Attention moms-to-be mulling over labour positions for the big day: You might want to try lying down on your side to lower your chances of needing intervention while you’re on a low-dose epidural.
A large study by the University of Birmingham that was published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has found significantly fewer interventions, such as forceps and vacuums, are needed when first-time labouring women adopt a lying down position?specifically on their sides. (Lying flat on your back isn?t usually recommended, because it puts pressure on a major artery that restricts blood flow to the baby.)
Expectant mothers on low-dose epidural (for pain relief that allows them to still feel sensation in their legs) are often encouraged to ?work with gravity? while adopting a sitting, standing or kneeling position in later stages of labour for a more comfortable delivery and to get baby into the best birth position. But it seems lying on your side might actually be the best way to promote a complication-free delivery.
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