Will I have a normal vaginal birth?
by Dr. Derrick Thompson (Obstetrician and Gynaecologist)
You are more likely to have a normal vaginal birth if:
- there has been normal growth of your baby, reducing the risk of fetal distress in labour
- your baby’s head is engaged prior to labour
- the onset of labour is spontaneous
- your labour is progressing well (more than one cm per hour) and the fetal head is descending into the pelvis
- your membranes have ruptured spontaneously, especially if your cervix is nearly or fully dilated
- your baby’s head is well flexed and in an anterior position
- your baby’s head appears at the entrance to your vagina (introitus) and is on view without a contraction
- if you give birth in an upright or lateral position
A review of birth positions has found that women who adopt an upright or lateral position for birth had a reduced duration of second stage of labour and were less likely to need an instrumental birth.
Conversely, you are less likely to have a normal vaginal birth if:
- you have a big baby – more than 4 kg (greater than the 90th percentile on the growth chart)
- your baby’s head remains well above the brim of your pelvis
- you are overdue, especially if it is your first pregnancy
- your membranes rupture before the onset of labour
- you have irregular contractions, commonly known as in-coordinate labour
- progressive descent of the head into the pelvis does not occur and the head is deflexed and in the posterior position
- you have a prolonged labour
- there is fetal distress, which is often associated with a small baby suffering from placental insufficiency
- your baby’s head does not spontaneously come “on view” at the introitus
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