Natural Birth and Baby Care.com

What Does the Position ROL Mean?

My midwife has told me that my baby's position is ROL. Does this mean my baby is on the right side facing sideways? And is this anterior, posterior, longitudinal, or something else?

Answer:

I'm a little unclear about your midwife's abbreviation.

The RO most likely means "right occiput" - "occiput" is the baby's head (the back part of the head/skull). Right means the baby is facing your right - the back of the baby's head is to the left.

Normally a baby is stated to be ROA or ROP - this would mean Right Occiput Anterior, or Right Occiput Posterior. An Anterior baby has his or her back towards your front. A Posterior baby has his or her back to your back.

I'm guessing the "L" your midwife has given you stands for longitudinal, which means your baby is straight up and down. This is what you want - you want your baby with his or her head down and bottom up.

Next time you see your midwife you can ask her if your baby is Anterior or Posterior, or you can even try and feel for yourself now.

If you press down on your belly (not too hard, but do press firmly), see what you feel. If you feel a long, smooth section (most likely on the left side of your belly), that's probably your baby's back. You'll feel a hump from his or her bum up high, and you may feel a slight neck curve down low. On the right side you may feel little feet and hands. Your baby is anterior if you feel something similar to this.

If all you feel is little nubs with no smooth long side, chances are your baby's back is to yours. This means your baby is posterior.

Anterior is the best position for baby to be in when labor begins, and optimally ROA. You can encourage your baby to be in the right position by paying careful attention to your posture and trying not to slouch back in reclining positions. I always found this much easier said than done ;)

I have some baby position illustrations you may find helpful!