How To Tell If Baby Is Head Down? (75%)
Want to know whether your child is head down or otherwise? The first thing that’ll pop into your head is to have an ultrasound scan that’s worth $200 to $300. However, for those who don’t have the budget for the procedure, most mothers take it into their own hands on how to tell if baby is head down.
First, they would hire a midwife to map the child in her womb. But midwives can only determine the position of the child by the start of the baby’s 30th week. And sometimes…they can get it wrong. The best thing a mother can do is to feel the kicks and movements of her child. That way, she can tell the position of the baby. But what’s the big fuss about the baby being head down? We’ll figure that one out first.
Why Is It Important To Be Head Down?
The number one reason why it’s significant to have the baby positioned head down is that it will induce easier and quicker labor. How? The baby’s position fits the curves of the mother’s pelvis. Here are more reasons why it’s important on how to tell if a baby is head down.
- Natural labor and childbirth
- Reduce labor pains
- Lessens the probability of birth complications between the mother and the child
- The pressure on the cervix will allow the release of necessary hormones during labor
- Easy and safe push out of the baby
Every mother and child are different though. Sometimes, the child does not go head down. Other mothers have felt and seen their baby in a breech or bottom-down position. However, don’t take this as a sign that you’re different from normal pregnant women. Never compare yourselves with them.
Some Terminologies To Consider
Stages of pregnancy model from 1st month to 9th month
You’ll be hearing more of these words if you want to guess your baby’s position.
- Cephalic position – This is the scientific term for baby head down
- Breech position – Your child is in head up position
- Anterior position – The baby’s head is down and is facing your back. This is an ideal place for your baby
- Posterior position – Still head down, but your kid is facing towards your tummy.
A head down, anterior position will assure the mother of an easy, quicker labor and birth process. While there are still mommies out there who do a natural birth in a breech position, it should be suggested that they have to undergo a caesarean procedure.
So, How To Tell If The Baby Is Head Down?
The first few weeks of your pregnancy might be hard to figure out if whether your child is head down. Along the months when you feel little movements or kicks from your kid, it’s time to map out your belly! Here are some ways to know what position your child is in.
#1. Feel the kicks
- Are the kicks quite close to your ribs? You’re sure to know that your child is head down and in an anterior position – he’s facing your back
- If the kicks are in front of your stomach, the kid is head down but in a posterior position
#2. Hear your child’s heartbeat
Take two hearing samples from your belly – above and below.
- If the heartbeat is stronger above your belly button, your child is head up
- Meanwhile, if it’s louder below your belly, be happy to know that your kid is head down
#3. Press the lump
Mothers have those little lumps located either on the left or right side of the upper tummy. Wherever it is, gently press the lump and assess your child’s movement.
If you feel the baby is moving its whole body, then you’ve just pressed your kid’s baby bum. Which means, congrats! Your child is head down. If you feel that the lump moves just by itself and not the whole of its body, you’ve pressed the head of your child who is head up.
#4. Wait for the hiccups
Find yourself a stethoscope and try to locate where the hiccups are. If it’s below the belly, that means your kid is head down. If it’s above your tummy, it’s actually otherwise. Easy.
#5. Excruciating pain
If you have episodes of having painful ribs, you can tell your baby is head up. If you don’t have any pain, your kid is head down.
#6. Rest your hand in your pelvis
If you move your hand to the pelvic region of your bod, try feeling a lump there. If it’s hard, then that’s the baby’s head. If it’s soft, you’ve just touched your baby’s butt.
Map Your Belly For Fun!
Babies move all the time. They might change to another position before you even know it. But when your days are nearing, and the baby might be due anytime, try locating the kid and map out your tummy. This is how to tell if baby is head down visually.
- Use a non-toxic marker or a safe temporary one so that you can locate your child
- Divide your stomach into four quadrants with the belly as the center of it all
- By using the above methods to locate the head of your child, you can map out where its arms, shoulders or legs. You can even get to know whether your kid is facing your back or tummy.
Have a doll with you so you can know the proper body positions that come with moving your child. Mapping the belly is a fun way of visualizing your child inside your womb. But make sure you’re using safe markers. Toxic one can harm you both and would complicate childbirth.
You Can Change Your Baby’s Position
If you’re nearing your due and you know your child is still not head down, you can try some of these exercises, tricks, and tips to get your kid to move to get ready for birthing.
- Continue sleeping on the left. Not only your blood will healthily carry the sustenance your child needs, but it will also influence the position your child to head down
- Walk as much as you can. It’s healthy for you and your baby. It keeps your body balance as well as the natural and ideal position of your child
- Lean on chairs or tables or just around your bed. Leaning will affect the baby’s position to a head down, anterior placement. Fast facts! During the old days, mothers believe that to induce the head down, anterior position, they have to scrub the floors!
- Do you know how you can help your pelvis? Do butterfly exercises. You sit down with your soles touching together. Move your legs up and down that copies that of a butterfly’s wings
- Another exercise you can do is to go down all fours and face down for a couple of seconds then face front. It will hit and loosen your lower back and pelvic region
- Wanna go swimming? Swim with your belly down
- You can also crawl on your bedroom floor to stretch and exercise your pelvis
- Have a prenatal massage. It’ll do you wonders.
Some of this advice you can now do from the moment you know you’re pregnant. Until then, it’ll be a lot easier for your child to move into a head down, anterior position. How to tell if baby is head down? You might never know, but at least you can manipulate it!
Sharing Is Caring
Do you like this article? Let help us share this post to your friend and family? Your shout-out will help everyone else and motivate us to create more great posts. Thanks so much!
Check out this post for "How To Tell If Baby Is Head Down? (75%)"
What’s The Best Choice?
Mothers like you can opt to have an ultrasound or midwife in telling your baby is head down. Though the former is much clearer and advisable, we know it can be pretty hard on your wallet. I mean, it’s around $200 to $300.
But, since you’re the mother, you, who can feel your baby’s movements, you can actually locate your child’s position all in all. What do you think? Tell us below.
The post How To Tell If Baby Is Head Down? (75%) appeared first on Just Another Family Blog - GiantMommy.com.
Comments
Post a Comment