Discover How Easily You Can Turn A Transverse Baby
As each day passes while you are pregnant, your baby is growing and developing very fast. As you near your due date, your baby will be moving inside your womb trying to prepare itself for delivery. The best position for a normal birth is when the baby’s head is facing down in the pelvic area of the mother.
This is because during birth, as the baby is making the grand entry into the world, the head usually comes first. However, in some rare cases, things don’t always go as they should, and the baby might end up in a breech position or a transverse position.
What Is A Transverse Position?
(Via Irishtimes.com)
This is a sideways position. In this position, the baby usually has its head to one of the sides of the mother’s belly while its legs are on the other side across the abdomen. This is considered normal before the 26th week, however, by the 30th week, the baby should have assumed the head down position.
8 Ways To Turn A Transverse Baby
When a mother realises that her baby is in a transverse position, it puts a spin on things as this means that she is starring at a C-section. Something has to be done to turn the baby to a head down position. Even though there isn’t much you can do to control your baby’s movements inside your womb; you can still do your bit to help align your baby so that it assumes the right position for birth.
I have discussed below some of the tips that can help you turn your transverse baby into the right position.
1. Walking
This is the easiest, safest and the most convenient exercise that you can do during your pregnancy to turn your baby from the transverse position of the head down position. According to experts, walking for at least 25 minutes a day when it’s almost your due date will increase your chances of turning your baby from the transverse position to the normal birth position.
This is because since you baby’s head is the heaviest part of the body; it will gravitate downward as you walk so that it lies at the bottom of your pelvis. Going for a walk is, therefore, one of the ways you can ensure that you and your baby enjoy a birthing process that is natural and requires less medical interventions.
2. Crawling
You just realise that you are about to give birth to a baby, and you can’t wait for the day he or she will reach that important milestone of being able to crawl. However, if by any chance your baby is in a transverse position, you will need to crawl like a baby to help her to turn into the right birthing position.
Crawling every day for at least ten minutes will help your baby move inside your womb thereby changing her position. You can do this by bending down on your knees while supporting your upper body with your palms resting on the floor. You should make sure that your back is straight
3. Do Some Yoga
Pregnant women are always advised against attempting any new kind of physical activity without medical supervision, especially during the last weeks of pregnancy. However, exercises like yoga hold their importance during pregnancy.
4. ECV
ECV stands for External Cephalic Version. It is usually a medical intervention performed at a hospital and is usually done under ultrasound guidance. The doctor or midwife usually tries to manipulate the baby’s position by carefully pushing on your belly and lower abdomen area using her hands.
It is usually performed as a last resort after nothing else has worked. According to the medical literature, ECV method has between 40% to 70 % success rates. Although this procedure may sometimes be uncomfortable and painful to women, it takes only a few minutes. However, as compared to the pain you will endure while you are recovering from a C-section if your baby does not turn, ECV is the best option.
5. Pelvic Tilt
This technique is also known as the ironing-board technique. It involves lying on the floor and raising your hips while your feet stay planted on the ground and your knees staying bent. Some women may also prefer to use an ironing board.
(Via Spinningbabies.com)
If you are using an ironing board, position the board so that one of its ends is on the edge of a couch while its other end is the fool. This will create something like a sloping bridge. You can then lie on the ironing board with your head resting on a pillow while your feet are raised.
6. Play Some Music
This is one of the old wives’ tales. Playing some music to your belly towards the base of your bump will coax your baby whose head is on one of the sides of your belly to turn towards a head down position. However, no medical evidence supports this method.
7. Practice Floor Exercises
Some floor exercise can help your baby to position itself in the correct manner. One of the floor exercises you can start with is doing the back bridge. You can accomplish this by lying flat on your back with the soles of your feet and the palms of your hands touching the floor.
You can then lift your pelvis up until only your neck, shoulder and feet are touching the floor. Take a gentle and slow breath while coming down to your original position. You can do this for 5 to 10 minutes until the day you are likely to deliver.
8. Swimming
Swimming can do wonders to boost both your health and that of the baby inside you. If you are a good swimmer and you notice that your baby is in a transverse position, you can try to swim by practising more of the breast stroke before your due date. This can help your baby to change position to the head down position.
Reasons Why Your Baby Might Be Transverse
There are a number of reasons why your baby could be in a transverse position which include:
- If your current pregnancy is not your first, then your muscles could be very flexible allowing your baby to move more easily.
- Your baby could be transverse as a result of an abnormally large amount of amniotic fluid around it.
- The transverse positioning could also be as a result of “placenta previa”. This is a health condition that involves the implantation of the placenta low in the uterus hence covering the cervical opening. However, this condition can be detected with an ultrasound.
Why Is It Dangerous If Your Baby Is In A Transverse Position?
In the early to middle stages of pregnancy, it is very normal if a baby is lying in the transverse position. During the last trimester, your baby should turn into the head down position so that it could be born naturally and safely.
If your water breaks while your baby is still in the sideways position, the umbilical cord can fall into your birth canal. This may lead to the umbilical cord being compressed by the baby’s body hence restricting the flow of oxygen and blood.
To save your baby, it has to be delivered as quickly as possible through an emergency caesarean.
The Takeaway
During pregnancy, the baby assumes several positions as it moves freely in the uterus as it is suspended in the amniotic fluid. The various positions that your baby may assume while inside your womb include the breech position, head down position and the transverse positions.
Everything possible should be done to ensure that a baby is in the head-down position before delivery. Therefore, if your baby is in a transverse position, the tips mentioned above on how to turn a transverse baby will be very helpful to you. If by the time you are almost to your due date, your baby hasn’t turned, then arrangements for a C-section should be made so that the baby is born as first as possible.
