What does it mean that a baby is in the “posterior position”?

When a baby is head-down but facing your abdomen, she’s said to be in the occiput posterior (OP) position – or posterior position, for short. The term refers to the fact that the back of your baby’s skull (the occipital bone) is in the back (or posterior) of your pelvis.

You may also hear this position referred to as “face-up” or “sunny-side up.”

How common is it for a baby to be in this position?

It depends on how close you are to delivery. Many more babies are posterior at the beginning of labor than when they’re born. While as many as half are posterior when labor starts, only 4 to 10 percent of babies are posterior at birth. (The percentage of babies who are posterior at birth is higher among first-time mothers.)

For more information about fetal positioning, please visit: http://spinningbabies.com