Week 32: Fetal Positioning and Signs of Early Labor

Welcome to week 32 of your pregnancy!

You may not believe it, but you’re in the home stretch!

If you’re a Colorado Birth and Wellness client, this is the week we’ll check to see how your baby is positioned. In order to give birth in our center, the baby must be head-down. But if your little one is breech, don’t fret -- there’s plenty of time to get him or her to flip. And the good news is, once your baby does settle into the head-down position, they’re likely to stay there. 

If baby is breech, here are a couple of things that we recommend:

• Get acupuncture or see a chiropractor: We work with practitioners who specialize in prenatal care, including fetal positioning. You don’t have to be a Colorado Birth and Wellness client to use their services.

• Spinning Babies: This movement program is beloved in the birth world, and includes exercises you can do to get a baby to flip. If you’re a Colorado Birth and Wellness client, we recommend the 3 sisters of balance positions by Spinning Babies, even if your baby is head-down -- the method is good for helping your baby rotate into an optimal position, thereby shortening or easing your labor.

We try to get your baby to turn in advance of 37 not 36 weeks -- if we reach that milestone, then we look at an external cephalic version, by which your baby is rotated manually by a healthcare practitioner. 

While you’re likely still a few weeks away from any action, it’s important that you know the signs of early labor -- and if you’re experiencing them, call us (or your care provider) right away.

• Uptick in contractions -- you are having Braxton-Hicks contractions(whether you are feeling them or not), which are your uterus’s way of warming up for the big event. These are nothing to worry about -- and they’ll often stop when you change positions. If your contractions take on rhythm and begin to increase in intensity, though, give us a call. 6 or more painful ones.

• Cramps and back pain -- contrary to what it looks like in the movies, sometimes the onset of labor isn’t so obvious. If you’ve got consistent period-like cramps and/or a change in lower back pain, come see us.

• Your water breaks -- in fact, call us if you have any fluid leaking from your vagina.

• Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea -- yes, these signs could mean a number of things. But in the third trimester, have them checked out.

• A change in vaginal discharge -- including blood or heavier mucous discharge.