How will my caregiver know?
How will it affect my labour?
Baby after the birth
What is a 'face presentation'?
The medical term 'presentation' refers to the part of the baby that leads the way down the woman's birth canal. In most cases, the crown of the baby's head leads the way, often referred to as a 'vertex presentation'. A vertex presentation is when the baby's head is 'flexed', meaning their chin is resting on their chest, and the baby is looking down towards their own body.
Occasionally, (in about 1 in every 500, 0.2% of births) the baby's head extends right back, so that the back of their head is resting on the baby's upper back, (or looking away from its own body). When this happens, (and the baby is head down inside the uterus) it is called a 'face presentation', because the baby's face is leading the way. A face presentation is more common for women having their second, or subsequent baby, and is usually something that occurs by chance. In rare cases, it may be due to the baby having an abnormality of the head or spine, affecting the position of their head.
Image 5-34 shows a baby presenting in a face position.
How will my caregiver know?
A face presentation is usually not detected until the labour. This is because most babies presenting face first, will usually convert to the face presentation during the labour, with the force of the contractions pushing the baby's head back, rather than forward (as is normally the case). Occasionally, a baby will be in a face position before the labour starts, and the caregiver may suspect this, if the shape of your belly feels a little unusual at a routine pregnancy visit, in the last 3 weeks of the pregnancy, However, this can still be quite difficult to detect, and could be missed. If the caregiver suspected a face presentation, they may order an ultrasound, to confirm what they are suspecting.