Vaginal birth of sunny side up baby

👶🏽SUNNY SIDE UP BABY👶🏽

OP(occiput posterior) or more commonly known as sunny-side up baby, is a position where the baby is facing the mothers abdomen instead of facing her spine. The back of the baby’s head, which is the hardest part, rests on the mothers lower back. This position should NOT automatically mean mommy needs a belly birth.

MANY BABIES ARE BORN JUST FINE VAGINALLY IN THIS POSITION BUT CAN CAUSE THE FOLLOWING:
⭕️longer pregnancy
⭕️premature rupture of membranes
⭕️slowing of labor which can lead to use of Pitocin
⭕️back of baby’s head is applying pressure to mommy’s lower back/spine and causes more pain
⭕️pushing baby out can be harder and longer
⭕️baby’s head can get stuck
⭕️vacuum/forcep assistance
⭕️vaginal tearing
⭕️belly birth

WHAT CAN YOU DO DURING PREGNANCY TO POSSIBLY AVOID AN OP BABY?
❇️SIT UP STRAIGHT! THE BACK OF THE BABYS HEAD IS THE HEAVIEST, SLOUCHING ALLOWS GRAVITY TO PULL THE BACK OF HIS HEAD TOWARDS YOUR SPINE!
❇️Spend time everyday sitting on a birthball
❇️Get into a hands and knees position twice a day for 10 minutes
❇️When sitting make sure your knees are always lower than your hips and lean forward instead of leaning back
❇️If you sit a lot for work, take regular breaks to get up and move around. ditch the office chair for a birth ball
❇️see a chiropractor

WHAT CAN YOU DO DURING BIRTH:
✅Keep active during labor
✅Utilize positions that open your pelvis and allows your baby room to rotate
✅PATIENCE! Lots of babies will rotate out of this position during labor with just using patience
✅Use of epidural can often lead to an OP baby(from less mobility), but sometimes if baby is ALREADY in an OP position for an extended amount of time, an epidural can help relax the pelvic floor and allow baby to turn.
✅HIRE A DOULA! She can help you with exercises to turn your baby naturally(like lunge positions, knees to chest, forward leaning, etc etc) or she might have skills with a rebozo to turn your baby!

Some babies are born OP with ease and some require help to navigate ❤️

P.S. I realize there is lots of tugging and pulling in this video. We don’t like that and it’s largely unnecessary. But let’s not make that the focus of this post please.