Birth Right Active Birth
Active Birthing position
Positions for Labour and Birthing
If a woman feels safe and well supported she will intuitively use lots of different positions both during labour and birthing. Women understand that gravity makes it easier for baby to move down the birth path.
Interestingly, many women want to be close to the ground because it makes them feel safe. Hospital beds are convenient only for birth attendants and for accessing medical equipment. They are useful for women only if medical intervention is needed. Perhaps if hospital beds were removed from birthing rooms, medical intervention rates would fall!
What Should be Available
- A deep enough bath for a water birth
- Shower with a plastic chair with no arms, so that a woman can straddle the chair
- Toilet – some women find sitting on the toilet very comfortable and safe
- Hot/cold packs
- Comfortable, yoga-type mat for the floor
- Bean bags – many women enjoy being on all fours on a mat with belly firmly pushed into a bean bag
- Fit balls, sometimes referred to as Swiss balls. Wonderful for sitting and bouncing or on all fours and resting head on ball
- Birthing stool
- Music player so that women and their partners can play their own music
- Access to a kitchen for drinks and food
Upright Position For Labour
Why is it important for women to labour in an upright position? It is well known that the position of a baby in a woman’s pelvis at the end of her pregnancy will have a major influence on her labour and the way her baby is born.
The most favourable position for the baby to be in utero is the occipito anterior (OA) position, where it lies with its back towards the woman’s front, and kicks are felt at the woman’s side. Medical intervention is far less likely when baby is lying in the OA position prior to labour commencing. With baby in the OA position, labour is shorter and more comfortable, as this position makes for an easier passage down the birth path for baby.
Posterior Position In Utero
The opposite position of occipito anterior is the posterior position, where baby is lying spine to spine with his Mum. We are seeing more of the posterior position and many women with baby in this position report lower backache, with kicks felt out front.For many women, the expectation of a normal birth goes out the window when it is discovered during labour that the baby is in a posterior position, and medical intervention becomes almost unavoidable.
Factors which influence the Posterior Position
In their book Optimal Foetal Positioning (OFP), authors Jean Sutton (New Zealand Midwife) and Pauline Scott (Childbirth Educator) talk of a number of factors which influence baby’s position:-
Modern Lifestyle
Since the 1960s, lifestyle changes have been dramatic. We are far less physically active. We have every labour saving device we can afford and comforts in our homes previously unheard of. Our leisure time is mainly spent sitting, at the computer, watching TV, reading, etc. The lack of emphasis on correct postures and the different kinds of working environments experienced in our modern life has had an effect on the way babies position themselves for labour and birth.One of the most important lifestyle changes has been the advent of television. This has meant a change from straight-backed armchairs and sofas (for reading or needle work), to furniture which is designed to relax in while watching television or movies. When a pregnant woman sits down in an armchair or sofa, her pelvis tips backwards and so does her ‘passenger’. To balance her body in this position, the woman has to cross her legs – which further decreases the amount of space in the front, or anterior part of her pelvis. Her ‘passenger’ has no alternative but to lie towards the back or posterior part of her pelvis. If women spend a lot of time resting in modern furniture during the latter part of pregnancy, it is probable that baby will remain in the posterior position and enter the pelvis in this position. The same sequence of events can happen if the woman travels in a car seat, especially if it is a ‘bucket’ type seat, for long periods at a time.
Work has also changed for women. In times gone by, pregnant women worked physically hard in the home, scrubbing floors on their hands and knees and doing other menial tasks around the house or farm, which involved lots of forward-leaning movements and postures. In the past, more importance was placed on correct posture and good deportment. Young women learned to sit upright with their knees together and to walk with their shoulders straight. All these postures are ideal for correct alignment of the baby in the pelvis. This may well be one of the main reasons the incident of posterior labour is higher today than in our grandmother’s day.
Position of the Placenta
If the placenta is positioned on the anterior (front) wall of a woman’s uterus, it is likely that her baby will favour the posterior position. However, as labour draws near, the lower section of the uterus develops more and it is possible for the ‘posterior’ baby to rotate to the ‘anterior’ position at this stage, especially if measures are taken to encourage the baby to do so.
Abdominal Muscles
A pregnant woman with tight abdominal muscles produces a sharper angle between her lumbar spine and her pelvic brim. This can encourage her baby towards a ‘posterior’ position, compared to the pregnant woman whose abdominal muscles are more relaxed. This refers to a small percentage of the population who are excessive exercisers.
Birth Right™ Pre-Natal Classes
At our Birth Right™ classes, we will guide you through the many ways you can encourage your baby to be in the most favourable position for birth, including what you can do in the latter stages of pregnancy and during labour, and what questions you need to be asking your caregivers during pregnancy and in labour.
By encouraging your baby to be in the best position for birth, you are setting the stage for a shorter, more comfortable and enjoyable birthing experience, and an easier passage for your baby to enter the world.
Birth Right™ offers three formats for learning Active Birth - one evening a week for four weeks; a one-day intensive on a Sunday; or our highly recommended combined Birth Right™ Active Birth and HypnoBirthing® course. Find out upcoming course dates, costs and book.