My daughter recently went on to deliver a baby boy but she did suffer from a lot of back pain during pregnancy. She did go on to have a C section delivery and the reason which was conferred by the doctor was the baby seemed to be in a sunny side up baby. You would have heard of breech birth, but the sunny side up position seems to be the most common one for the baby.
In medical terms the position of sunny side up birth goes by the name of occiput position or OP. Here the head of the baby is turned but it is in the wrong way and the back portion of the head of your baby is being turned in a wrong way. This signifies a position where it becomes difficult for the head of a baby to extend out of the pubic bone. Eventually the process of labor is going to become difficult and a lot longer.
Facts about an OP position?
A lot of studies have been conducted about an OP position, what it does mean for deliveries and how can you prevent it for delivery. What the studies have to indicate are denoted by
- This position is common in the starting phase of labor and this tends to occur in nearly 30 % of pregnancies.
- It is anticipated that the babies are expected to return back to their normal position by the time delivery takes place. Only in 5 % of babies it is more of a situation of persistent OP
- The persistent level of OP may mean assisted form of delivery. Studies do point to the fact that nearly 20 % to 30 % of babies who are having persistent OP are going to have their babies delivered by C section
- During your first pregnancy the chances of persistent OP increases. In numerical terms the risk is about 7 %
What can be done if the baby faces up the issue of persistent OP?
To manage a baby suffering from OP obviously means an assisted form of birth. This means a vacuum or forceps delivery. Maternal posturing or manual rotation of the baby can be tried.
A better piece of news which pours is that even if the delivery is started with a baby in an OP position they are expected to return back to their normal position by the time delivery takes place. It is a matter of great surprise that if positioning could improve the odds it can be great, but till date the evidence available suggests that it would not be of much help.
Do discuss with your health care provider on what has been their experience in dealing with OP positioned babies. Clearly understand the options if the baby appears to be sunny side up. The more you educate yourself about such a situation happening the better you will be able to cope up with such a situation.
