Throughout pregnancy, when it comes to baby’s position, there tends to be just one question – is it head down?
And while that is obviously key information, it is just the first question. How baby is positioned and moves through the pelvis in labour is crucial to a labour that progresses well.
A baby in an ‘ideal’ position can mean a shorter, easier, less painful labour.
And who doesn’t want that?
Recently I had the absolute PLEASURE of being present for my sister’s VBAC homebirth (often coined an HBAC).
What. a. gift.
In prep for her birth, I spent a lot of time on Spinning Babies – a website and incredible resource that I’ve been reading since I was pregnant with my first in 2013. I urge you to check it out here – there are things you can be doing daily in pregnancy to help get baby in a more optimal position.
Before my sister’s labour really got going, she spent about 24 hours in pre- or early labour, where contractions were present and irregular in the background.
At some point I sent her a Spinning Babies link to a technique called the Walcher’s Position. It reminded her of another technique, the Abdominal Lift and Tuck – a move she then tried and felt really helped get labour going more intensely and regularly.
And while I would love to talk endlessly about what happened next during that lovely homebirth, today we’ll be talking about those two labour positions and how they may be helpful in labour.