# Can you make/encourage a baby to engage???



## CortLong (Jun 4, 2003)

a few questions......

1)is there any way you can 'encourage' a baby to engage (so she's not still flipping back and forth?!)?

2) is engagement a positive thing before labor??

3) how likely is it that she'll engage before labor begins?


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## JanetF (Oct 31, 2004)

Quote:

1)is there any way you can 'encourage' a baby to engage (so she's not still flipping back and forth?!)?
Yes but it's important to practice OFP (optimal foetal positioning so they don't engage in a difficult position. If she's flipping she might not be happy with the positions she's trying and she wants to find a nice anterior one so she can get out more easily. Do you know where your placenta is? Sometimes babies avoid putting too much pressure on their placenta until the very past moment and so don't engage until labour.

Quote:

2) is engagement a positive thing before labor??
Well it's not a bad thing. It can help labour progress by applying pressure to your cervix. However, as I said, if her head isn't applied properly it won't help and your labour won't progress as well. So long as bubs is in a good position, it doesn't matter if she doesn't engage yet.

Quote:

3) how likely is it that she'll engage before labor begins?
Some do, some don't. It's not that important. What is important is that she engages properly.

In the Birth Preparation section of this web site, you can learn about OFP and make sure you practice it even into labour. If you can encourage bubs into a nice comfy anterior position you could try some deep squatting to encourage her to go down a little further.

http://www.horns.freeserve.co.uk/ourhome.htm

Good luck with it!









J


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## anothermama (Nov 11, 2003)

With my first pregnancy, my midwife encouraged me to, daily, get on all fours and do a kind of cat stretch.......roll my back up and roll my pelvis into a "tuck".......to encourage my daughter to engage in and engage correctly. I did this with both my pregnancies daily towards the last few weeks and both my kids presented great and engaged a couple weeks before delivery. They were also large and my midwives have said that really helps.


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## Artisan (Aug 24, 2002)

But keep in mind that lots of subsequent babies DO NOT engage before labor begins, and that's totally normal. My labor with an engaged baby took longer than my labor with a baby that was not engaged and posterior.


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