How do I know when my baby has dropped in my pelvis?

Most women don't necessarily notice when their baby drops in their pelvis until someone says to them (when they haven't seen them for a while) "Oh it looks like your baby has dropped." And the medical term for this is lightening - your baby descending into the pelvis. And you might notice when someone says this to you that - oh yeah, I can take a little bit more of a deeper breath and my heartburn is not quite so bad. But it's not necessarily a great trade off because with the increased pressure in your abdomen down in your pelvis, you have to urinate more frequently, and you kind of feel like you've got a bowling ball that's trying to push through because it kind of is. And so you just have more pressure down low instead of up high.

This isn't a good predictor of when labor is going to happen. For a first-time mom, this can happen 2 to 4 weeks before the baby is actually born, and sometimes even earlier than that. And for moms who have already had a baby before, sometimes this can happen right before labor starts. Now one of the things we check when we check your cervix is (your doctor in the doctors office, and then the staff at the hospital) is where the baby's head is in your pelvis, and this is called station. And there's prominent points on the inside of your pelvis called ischial spines, and if the baby is at that level, then your baby is 0 station. And just to put it in perspective, your usually not that low until it's about ready to have the baby especially if it's your first baby. Anything above that is negative. So it goes 0, -1, -2, -3 moving up in your pelvis. And then in the opposite direction, it goes +1, +2, +3. And your baby is +3 station when they're about ready to be born. We can actually see some of the baby's head from the outside. So if your baby hasn't descended in your pelvis, they're usually floating, not even -3, or as they start to come down, -3, -2. And then as they drop, maybe they'll be like -1 or 0 station.

If you have more questions about your specific circumstances, don't hesitate to ask your doctor. But if you have any other questions for me in the future, feel free to ask them on our Facebook page at Facebook.com/IntermountainMoms, and recommend us to your friends and family too.

Видео How do I know when my baby has dropped in my pelvis? канала IntermountainParents