Is it normal for fetus to stay on one side

A baby in this position increases your chances of having a prolonged delivery with severe back pain. An epidural might be needed to ease some of the pain during delivery. A breech baby is positioned with their buttocks or feet first. There are three variations of a breech presentation:. A breech position is not ideal for delivery. Though the majority of breech babies are born healthy, they may have a higher risk of birth defects or trauma during delivery.

Your doctor will discuss options for trying to turn the baby into a head-down position before you enter into your final weeks. They might suggest a technique called an external cephalic version ECV.

This procedure involves applying pressure to your abdomen. The ECV technique is successful about half of the time. This is especially true in the case of a footling breech. In such cases, the umbilical cord may be squeezed as the baby moves toward the birth canal. If not, babies in this position will require a cesarean delivery. This is because there is a small risk of the umbilical cord prolapsing coming out of the womb before the baby when your water breaks.

An umbilical cord prolapse is a medical emergency, and the baby must be delivered very quickly via cesarean if it happens. Just follow these easy steps:. Occasionally, a baby may not end up in the correct position for delivery. The exact position of a baby could lead to complications during delivery. If your baby stays in a posterior position when labor starts, it may be because of the shape of your pelvis rather than your posture.

In some cases, a cesarean delivery will be necessary. Toward the end of your pregnancy, it may feel like your baby has dropped lower into your abdomen. This is referred to as lightening. The baby is settling deeper into your pelvis. This means less pressure on your diaphragm, which makes it easier to breathe and also brings fewer baby kicks to the ribs.

Another study, published in the journal PLOS One in , found supine sleeping was associated with a 3. One limitation to keep in mind for studies like these — where people are asked to recall what they did in the past — is something called "recall bias. These alarming trends have been repeated often enough that most doctors don't hesitate to recommend that pregnant women avoid sleeping in the supine position. It is, as Pien put it, "a relatively easy, cost-free intervention" that can potentially prevent some very negative pregnancy outcomes.

So, what — if anything — is wrong with sleeping on the right? That's hard to say, as there haven't been many studies specifically comparing left- and right-side sleeping during pregnancy.

One study of women, published in the journal The BMJ in , did find a slightly increased risk of stillbirth in women who went to bed on their right rather than their left the night before they miscarried, but these results have not yet been repeated. If you have an otherwise healthy pregnancy and absolutely can't sleep on your left, rolling over to the right is probably nothing to worry about, Pien said. In fact, it might be better for you; not getting enough sleep may be much worse for pregnancy outcomes than the slight risk of IVC compression when lying on your right flank.

Brandon has been a senior writer at Live Science since , and was formerly a staff writer and editor at Reader's Digest magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree in creative writing from the University of Arizona, with minors in journalism and media arts. This is characterized by laying completely flat supine and having the growing weight of the uterine muscle, baby, amniotic fluid, placenta, increased blood volume, etc. However, not everyone experiences supine hypotension. If this has happened to you, know that most likely you and your baby are fine.

But check with your health care provider if you feel concerned. Also, if you end up rolling on your back and feel those uncomfortable sensations, the best and easiest thing to do is roll to either side. I am an advocate for not just laying on your left side for 10 months with an pounds of weight added to your body. This could also contribute to some serious aches and pains. Often times when you sleep directly on your hips you can get pinched nerves that result in sciatica, a lower back pain that on a scale could be anywhere from just distracting to debilitating.

While this is a common occurrence in pregnancy, it is not normal. Also, babies often sleep where they are not squished.