Several factors contribute to the mobile head in pregnancy. Your pregnancy’s last few weeks are packed with excitement as you get ready to welcome your baby. Your baby spends the majority of pregnancy facing head-up, with their feet near the bottom of the womb.The final four weeks of pregnancy are when babies usually rotate.
Most babies turn their heads close to your pelvis by rotating upside down. Thus, it marks the start of head engagement in pregnancy. In some cases, the baby is positioned to emerge from your womb first through the feet or buttocks, which is termed a breech baby. Complications of breech delivery carry a huge responsibility than a regular vaginal delivery
WHAT IS THE ENGAGEMENT OF THE HEAD:
Has the baby’s head gone down? is usually the first thing neighbours ask when you are close to your delivery date. Normally, in primigravida(first pregnancy of women) the baby’s head fixes inside the pelvic inlet around 36 to 38 weeks which is termed head engaging.
Your baby’s head is engaged when the widest diameter of the baby’s head passes through the brim of your pelvis. Conversely, if the baby’s head doesn’t get fixed inside the pelvic inlet beyond the period of 36 to 38 weeks of GA then it is termed a mobile head or floating head.
SYMPTOMS TO FIND HEAD ENGAGEMENT OF BABY:
You can keep an eye on the following signs to find out whether your baby has started to rotate down in the final weeks of pregnancy.
- Feeling of fullness in your pelvis
- Having less heartburn
- Frequent urination.
CAUSES FOR MOBILE HEAD:
During head engagement, the baby flexes its head well to present as the vertex. The smallest presenting diameter of the baby’s head is around 9 to 9.5 cm. Further, the diameter of the engagement of the pelvic inlet is 10.5 to 11 cm. If there is slight deflexion or extension of the fetal head, the presenting head diameter gets increased which makes difficult for the head to descend. Let’s see the conditions where the head will be mobile
- Deflexion of head
- Cephalopelvic Disproportion (CPD)
- Cord loop around the neck
- Excessive or decreased fluid around the baby
- Low-lying placenta
- Occipito posterior
- Lump in baby’s neck
In very rare cases, the pelvic intent of women will be narrow due to severe nutritional deficiency.
THE EFFECTS OF MOBILE HEAD:
The effects of the mobile head will be
- Post-dated pregnancy
- Prolonged labor
- Obstructed labor
- Cesarian section
ACTION STRATEGIES FOR HEAD ENGAGEMENT:
Regular exercises like squats and butterfly exercises will help your abdominal muscles to stretch and relaxation of pelvic ligaments which helps in head dropping down. Additionally, before doing exercise consult your obstetrician about your risk of doing it.
TO CONCLUDE:
Thus, a well-fitting head gives uniform pressure on the cervix to have a safe normal vaginal delivery. In some women, though the head will remain mobile, at the time of labour the head will engage which results in normal vaginal delivery. Thus, the mobile head in pregnancy acts as an essential factor in deciding the way of delivery. Further, consult your obstetrician and follow the suggestions given by them to have a safe delivery and a happy family
