How can pregnant women learn to feel the fetal position themselves?

For pregnant women, the baby in the belly must be very important. Expectant mothers will pay great attention to this baby. In order to understand whether the fetal position of the baby in the belly is normal, they usually touch the placenta. Touching the placenta is not something you can do casually, as it may harm the baby in the belly. Touching the placenta is usually done by professionals, but pregnant women also learn to feel the fetal position by themselves for convenience. So how do pregnant women learn to feel the fetal position by themselves?

Fetal position : the posture and position of the fetus in the uterus. Fetal position refers to the relationship between the designated part of the fetus and the front, back, left and right of the maternal pelvis. The normal fetal position is mostly occiput anterior. During prenatal examination after 30 weeks of pregnancy, malpositions such as breech presentation, transverse presentation, occiput posterior presentation, and facial presentation are found, among which breech presentation is the most common. If malposition of the fetus is not corrected, it may cause dystocia during delivery. The posture of the fetus in the womb before birth is very important, as it determines whether the pregnant woman will have a normal birth or a difficult birth. We know that the fetus in the uterus is immersed in amniotic fluid. Since the fetal head is heavier than the fetal body, the fetus is mostly in the [head down and hips up] position. The normal fetal position should be that the fetal head is bent forward, with the occipital bone in front.

Self-study steps to feel the fetal position :

Step 1: Move your hands alternately around the uterus to understand the fetal position. The characteristics of the fetal head are that it is round and hard; the buttocks are relatively soft and not very round; sometimes there is a leg stretching movement. The purpose of this maneuver is to check the position of the fetus at the fundus of the uterus.

Step 2: Use one hand to push the pregnant mother's abdomen to the opposite side, and use the other hand to touch the fetus. The fetal back is relatively flat; then push to the opposite abdomen, and use another hand to touch the fetus' limbs. The purpose is to check the fetal position on the left and right sides of the uterus.

Here we also teach pregnant mothers 2 methods to correct the fetal position

1. Chest-knee position : (This method is suitable for fetal position of breech or transverse position)

(1) The pregnant woman kneels on the bed, in a kneeling position, with her hands flat on the bed and her legs shoulder-width apart.

(2) Keep your chest and shoulders as close to the bed as possible, with your face facing one side of your body.

(3) Bend your legs so that your thighs are perpendicular to the bed.

2. Talk to the fetus

This is a method that many pregnant mothers have tried. They often say something to the fetus, such as saying to the baby: Baby, come back soon! Baby, you are so naughty. It’s not easy to come out like this!

If these methods still cannot correct the problem, you can ask a doctor to correct it using professional techniques.