41 Weeks Pregnant - when baby is posterior
Weekly pregnancy updates from a childbirth educator, doula and mum to 2 little girls. Come and join me on my journey as I share how I’m feeling, how baby is developing, what I’m doing to prepare, and some favourite resources!
My baby is posterior! What does that mean? Is it a problem? Should I be worried?
Posterior simply means baby has his or her back towards mum’s spine. It is entirely normal during pregnancy, even though a position with their spine towards mum’s belly is considered more ideal approaching birth. This is because an “anterior” baby has less rotation to do during labour, potentially making for a more efficient and less painful labour.
But while baby’s positioning is something to be aware of, it’s not something which should worry you. Around 20% of babies are posterior at the start of labour, and most of them will rotate of their own accord during labour. Some are even born posterior, or “sunny side up”. However, since labour with a posterior baby can be more challenging for mum, we do try and get proactive during pregnancy (and labour if necessary) to adopt positions which will encourage baby to rotate so their spine is against your belly.
More challenging for mum, you say?
Many mums who have experienced labour with a posterior baby, or “back labour” will say that they felt all the contractions in their back, and didn’t get relief from the back pain between contractions. Not getting proper breaks can wear mum down faster, and it’s important to have plenty of tools on hand to support her through this. A TENS machine could be a lifesaver, as it sends vibrations/pulsations through your back and can help distract from the back labour sensations. Labouring in water is a great option. Also, look into sterile water injections, and ask your midwife in advance about administering those if you need them. Plus of course you have all the other labour support tools, such as relaxation tools, breathing, movement, aromatherapy, and so on. Oh, and don’t forget to eat and drink!
So what about encouraging baby to rotate?
One of the best things to do during pregnancy to encourage an optimal position, is to adopt sitting positions where your back is straight or leaning forward, and lying positions on your side or rolled towards your front. Baby’s spine tends to follow gravity, so if you are sprawled out leaning back a lot of the time, it’s natural their back will gravitate towards your back. However, as I know from my experience, this isn’t a foolproof method for avoiding a posterior position!
With my baby being posterior there are a few things I’m doing to encourage rotation.
Spinning Babies® forward leaning inversion, side-lying release, dip the hip and psoas release
The Miles Circuit (I'm using the birth ball for the third step - lots of wide hip circles and figure-8s)
Acupressure BL-60 and SP-6
“Cat-cow” stretches
But most importantly, I’m not stressing about his position
Stress creates tension. If I want him to rotate, I need to be relaxed. I know he has space to move - he’s moving all the time! He was anterior a few days ago, and moved back to posterior. My job is to make sure he has the space to move, hence getting proactive with exercises. His job is to choose the best position for him, based on factors that I may not even be aware of. If he rotates before or during labour, great. If not, there will be reasons.
What symptoms am I feeling?
I’ve been a bit more tired lately. I think my body is starting to say it’s done! I’m doing pretty well though. I’m still getting some of the back pain which has bothered me on and off for months now, plus occasional pubic symphysis pain. But not really anything else. I had pre-labour symptoms for over a week before my previous births, with lower back pain, pressure, general discomfort. I haven’t had any of that this time. I’m hoping that’s due to baby's positioning rather than that it’s just not started yet! It would be nice to think we don’t have that long to go, but at the same time I do want baby to stay where he is till he's ready for the world!
How has baby been developing this week?
Let’s say he’s probably around 51-56cm cm now and weighing 3.7-4.2kg. But really it’s anybody's guess! We’ll find out when he arrives!
What am I doing to prepare?
Physical birth prep this week has been focused on rotation exercises. The Miles Circuit takes a while, so provides plenty of time to listen to relaxation audios and positive birth affirmations! The “nesting” is all done, so around the house I’m just keeping up with laundry, cleaning, etc. so I know that when baby arrives things can slide for a while without any issues!
Resources for posterior position:
And that’s it for this week! 🌿💛
[Image credit: Photo by João Paulo de Souza Oliveira on Unsplash]