Fetal lie refers to the relationship between the longitudinal axis of the baby with respect to the longitudinal axis of the mother (longitudinal lie, transverse lie, oblique lie). Most babies present with the crown of the head at the cervix (vertex presentation).
Normally, the position of a fetus is facing rearward (toward the woman's back) with the face and body angled to one side and the neck flexed, and presentation is head first. An abnormal position is facing forward, and abnormal presentations include face, brow, breech, and shoulder.
The fetal attitude describes the position of the parts of your baby's body. The normal fetal attitude is commonly called the fetal position. The head is tucked down to the chest. The arms and legs are drawn in towards the center of the chest.
By placing the palms of both hands on either side of the fundus with the fingers held close together, the clinician is able to identify whether the fetal vertex or breech occupies the fundus and to determine fetal lie.
61.1 Background. Fetal presentation refers to the part of the baby that is overlying the maternal pelvis. Fetal lie refers to the relationship between the longitudinal axis of the baby with respect to the longitudinal axis of the mother (longitudinal lie, transverse lie, oblique lie).
The Causes Of Unstable Lie
If it's your first pregnancy. If you have an irregular shape to your uterus (caused by fibroids or a septum) Twin pregnancy. You are known to have a placenta covering the cervix (placenta previa)
Fetal lie is the relationship of the fetus to the long axis of the mother... NORMAL lie- longitudinal lie- fetus' long axis is in line with the mother's uterus with its head down. ABNORMAL lie- is referred to a breech, where the buttocks are in positioned in uterus as to where the head should normally be.
Long is short for longitudinal. It means your baby is lying with his spine parallel to yours.
On ultrasound, the landmarks for determining fetal head positions are the fetal orbits, the midline cerebral echo, and the occiput. The fetal head position can be described by the position of these landmarks with respect to the hour hand on the face of an analog clock.
Diagnosis. It's not uncommon for a baby to be in a transverse position during the earlier stages of pregnancy. In most cases, though, they shift on their own well before labor begins. 8 The transverse baby position doesn't cause any signs or symptoms.
Unstable lie means that the baby is moving and changing its position. This is normal as baby is very small and keep changing its position during early pregnancy.
Cesarean section is the delivery method of choice in all shoulder presentations of viable fetuses. The classic cesarean section is usually recommended when there is a transverse lie because of the potential technical difficulties associated with extraction of the fetus when a low-segment incision is used.
If the placenta is low-lying in the womb after 20 weeks, it may prevent the baby from getting into the normal position of head first. Your baby may lie bottom first (known as the breech position) or lying across the womb (known as transverse) around the time of birth.
Again, your baby's position isn't usually a big concern until you reach between 32 and 36 weeks in your pregnancy. Before that point, the fluid in the uterus gives your baby plenty of space to move around.
If the placenta stays low in your womb, near to or covering your cervix, it may block the baby's way out. This is called low-lying placenta if the placenta is less than 2cm from the cervix, or placenta praevia if the placenta is completely covering the cervix.
Meaning of abbreviations used in maternity notes
1/5 or 0/5 = deeply engaged. If it's your first baby, engagement tends to happen in the last weeks. In subsequent pregnancies, it may happen later or even not until labour has started.
Baby's head is just beginning to enter into the pelvis, but only the very top or back of the head can be felt by your doctor or midwife. 3/5. At this point, the widest part of your baby's head has moved into the pelvic brim, and your baby is considered engaged.
Many physicians advise pregnant women to sleep on their left side. Previous studies have linked back and right-side sleeping with a higher risk of stillbirth, reduced fetal growth, low birth weight, and preeclampsia, a life-threatening high blood pressure disorder that affects the mother.
March 2020) Lying – also called recumbency, prostration, or decubitus in medicine (from Latin decumbo 'to lie down') – is a type of human position in which the body is more or less horizontal and supported along its length by the surface underneath.
The risk factors for abnormal fetal lie, malpresentation and malposition include: Prematurity. Multiple pregnancy. Uterine abnormalities (e.g fibroids, partial septate uterus)
Diagnosis of an unstable lie
A malpresentation/unstable lie may be suspected on abdominal palpation or vaginal examination and can be confirmed by abdominal ultrasound scan or by identifying landmarks vaginally such as facial features, genitalia, limbs or digits.
Although this is common in early pregnancy when the babies are more mobile, most babies turn into the head down position by the last trimester. When this does not happen, the malpresentation called transverse lie results. According to studies, this presentation is rare and is found in only 1 in 400 cases.