Asynclitic Baby? | Birth Takes a Village

Photo from spinningbabies.com

I spent some time yesterday practising a Spinning Babies technique with a current client preparing for a VBAC here in Vancouver.

During the birth process, babies slowly shift and adjust, making small movements assisted by mom’s uterus to find just the right position for fitting through the pelvis. Some babies find this position more quickly than others.  When babies have their heads  cocked to one side for an extended period of time as they try to find their way out of the pelvis, medical professionals diagnose this as asynclitism, or having an asynclitic head. 

If someone notices your baby’s head is in an asynclitic position at some point during the birth process, it just means everyone needs to practice a little patience as baby figures his or her way out.  However, there are ways to help make things a little easier on your baby’s journey.

It is thought that when the pelvic floor muscles are balanced, a baby is more likely to have an quicker time finding an even position on the way down through the pelvis.

Spinning Babies has an excellent description of something called the pelvic floor release technique. My client wanted to try something to optimize her current baby’s position, so we thought we’d give this technique a try together. She said it was relaxing and felt like a really great release in her hips… she’s going to keep doing it at home with her husband while they wait for baby to come and hope it encourages a smooth passage for him when he decides it’s time to join us in the outside world. Click here for detailed instructions on doing the pelvis floor release.

This being said, I really wish people would keep fingers out of women’s vaginas in the birth process, looking for “problems” to diagnose such as asyclitism. Midwife Thinking has an AMAZING blog post on asynclitism… I really urge you to check it out!

Are you preparing for a VBAC in Vancouver?

I focus my practice on supporting women who have had cesareans or other previously challenging births.

Call 604-700-4115 to set up a free initial interview.

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