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Anterior placenta, posterior baby?

DaisiesinmygardenDaisiesinmygarden member
in Natural Birth

I am a lurker with a question. I am 30 weeks and I have an anterior placenta. So far the baby is measuring large on both u/s and by fundal height. I know that isn't completely accurate, but I do have large babies, so it isn't really surprising. This baby is just about always facing forwards, curled around the placenta. I can see how that would be more comfortable and comforting for him. He is usually transverse, but I am not too worried about that part since I am only 30 weeks and he does lots of spinning as far as which direction his head is. The posterior bit has me nervous though. My first was posterior and I had 17 hours of back labor. It was excruciating.I am hoping NOT to repeat that.

So what I am wondering is if is common for the baby to present posterior when the placenta is anterior? I am experiencing a lot of back pain and am wondering if the baby's position is contributing to the pain? Also, if so, what are some good techniques for getting the baby to turn around?

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Re: Anterior placenta, posterior baby?

  • SWBs WifeySWBs Wifey

    Yes.  It IS common for baby to be posterior with an anterior placenta.  Babies like to face the placenta as much as they can. 

    FWIW, both of my boys were OP and very high when my water broke... I had a painful 19 hour labor with DS1 with pitocin and an epi... the epi didn't stop the pain.  With DS2, I had a 7 hour labor without anything at all and it certainly hurt, but not any more than the pit/epi back labor with DS1... I pushed Ds1 for 2.5 hours.  I pushed DS2 for half of that... He finally fell into the right position when I chose a slightly unconventional pushing position (standing up).  DS2 was bigger too... by nearly a pound. 

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  • DaisiesinmygardenDaisiesinmygarden member
    Thanks SWBs Wifey. I was afraid that would be the answer. I remember reading you birth story and the part about you standing up to push. I think I'll remember that one. I see lots of time in the bath tub.
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  • jennyann28jennyann28 member
    Interesting!  I had an anterior placenta, and my baby was right occiput transverse.  Oh man, did I have back labor!  The tub was the key to my labor.  Good luck!
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  • VegasbbVegasbb member
    This is interesting (and depressing) to me as an A/P lady. Thanks for the information :) I had no idea!
    DS1 : 10/2012
    Due with B/G Twins July 2015
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  • Harper'smomHarper'smom
    My MWs don't buy into the correlation but my placenta was anterior and baby was OP and ROT the entire pregnancy despite regular chiro visits, staying off the couch, and doing a ton of optimal fetal positioning exercises. I did though not have back labor. I did with my first though... My MWs did help manually correct the baby's position during labor. Having a extraordinarily patient and supportive provider was key as I had to push for an insanely long time. But, she did come out.
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  • AndromedaEclipseAndromedaEclipse member
    My doctor told me there's no correlation unless there's a short umbilical cord.  I'm still on my hands and knees as much as possible to ensure the baby isn't OP
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  • balibabybalibaby member

    With DS 1 (my middle child) I did have an anterior placenta, I did not have any back labor. He was also a good sized baby, 22 inches and 8lbs 15 oz. Good luck!

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  • reederahreederah member
    FWIW, I had an anterior placenta and my son was not posterior... no back pain here.
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  • SWBs WifeySWBs Wifey
    Huh... I never researched on it, just repeated what my MWs said.  Interesting to know other MWs don't put stock in that thought!
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  • goldenegoldene member
    My hospital midwives didn't put any stock into that thought, and neither do my current homebirth midwives.  So many things can contribute to an OP baby, the majority (I've heard) being mom's positioning on a day to day basis.  I can't find the article on spinningbabies.com right now, but there's a little piece about this.  Basically, since there's nothing you can do about an anterior placenta (and you shouldn't want to - it's a variation of normal!), you can just do optimal fetal positioning exercises to get baby comfy in the best birthing spot.
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  • wannabigfamwannabigfam member

    According to the internet, yes.  

     According to my midwives, absolutely not.

    The back pain you are experiencing could be related but not necessarily.

    Spinning babies is a good resource; you also could see an experienced chiropractor.  

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  • DaisiesinmygardenDaisiesinmygarden member
    Thanks everyone. I'll check out that website. I have been planning on (but putting off) making an appointment with a chiropractor. This one does acupuncture in his office as well, so I'll be doing that as I get closer to my due date.
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