Fetal Positions
Hey mama, let’s talk about your baby’s position in the womb. When you go to your OB/prenatal appointment, if you’re lucky, your doc will tell you what position your baby is in. He may rattle off some acronyms, but you have no idea what that means.
Let me see if I can help you understand fetal positions and presentations in the womb.
Occiput- back of baby’s head
Anterior – facing the front
Posterior – facing the back
Head down positions:
OA -Occipital anterior ➳ baby’s back to your belly
LOA – Left occipital anterior ➳ head doe on your left side.
ROA – Right occipital anterior ➳ head down on your right side.
OP – Occipital posterior ➳ head down back to your back.
LOP – Left occipital posterior ➳ head down, left side back towards your back
ROP – Right occipital posterior ➳ head down, right side back towards your back
ROT – Right occipital transverse ➳ laying across your abdomen with head on the right side.
LOT – Left occipital transverse ➳ laying across your abdomen with head on the left side.
Optimal positions for vaginal birth are OA, LOA & ROA, but your baby can rotate even in labor. This is why I recommend moving as much as possible in labor. One of my often-used analogies is when you’re taking a ring off your finger. It’s much easier to get it off if you wiggle your finger around vs. holding it stiff and straight. Same with a baby in the womb. When you are moving and dancing and swaying side to side, it’s much easier for your baby to find its way down the birth canal in the perfect position for birth.
Breech positions:
Complete breech ➳ when both the baby’s knees are bent, and his feet and bottom are closest to the birth canal.
Incomplete breech ➳ when one of the baby’s knees is bent, and his foot and bottom are closest to the birth canal.
Frank breech ➳ when the baby’s legs are folded flat against his head, and his bottom is closest to the birth canal.
Footling breech ➳ when one or both feet are presenting.
Transverse: laying across the abdomen, nothing presenting in the pelvis, born by cesarean birth if the baby doesn’t turn into a head down or breech position by the full term.
Breech Babies
Myrrh and peppermint on the abdomen may help to persuade a babe to turn their head down.
Rub peppermint topically from hip to hip in a rainbow curve up over ribs, and rub myrrh on across low abdomen every 15-30 min for 3 hours or until you feel baby shift whichever comes first.
Baby moves away from peppermint and goes toward myrrh.
Lying on a slant board or inversion table for a few min rolling off to one side, and crawling around on the floor for 10-15 min is also helpful.
Swimming may also help.
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Testimony:
Hi Stephanie, Thank you so much for your response! I just wanted to tell you my friend was using peppermint and not having success. I bought her myrrh and dropped it off. Two days later, the baby flipped and is now head down. I can not tell you how much that meant to my friend.
– Danielle
Which position was your baby born in?
