There are a number of myths that surrounds pregnancy and most of them sound close to the truth that most women believe them till date. One of the most common myths is that, if the baby is in occiput posterior position that is, the baby is bottom up but faces forward, then the birth will be difficult.
But this myth is wrong, for women who are in the early stages of labour. Most of the babies are in the occiput posterior position before the labour begins. But, as soon as the mother starts to get contractions, the uterus starts to push the baby down the birth canal. The baby gets forced down by both the contractions and also the by the shape of the birth canal so as to push the baby to the natural birth position.
Face up position results in Back Pain:
Another myth about a baby born face up is that back pain is the sign of the baby who is on occiput posterior position.
This baby born face up myth is not true and truth is that back pain is common in labour and some women who are most likely to experience more back pain are
- Short-statured women
- Women who remained sedentary in the antepartum period
- Women who have weak back muscles
Women with the foetus in the OP position do not report back pain when there is 3-4 cm dilatation. Back pain with all position of the foetus occurs between 4 and 6 cm dilatation. Back pain is associated with the fit of the baby and not its position. In fact, some of the babies in a posterior position fit their pelvis of their mother better than others.
What is the meaning of baby in posterior position?
When the baby lies down in head down position and not facing the abdomen then it is said to be in occiput position or the posterior position. This refers to the fact that the back of the baby’s skull is in the back of the pelvis of the mother. It is also referred to as face up or sunny side up. The probability of the baby lying in this position depends on how close the mother is to the delivery. Most of the babies are posterior at the beginning of labour. More than half of the babies lie posterior when the labour starts and turn to the normal position when delivery occurs.
If the baby is in a face-up position, will the mother have back labour?
This is a common baby born face up superstition. Back labour is the intense lower back pain that women feel during labour. And it was long thought that this is because of the baby facing up. But research studies based on ultrasonography reveals that this common assumption is wrong. It has been proven that mothers whose babies were in face-up position are not likely to complain of more back pain than those whose babies were facing face down or sideways.
Verdict:
But mothers whose babies are face up have prolonged labour, they had to push harder and most commonly have assisted vaginal birth or a C-section. The babies born that way also have breathing complication post birth for a short duration.
Do you have any questions about this article? Click here to contact us today.
