth with Pitocin IV, a vacuum and/or by cesarean.

Other posterior babies come out with little fuss, like the labor portrayed here. A few babies don't even need to rotate to come out. They might even come out in just a few hours of labor. We can’t panic just because the baby is posterior. Most posterior babies turn around, rotate, to the anterior during labor.


You can do activities before and during labor that help the baby rotate sooner or more easily. These activities and techniques may even reduce the need for medical interventions. Not all, but most women will find benefits from applying this information. Remember to start with the 3-Principles.

 


 

 

Donate


Spinning Babies is facing an immediate "migration," new software installation for the behind the scenes portion of the website at cost of $680. This massive update is crucial for security and functionality. Alternatively, I could take the 100+ pages down and restart the site with new software at a lower cost, but much less content. Would you be ok with a 10 page site carrying only an outline of information? That's about how many other websites treat their content.

 Are you a woman or a loved one of a woman helped to avoid a cesarean by Spinning Babies Website? Has Spinning Babies helped you serve birthing families with techniques for labor progress? Do you have a little time to help Spinning Babies in return? If the migration costs $680 and 100 of my loyal users gave $68 dollars each, we'd get it covered. 

Did you know that Spinning Babies was hacked a few summers ago and had to go off line while I found hosting with security? Security is a real issue on the internet. 

Several years ago a grandmother donated $150 after a visit to Spinning Babies Website helped her daughter avoid a cesarean. Once a woman sent $50 because exercises on Spinning Babies stopped her hip pain and she was able to sleep well for the first time during the end of her pregnancy. Today, just a few dollars a year come through donations. Ever since the booklet went on sale donations dropped off. Could it be that people think sales income is significant to carry the website? I wish it were so, and do hope to boost the store soon.

Right now Spinning Babies is in need and so I'm asking those of you among my 4000 daily visitors to give something back. "Wait, Seriously?" you ask, "4000 people a day and only a few small donations a year!?" Yep, that's true.  If 100 of you, 1/40th of one day's visitors, gave $6.80, or about 5 British Pounds (or, 68 people giving 10.00 each) we could get this job done and secure the website. 

ICould it be that Spinning Babies has become such a part of the childbirth education scene that its taken for granted? Spinning Babies doesn't get grants. Spinning Babies isn't a nonprofit (But my husband will be surprised to hear that.)  I love giving this information as a gift to the birthing world, I'm rather delighted to help a woman understand she doesn't have to accept a cesarean before labor just because her baby is posterior! Or, help a woman flip her breechling head down. But with the cost of web maintainance increasing, I have to rethink how I might support my work.  

If you aren't able to give such a chunk of change, can you send your sympathy for $5? Or, are you a loyal Spinning Babies user who gives their undying support for $100? 

What ever you can send now will be seen as a huge message of support to keep Spinning Babies safe and online. Protecting one woman's birth just takes 4 minutes.

How are we doing? First day, 6 donations: $80 was given, Second day,  2 donations: $20.   Third day 3 donations: $70.  We can do it! Can we do it in a week??

 


 

Main Menu

Bring it home

No Spin?

 

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!"