Head Engagement

[grace7]

I have asked in the 3rd tri but thought i would ask here to had a MW visit today and she said that the babies head was 4/5th engaged well thats how she wrote it in my notes to does that mean her head is nearly fully engaged or just a little? I got really excited but recently been told by a few ppl that it means shes only a little engaged and isn't going to come soon!!

 

[cassi]

it really depends on the midwife she could mean 4/5 (out of) engaged so nearly full but in most cases 4/5 means just 1 of 5 engaged so only a little but that is perfectly normal for 36 weeks i was the same and i had my LO 2 days early. You can go from hardly engaged to fully in a matter of days ...your friends cant say you definatly wont go into labour any time soon by knowing how far down the head is because it could wait untill labour to drop.

 

[littlebump]

I agree with what Cassi says.

When my MW said I was 2/3 engaged it meant she could still feel 2/3 of the head so only 1/3 had dipped down.

Some seem to do it the other way around.

LBxx

 

[SarahH]

My mw did it the other way round - 4/5 ment only 1/5 to fully engaged.

But I would also say, the baby's head can engage up and down a few times - one week I'd be 3/5 the next 4/5 then back to 2/5. The baby does a lot of wriggling down there!!

S. xx

 

[emmwa]

My midwife went by what I read in books which was 0/5 means fully engaged, so 4/5 is just a little engaged. I was 4/5ths at 32 weeks but the midwife says it can bob in and out for a while and may not be fully engaged until the last minute.