April 19, 2011

Turn, Baby, Turn

The wife went in for her 32 week check-up today. The doctor informed her that our baby’s head still hasn’t turned down and that makes Jessie worry. Our baby is in what’s called the breech position, with her buttocks and feet facing down. This isn’t a problem until it comes time for the wife to go into labor. If the baby still hasn’t turned down, then one of the most common options is having a cesarean birth. Neither Jessie nor I want this.

It seems that the baby turning down can happen over a wide range of time from the second trimester all the way up until labor. But most babies tend to turn head down around 33-34 weeks. We’ve still got a good two weeks to get our baby’s act together.

I looked online for some ways to help the baby turn down. Most involve doing some sort of stretch or exercise, but if those don’t work, there are always the wackier methods, such as: 

  • Moving a flashlight slowly down from the top of the uterus down to the pelvic bone
  • Placing a small clothespin on the small toe of each foot on the outside corner of the toenail for 30 minutes a day
  • Drinking a glass of juice and then laying sideways with hips positioned higher than feet
  • Doing headstands

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