My friend went on to deliver a baby girl, but towards the fag end of pregnancy she did suffer from a lot of back pain. She was a victim of C section delivery and the reason provided as sunny side up delivery. All of us would have heard breech birth, what if baby is sunny side up? This poses quiet a lot of interesting questions. This is a popular abnormal position for your baby.

In medical terms if someone tells my baby is sunny side up, it means OP position. The head of your little one is being turned in the wrong way, the back portion of the head, occiput is posterior. This means that the face of the baby is pressed against the pubic bone. During this position it could be really difficult for a baby to extend their head out from the pubic bone. The delivery process seems to be really difficult to cope up.

Some pointers about an OP position
Till date a lot of studies have gone on to evolve on the OP position, what it would mean for a delivery and how you can go on to eradicate it. Some interesting facts that have emerged from the various studies are as follows
• This position is common during the starting phase of labor and this is around 30 % of pregnancies.
• The babies are expected to rotate to a normal position by the time delivery takes place. It is only 5 % of the babies who are victims of persistent OP
• If persistent levels of OP is found it could mean long duration of delivery, assisted type of delivery or an emergency C section. Research does point that 20 % of babies suffering from persistent OP are delivered via a C section
• During your first pregnancy the chances of persistent OP increases. The risk stands out to be around 7 %.

What can be done if your baby has a persistent OP?
The main option for managing an OP position would be an assisted form of delivery. This could be forceps or an assisted type of delivery. In some cases doctors could attempt a manual rotation of the baby along with maternal posturing. In maternal posturing, it would be a position on your knees or hands leaning on the chest.

The better news is that even if you start the delivery with a baby in a sunny side up position it would become normal by the time of delivery. If posturing could work in favour of the odds it would be great, but till date it has gone on to yield any major help.

Do discuss with your health care provider on what their experience has been in dealing with OP positioned babies. Do discuss with them the option if your baby proves to be sunny side up. The more you are aware it is going to happen the better prepared you will be to overcome this challenge.

Author's Bio: 

Pregistry’s vision is a world in which all pregnant women and their health care providers have the accurate information they need to successfully treat medical conditions that occur during pregnancy and ensure the best health outcomes for mothers and their babies.