23/05/2014

How to Turn a Transverse Lie Baby

We had another midwife appointment this week and yes that does make 3 in a row that I ve been too. Surely that’s some kind of record for a dad?

Anyway, all was fine but they did tell us that Rex was lying in a ‘transverse Lie.’ For those similar to me who have little understanding of what that means, I thought it was somehow linked to traversing in rock climbing, it means that the baby is lying sideways. See the picture for a helpful diagram. Rex’s head is over the right side of the pelvis and his bum over the left side. Compare it to trying to squeeze a cork back into the vino bottle…length wise!

The midwife said that this isn’t a massive issue at the moment. But by 36 weeks, if it isn’t in a head down position then it can cause complications. The wife is desperate for a normal birth, understandably, so she is really keen to get him spinning round.

Here’s some helpful tips of how to spin your baby for others in this position. (No pun intended!)

#1 The breech tilt

This position is recommend 3 times a day. Basically, you put your legs and bum up in an elevated position like on a sofa or something and then you wait. The idea is that gravity works it’s magic and the baby begins to lie verticle. (An ironing board might be good to lie on…)

#2 The forward leaning inversion

This position is recommended for 30 seconds, 3 times a day. It’s the same as the breech tilt but on your front. Kneel on a sofa and gently put your hands on the floor. (Do this carefully as it is quite dangerous as I found out as the wife plunged to the ground earlier!) Once on the ground you can rest on your forearms but not on your head and then again, let gravity do it’s thing. The bum should be nice and high and the back nice and straight. It also let’s the womb and inside bits hang so everything has a bit more space. The baby cam move a bit more freely and might really help. This is suggested to do before you do the breech tilt position.

#3 Hot & Cold

Put something cold like frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel by the baby’s head. Then put something warm like a hot water bottle on the other side and the theory says that the baby will move away from the cold and head for the warmth. Exactly like the wife! That’s what she does on a daily basis so it actually sounds like quite a good plan!

#4 A brisk and short walk.

But, when you’re walking swing your weight from your thigh on each step.

#5 Yoga?

#6 Massage

Massaging your psoas is useful. Psoas muscle is at the bottom of our spine. It’s not common to flex and hardly anyone can flex it consciously. It is a main contributor to back pain which is obviously prevelant during pregnancy.