The most favorable position of the child in the uterus is the head presentation of the fetus. But it happens that even when the baby's head faces the inner side of the cervix and appears first (then the shoulders, trunk and legs) during childbirth, not all births pass quickly and without difficulty. The very process of exile and its outcome depends on the size of the baby, the activity of the labor activity, as well as the position of the fetus in the uterus.
A big role is taken by nature in which side the face of the baby is facing, where its back is, what part of the head is above the neck of the uterus, whether the neck is unbent or not.
Depending on these characteristics of the location of the fetus, the birth will proceed in different ways.
Variants of the arrangement of the fetus with the head presentation:
- The child can be back to either the spine or the abdominal wall of the mother.
- The position of the fetus is right-sided or left-sided. That is, the child is slightly turned to the right or left.
- The position of the fetus is longitudinal, oblique, transverse.
The head longitudinal presentation of the fetus is the most favorable, since the birth in this case can take place naturally. It can be facial, frontal, parietal and occipital. It depends on which part of the child's head is the leading point of advancement through the birth canal.
Flexible occipital presentation in gynecology is considered the most successful. The leading point of advancement through the ancestral canal is a small fontanel. If the child appears in the light with the occipital version of the fetal head presentation, at birth, the nape turns first, facing forward. Most of the births take place this way.
But with the head presentation of the fetus, there are options for extensor insertion of the head, which differ among themselves and affect the biomechanism of labor.
- At the I degree of extension of the head - the anterolateral (preterminal) presentation, the probability of injury to the mother and child during childbirth increases, since the wire font of the exile is the large fontanel. The possibility of independent childbirth is not excluded, but according to statistics, more often resort to cesarean section and to prevent fetal hypoxia.
- With the frontal head presentation, the entry into the small pelvis of the child's head is characteristic of its full size. Wired point through the birth canal - forehead, which is lower in relation to other parts of the head. This variant is also known as a low head presentation of the fetus and excludes natural childbirth.
- Facial presentation (III degree of extension of the head) is the location of the fetus when the leading point of the chin is in such a position that during the birth the head appears from the birth canal back to the back of the head. A woman can give birth naturally, provided that her pelvis is of sufficient size, and the fruit is small. However, with facial presentation, the option of caesarean section is often considered.
Causes of various non-standard positions and presentations of the fetus:
- a narrow pelvis in a pregnant woman;
- abnormal structure of the uterus;
- uterine myoma;
- placenta previa, polyhydramnios;
- flabby abdominal wall;
- heredity and other factors.
Diagnosis of fetal head presentation
On the second planned ultrasound, you can already determine
From the age of 28 the obstetrician-gynecologist determines the presentation of the fetus, but until 33-34 weeks, children can often change the position of the body. In this case, you will be advised to perform special exercises to normalize the situation. If the doctor insists on hospitalization, be sure to listen to him.
Remember that no matter how the baby turns, you depend on your self-control and calmness. Follow the doctor's recommendations, walk more, think about the day when you first take your baby to bed.