Baby upside down at 21 weeks?

Question

I just had my ultrasound done and they told me that the baby is upside down. (Like standing on my blatter). They said it wasn't a major concern, just something to watch for. I thought they flipped around right when you were about to give birth but I guess I was wrong. Anyway, has anyone had this before? Is it a big deal or not. Sometimes I feel the doctors downplay stuff so you don't freak out.

Sorry. I phrased that wrong. When I said upside down, I was just meaning that he wasn't the right way. So he is "right side" up. Meaning his feet are by my bladder and his head is by my chest.

Answer 1

Upside down? Do you mean head down or head up?

If your baby is head down (head towards your feet, called vertex), that is normal. From what I understand, babies spend about half the time head up and half the time head down at that age. At 32 weeks approx, they are mostly likely to adopt a head down position until birth. Some babies don't flip vertex until labor and some do not flip at all.

If your baby is head up (feet towards your feet, called breech), that's normal too. As I said above, babies don't usually adopt vertex postion until closer to birth. If your baby is still breech at 31-32 weeks, I'd consider seeing a chiropractor. Sometimes a baby stays breech b/c the mom's hips are not aligned and it's not comfortable for babe's head to be down. Adjustments can realign the hips and allow the baby to turn (worked for me after 1 adjustment!).

Some good sources for position of baby: http://www.spinningbabies.com/
http://www.homebirth.org.uk/ofp.htm

Answer 2

Your baby still has plenty of time to flip. Nothing to worry about yet. Now, as you get closer and the baby gets bigger, there is less and less room for baby to move about. If baby does not flip into the vertex position, they can try to flip the baby. This is very painful and often times not successful. If the baby stays breech, you'll need a c-section. Best of luck.

Answer 3

My 19 week ultrasound was the same (breeched) - when I asked about it, the tech said babies will usually flip into the right position sometime after week 30, and it really doesn't matter where they are now.

Answer 4

My first baby was completely sideways. I had to do the breech tilt to get her to turn. She was past 30 weeks when she turned. With the breech tilt, you lay on your back with your pelvis higher than your head. You lay like this for 20 minutes at a time, twice a day. It makes the baby turn 75% of the time. My daughter really kicked and wiggled when I did that.

Answer 5

If your baby is "standing on your bladder' than she/he is "rightside up" which means her feet are down and her head is up. This is considered 'backwards" or "breech". You WANT your baby's head to be at the bottom.

Often times babys will turn themselves around later. if not, your doctor will try and move her around by pushing around on the outside of your belly. If that still doesn't work, you'll just have to have a scheduled C-section.