Jamie 11/06/2010
Question:
I am 24 weeks pregnant. My baby is positioned with her head up and feet down. She is very active, so it often becomes uncomfortable for me, feeling her feet so low in my pelvis.
It concerns me because the ultrasounds have shown her this way for the last two months. The doctor has told me that I have an anterior placenta, could this be the cause of her position? And is it common for babies to be in this position?
Is there anything I can do to help change her position before birth? When will she move? Or will she ever move? Thank you so much for your help!
Answer:
At 24 weeks gestation, I would not worry at all about the position of the baby. I do not even start thinking about the position of the baby until about 34 to 36 weeks, when most babies have flipped themselves into the vertex position (head down position). Only about 3 to 4 percent will remain breech (head up) at 37 weeks.
A baby who has been breech can flip itself any time up until delivery. In fact, at least one in four babies who are breech at 36 weeks will flip themselves without any assistance.
Babies whose legs are outstretched, or have low amount of amniotic fluid around them, a short umbilical cord, or in women who have a uterine malformation are less likely to flip to head down on their own. An anterior placenta does not increase the risk of the baby remaining in a breech position.
There are exercises that you can start doing around 34 weeks gestation that may increase the likelihood that your baby will flip. The two most commonly used are the "breech-tilt" and "hands-and-knees" positioning. The idea behind theses exercises is to get the baby's buttock out of the pelvis, which for some babies can act like a bowl with the sides acting as a barrier to an easy somersalt.
For the "breech-tilt", you can place an ironing board or a sturdy wood plank with one end on the seat of a couch the other on the floor, forming an approximately 45-degree angle. Then lay with your head on the down side for 5-10 minutes at a time. Some pregnant women cannot tolerate this position secondary to difficulty breathing. An alternative is the hands-and-knees position, with your head and shoulders close to the floor and your buttock high in the air.
I am glad to hear that your baby is very active, it makes it more likely she will get herself into the vertex near her due date.