Can your baby’s fetal positioning be changed for delivery?

Can your baby’s fetal positioning be changed for delivery?

In the weeks and days leading up to your due date, your doctor will check on your baby’s position in the womb. If your baby hasn’t dropped into the best position for birth, your doctor might use a few techniques to gently nudge them into place.

This can help make it possible for you to have a vaginal birth. Fetal version or changing baby’s position in the womb is most commonly done if:

You’re about 36 to 42 weeks pregnant.

Labor hasn’t started yet.

You’re in labor but your water has not yet broken.

Your baby is swimming in plenty of amniotic fluid.

Your baby isn’t touching the entrance to the birth canal, and no part of them is in the birth canal.

You’re having a single baby (not twins or other multiples).

You’ve had a baby before (stomach muscles are — understandably — less tight).

You’re delivering in a hospital — so you can be taken in for a C-section quickly if needed.