Midwifery Today Community

Both of my babies were born "direct OA" and never turned to deliver their shoulders.

Why is this?  How does it happen, what does it mean?

I talked to my MW briefly about it, but beyond the impression that i had plenty of room and a very wide angle to my pubic arch, we never really talked much more about it.

Is it common or rare?  I can't find anything much on it when i google.  Is it significant in any way?  I only noticed it really because i caught DD2 myself and couldn't find her armpit where i was feeling for it, because she hadn't turned.

Bec, that just says to me you have an awesome pelvis and that saved your babies from having to wiggle around and squeeze out.  It's not that common nor is it rare, in my experience.  It just happens with a certain mamababe combo and it happened twice to you.

I had two of these myself, too!  The first baby was 6# 6 oz, 16" long and the second was 9# 8 oz and 24" long.  (She was like a loaf of French bread!)  Both babies came out sunnyside up and didn't rotate.  My doula commented that they just wanted to get a good look at me as they were coming out.

LOL at the loaf of french bread - both of mine were like that - 22inches and 7lbs14.5oz, and 23 inches and 8lbs8oz.  Both had 35cm heads.  Long and lean.  Like me, except for the lean LMAO!

 my 2nd baby, 1st homebirth, came out OA, the shoulders gave me labial skid marks on the way out, the rest of them (5 more) did restitute just fine.

My d-i-l's kids all came out already restituted before the head was born, so the kids were facing her left thigh! We think that has somethng to do w the shape of her pelvis.

Even my largest, (9 - 11), came out w such a round head, you'd think she was sectioned!

I have had a few of these, I am a hospital-based CNM and one of the biggest babies I have caught was a week or so ago, came out direct OA with shoulders parallel to mom's.  10 lbs 6 oz, 22 inches, I was very nervous about a shoulder dystocia (baby felt big, very scant prenatal care with I suspect borderline GDM) but there ended up being no "anterior" or "posterior" shoulder!  Women's bodies are amazing.