The babys face now moves from face backwards, to either the left or the right. Once the head is born (you’re so nearly there!), external rotation then happens which alleviates strain on their neck and head from the pelvic muscles. And your birth partner could also suggest thins (which they will know from coming on my course with you) as well as helping you move into these postitions too. Of course your midwife or Doula can suggest and gently guide you too. But the more you can move following instinct and felt sense the better. Sometimes is a movement into a new position, sometimes it’s moving into and out of positions and repeating that which is helpful. Your surges (contractions) are doing the work here - staying comfortable by moving your body into positions that feel good to YOU is what’s required. Once extension occurs, the face and head appear outside the body. Once the baby is fully rotated and descended, extension occurs - babys head passes through the pelvis at the base of the neck. Babys head reaches the soft tissues of the pelvic floor, and this aligns their head into a chin toward chest position - allowing the smallest part of baby to travel down and ‘present’ first as they are born.Īs the baby’s head reaches the pelvic floor babys head will rotate in what’s called internal rotation, and so accommodate the changes through the cavity of the pelvis. Now the head is through the brim, to help babies head then move down into the middle of the pelvis (the pelvic cavity), the next movements are descent and flexion. Again we talk about the ‘biomechanics’ of the pelvis more on my Antenatal & Hypnobirhting Courses So perhaps sitting on a birth ball with your knees wide and circling or moving your hips in a figure of 8 could be things to take a positive, supportive action. This is the start of the birthing process and the baby getting themselves into the position for the start of labour and birth.Īnything that can encourage baby to move down into the brim of the pelvic and support this engagement can be something you may want to do towards the end of your pregnancy. Your midwife might mention this in labour or in an antenatal appointment later in your pregnancy, that the head is ‘engaged’. This is when babys head is four fifths of the way into the brim of the pelvis. So as baby’s head comes down in the most common foetal position, head down with the back of their head to the front left side, they settle into the pelvis in ‘engagement’. the relaxin hormone helps the ligaments that hold the three parts of your pelvis be way more stretchy than in non-pregnancy, which facilitate this movement. So your baby needs to turn, like a key unlocking the door, to come through the pelvis during ’s also important to know there’s a wide natural variation in pelvis shapes, depths and sizes - that’s normal and no problem as you your pelvis is deigned to move a lot in labour to let the baby travel through. Whereas the bottom of the pelvis (the outlet) has more space front to back. The top (brim) of the pelvis very commonly is wider side to side, and narrower front to back. The reason they need to do this is firstly that the pelvis is not a round shape, but more oval. I just think that it’s really interesting to know about them (but then as a birth geek I would!!), and I think that it really helps parents to be understand why moving in labour and not being stuck lying on a bed is hugely important. It’s not that you’ll feel each one, or that you need to know when baby is doing them in your labour - don’t worry about that. The whole series of rotational movements that babies make to travel through the pelvis in labour are called ‘Cardinal movement’. For the mother it’s all about allowing it to happen by being free to move your body in labour (which is why we talk about active birth and biomechanics on my Antenatal & Hypnobirthing Courses). Babies know how to do this, it’s a blueprint that’s built in - they will try their best to move and shift into a position inside the womb that facilitates their birth. It allows the smallest part of the baby (the crown/top of the head) to present first and then for baby to travel through the depth of the pelvis perfectly. How great is that? As well as being very cool and clever, this movement is all about baby being in a suitable position for birth to proceed physiologically.
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