can you feel the baby's head?

[mom2ariana]

i asked my doctor about the position of my baby, and she thinks that she is head down but she is going to check next week. anyways, a friend of mine said that she could feel her baby's head if she put her fingers in her vagina...so i tried this last night and felt what felt to me like a head, on the wall near my stomach/abdomen...ive never noticed anything so hard there before, and DH felt it too and he said he's never noticed either but that it really feels very hard like a head. has anyone else experienced this and is that what it is? that would be great, because i've been worried my little one isn't head down..

[alaysha]

I would request an ultrasound. My last pregnancy at 36 weeks they said they believed my daughter to be head down... got an ultrasound a day later and she was breech... they gave her 2 weeks to turn on her own and she didn't. I ended up having to get a external version to turn her. If you are worried about your baby being breech I would get an ultrasound for sure.

[mom2ariana]

oh well i'm not sticking any of my fingers deep inside of my cervix like the doctors!! that would scare me! i'm way too paranoid/a worrier to do that. :) when i was talking about feelin somethin hard i meant i thought i felt the baby's head just a few inches inside but who really knows. it would be cool though if it was her, i'll ask the doctor!!

[Ashelen]

well the difference is...the penis doesn't enter the cervix!

it's always up to the mommy but there's no reason to do it so i would say not to risk it. <3

[mom2ariana]

well where i felt the head wasn't very far back there..
i'm 35 weeks joy. personally i dont think there is anything wrong with feeling for her head /checking your cervix because its no more invasive to have fingers inside of you than a penis..and i thoroughly washed with antibacterial soap before...but as far as poking around the cervix i know this can cause contractions and so i am always very careful and it hasn't caused any problems yet...and one of the doctors knows i have before and didn't advise me against it.
but i just wanted to know if it was possible to feel the head and if thats what i was feeling...thank you ladies!!

[LosingMyMindInGA]

I also have to agree with AShelen and Limonda.  It's never a good idea to be poking around your cervix.  This is why docs don't perform cervical checks until very close to your due date unless otherwise medically necessary.  a) you could irritate the cervix and cause it to start changing too early and b) you could introduce foreign bacteria and cause an infection that could lead to other complications.  

[Limonada]

I was going to say what Ashelen did!  During my 2WW, I was checking my cervix....and didn't notice anything happening.  Then I found out I was pregnant :-)  I checked my cervix one more time to see if it felt any different (which it didn't) and then didn't touch it at all for the rest of my pregnancy.....not even when I was overdue and was tempted to see what was going on "down there".  My OB determined that baby was vertex (head down) by the time I was 28 weeks - and he did it by palpating my abdomen.  He did internal exams beginning at 37 weeks.

You really don't want to "disturb" the cervix or risk introducing bacteria.

[Ashelen]

I know that a lot of women have differing opinions on this...but don't reach inside your vagina! You don't want to irritate your cervix this close to being full-term and you don't need to know if the baby's head is engaged yet.

Like JoyRenee said, they can externally palpate your stomach to determine if the baby is head down...much safer!!!

The doctor knows how and what to feel for, so it's safe for her to do, but you really don't want to mess around down there, there's no need! <3

[JoyRenee]

How far along are you? You would only be able to feel the baby's head if 1). they were head down and 2). they were right at the cervix (called station). Most babies will engage right on top of the cervix at around 36 weeks+ (though there are always special circumstances or someone who can say otherwise).

Best way to find out if they are head down is to push on the top of your belly (where the butt/head would be). If the entire body moves and you feel pressure on your cervix your baby is most likely head down. If just the round, hard thing you push on moves then they are most likely head up (because the head can move separately from the body).

The way doctors check is to actually grab the baby's head from your abdomen. Gently, of course, though it is not comfortable for you!