Your baby keeps floating inside your tummy. They indulge in acrobats to move around and get into the position of delivery between 32 -37 weeks of pregnancy. Moms can feel the kicks and bumps in their belly and most of them can make out which way their baby is facing by the last month of pregnancy.
Yet, again, people have come out with ways to map the belly, out of curiosity and to determine where their baby’s head is and where do their feet lie.
One such person is Gail Tully who is the author of the book The Belly Mapping Workbook and the website spinningbabies.com. She came up with a technique for belly mapping that is interesting as well as fun. The method helps to identify the position of the baby in the womb and determine if it can affect the labor and birth, especially if the baby is in breech position.
Gail says that the mother needs to be in the 7th-8th month of her pregnancy for doing a belly mapping. A bottle of non-toxic paint or a marker—so that you could do the marking. A doll with distinguished head, body, and limbs would be helpful to visualize the position of the baby.
She first advises the mother to sit in a comfortable position and breathe slowly and deeply into the abdomen. Using oil on hands could make it easier to feel your baby through the tummy.
As per Gail, the mapping could be done after 30 weeks, after your midwife or doctor has confirmed the position of baby’s head—if it is face down or face up. However, if you haven’t attended the appointment, you could still determine the position by feeling your baby’s head. Lie down on the bed and put a little pressure in your lower pelvic area—you will sense your baby’s head like a mass, which is different and distinguishable from the rest.The arms and hands are close by, near the face as the baby would be sucking on the fingers.
Your midwife/doctor could assist you in finding the heartbeat. You could even find your baby’s heartbeat, using a fetoscope and with the help of your partner or friend—mark the place on your belly with the paint.
If your baby is the anterior position, his/her back it facing towards your belly—the back of your baby will feel like a long and hard mass. However, if you feel otherwise, like a softer area—which could be your baby’s tummy, chances are he/she is in the posterior position. It could also be an anterior placenta, where your placenta is attached to the front wall of your uterus.
Use the doll and try positioning it over of your belly, following the mark of the head, the heartbeat, and the limbs. Now, remember where you feel your baby’s kicks. They could be on one side of your ribs or in the upper abdomen area, mark these positions. Some babies do spread out their legs, but there is always a pattern in the position of the kicks.
Your baby’s little bum will also feel hard—you could mistake it with the head. Try joining the doubts—the head, the heartbeat, and the area where you feel frequent kicking. Use the doll once again to check how your baby could be positioned.
You could even try painting and color marking your belly according to your baby’s position—which is fun and exciting. Make sure you use colors that are skin-safe.
If you want to determine an accurate positioning of your baby, a doctor or midwife could still provide you with a clearer picture.
Are your worried about your baby’s positioning? Here are ways you can turn a breech baby.
