Patience and Dedication to Birth Baby in an Occiput Posterior {OP} Position

From Spinning Babies, “The OP position (occiput posterior fetal position) is when the back of baby’s head is against the mother’s back. Here are drawings of an Anterior presentation and a posterior presentation.”

“This was the first birth for an incredibly strong mama. It was a 30 hour OP labor, and surely would have been a c-section in the hospital, because she had to push for an hour, and let his head mold for an hour, push for an hour, and let his head mold for an hour. It took a total of 6 hours of this, with the last hour extremely hard pushing, but she did it with no drugs at the birth center.” ~Melissa Cate Photography

Mom’s hands are reaching for her baby. She worked hard to get him here!

14 Comments

  • Stephanie

    I too had a OP baby…. although they didnt know it until I delivered! It was definatley a different delievery than my other two! Congrats!

  • Kama

    FANTASTIC! OP forehead presentation baby birth Mama here, very hard work. My husband got in the pool with me and did double hip squeezes and I’m sure that’s what got him through my bones (finally). Well done Baby-Mama enjoy being in the purest love xo

  • Valerie

    Congrats on a magnificent birth! I can relate, my 2nd and 3rd babies were both OP and quite big (I am petite and they were 9 lbs. and 10 lbs.). I firmly believe that if my doula hadn’t suggested using the rebozo to turn both babies I would have been sent to the hospital for a C-section.

  • Molly

    I’m a labor and delivery RN. Not entirely true comment “would have been a c/s” in hospital. On many occasions I have pushed with patients then stopped for hours and then pushed again… For a total of 6+ hours. I have seen many babies come out direct OP. hard work for mamma but nice reward seeing babies face immediately upon DEL. pushing on hands and knees sometimes helps babe rotate 🙂 first time commenting on BWF, but been following for awhile.

  • Kathryn

    I wished that I had known about the rebozo technique when I had my daughter. She was OP, and I ended up having a c-section because she couldn’t tolerate me pushing for so long.

  • Summer joy

    I wish I would have known I could keep going. I was trying to have a natural labor and delivery, but after 24 hours of labor, and baby being OP, my dr said I had to have a c section. No other choice. I was so upset. But at least baby and me are happy and healthy. I am going to try hard for a VBAC with my next baby.

  • Amy

    My baby was facing my right leg. I don’t know which position that is technically. He had a large lump on the side of his head, so he was wonky in there in lots of ways.

    Anyway, I had a hospital VBAC. I labored for almost 36 hours at the hospital. I pushed for 3 hours and 45 minutes. It was a midwife attended birth with a doula. No one ever said the word “c-section.” So it IS possible in a hospital setting. And like I said, this was with a VBAC, too. 🙂

  • Ashley B

    My 4th was OP. I did it natural. We were going to do a UC. But after my water broke and nothing happened for 2 days I finally went to my midwife in the hospital. She had to try and turn his head and that didn’t work. But he finally came out and it hurt!!!! My other three were natural and were born minutes after my water broke with 1-2 pushes so to have my 4th do this to me was crazy. GOOD JOB!!!!!!

  • Laura

    way to go mama! my first, and only as of now, was OP…delivered in a hospital with a midwife and doula. unmedicated, i was at 8.5 cm for around 5 hours and my dd just wasn’t helping my body open up anymore no matter what position i labored in. i came to the point where i feel i began mentally going to that other place, and i definitely didn’t wanna go there so i got the absolute lowest dose epidural possible…and still two hours later had only progressed to 9.5 cm and dd was beginning to get stressed. i am almost sure that with most OBs i would have been, at that point, given a c…but with a midwife, i was able to say to her and the nurse (who was amazing) ‘hold it back and i’m gonna push! i’m done with this, she’s coming out!’ they complied, and i think i only pushed for a little over a half an hour and, from my husband’s account, it was like she just popped out. although i am ecstatic i didn’t have to undergo surgery to meet my sweet girl, i wonder how things would have been different at home…

  • Melissa

    Trying to figure out what happened to me. My boy was OP but came shooting 6 minutes after calling the midwife to head to the house (when we called the contractions had only just made it to 5 minutes apart. Didn’t even know he came out the wrong way until I asked my husband. Contractions didn’t even hurt.

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