Rotating fetal position

Through a series of tests in the late pregnancy, it can be basically determined whether the fetal position is normal. If the pregnant mother finds that the fetus is in a transverse position, the fetal position needs to be corrected. Generally speaking, it is more appropriate to start helping the fetus rotate to the correct fetal position around 30 weeks. If you do it around the 35th or 36th week, it may not be very effective.

Ways for pregnant mothers to assist the fetus to return to its original position

Pregnant mothers can use the knee-chest position to correct the transverse position of the fetus. That is, the pregnant mother lies on her stomach on the bed, facing sideways, with her wrists stretched forward, her knees separated, her chest and knees touching the ground, and her hips raised higher than her chest. At this point, the uterus in the abdomen will deform slightly, and the fetus will move to the bottom of the uterus. This action must be repeated many times. If this type of fetal autonomous correction continues from the 28th week of pregnancy to around the 34th week, about 50% of the fetuses can return to their normal position on their own.

How doctors help pregnant mothers correct the fetal position

The doctor chooses the best time, when the 29th to 34th week of pregnancy is when the uterus is in a non-contracted state, to perform a non-hazardous operation on the pregnant mother's abdomen with the help of an ultrasound machine. When performing abdominal rotation to determine the fetal position, the doctor should not use strange force to forcibly twist the fetal position back, which is very dangerous. Instead, the doctor should gently massage the pregnant mother's abdomen. After touching the fetus, the fetal head should be slowly pushed back into the pelvis, and then the fetal buttocks should be pulled up. The doctor should not use too much force to operate, so as to obtain good results.

If your baby is breech, it means that your baby is not in the normal head-down fetal position, but head-up, near the top of your uterus.

Around the eighth month of pregnancy, there is not much room in the uterus, and most babies will lie head down to make better use of the limited space. This position is called head presentation, or vertex presentation.

At full-term birth, approximately 97% of babies are in this position, with the majority of the rest being breech. There are three types of breech presentation: straight-leg breech (buttocks come out first with feet on top, close to the head), complete breech (buttocks come out first and sit cross-legged), and feet-first (breech with one or both feet coming out first).

Generally, the doctor will determine the fetal position by touching your lower abdomen to feel the location of the baby's head, back, and buttocks. In some cases, ultrasound may also be used to determine the baby's location.