A Possible Explanation for Arching
Feyza Celik, a doula in Canada, wrote such a terrific essay on my Facebook group about the possible cause of arching that I wanted to save her comments on my other platforms.
She makes a lot of sense. If this indeed is the cause of arching, maybe someday effective preventative methods may be available for all pregnant women.
From Feyza Celik
As a Body Ready Method doula who supports pregnant people before, during and after birth, and trained with understanding the pregnant body and fetal positioning, here is what I can tell you about arching:
From my observation, the babies who show the greatest levels of arching are the babies who were not curled up with their chins tucked in. In fact, quite the opposite is true. My observation is that many babies are in suboptimal positions in the womb, and the cause of which is usually a lot of tightness and tension on the left side of the pregnant body.
As a result, the baby has to fit on the back or on the right side of the womb. The right side is where the liver is, so the baby has to arch their back to fit over the liver. The spine is also curled so they are also forced into an arched-back position there.
More and more these days, birth is becoming more difficult because of imbalances in the pregnant body. Rates of medical intervention are increasing exponentially due to a lack of understanding of the biomechanics of birth, including the role of fascia.
Modern society does not serve the pregnant body well. The imbalances in the pregnant body directly affect the birthing baby’s (sub)optimal positioning. It’s worse when they’re born by cesarean because they do not get their first craniosacral treatment through the birth canal.
All in all, if a baby arches her or his back a lot, I would bet that if you asked the mother where she felt the baby’s kicks, she would probably say on the left or the front. In effect, the baby is actually re-enacting the trauma of their fetal experience.
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