When in womb, the baby can move around freely, flailing her hands and legs, kicking and even rolling over. You may have already felt all these movements so far. Your baby’s movements may slow down, as she grows bigger, towards the end of your delivery, but she continues to change positions, till the onset of labor. In most cases, babies position themselves head down, feet up, which is the favorable for normal deliveries.
Best position for normal delivery
Few weeks before due date, your baby drops lower into the uterus and positions herself for birth. This may happen around 32 weeks and 36 weeks. In some cases, the baby may not move down until the very end. At this point, your doctor checks the position of baby using ultrasound scan and determines whether it is in cephalic, breech, transverse lie or other position types. Cephalic position is said to be ideal presentation of baby for a normal delivery.
Cephalic position
The presentation of the fetus in the birth canal sets the tone of labor and delivery process. When you go into labor, the contractions enable the cervix to stretch, so that the baby can move through it. For this to happen, the baby positions herself head-down, bottom and feet up. This way, the head crowns first and it is easier for the rest of the body to follow. There are two types of cephalic positions here. Cephalic occiput anterior and cephalic occiput posterior.
Cephalic occiput anterior
When your baby is positioned head-down, bottom up and face turned towards your back. This is ideal for birth, as it is easy for the head to enter the cervix and pass through smoothly during labor. In 95% of normal delivery cases, babies are positioned this way.
Cephalic occiput posterior
In this case, the baby is positioned with her head down and feet up, but face is turned towards your abdomen. This can result in a hard and prolonged labor and delivery, because this way, the head is wider to pass through and may get stuck. This happens in only 5% of cephalic positioned babies. This presentation is also referred to as sunny side up.
