"The head is at -1 station".....You may have read women online talking about vaginal…

"The head is at -1 station".....You may have read women online talking about vaginal examinations performed by their midwife or doctor in labour to assess how low the baby's head is. This is useful in certain situations such as prior to breaking the waters to augment or induce labour (if medically neccessary) If the station of the head is too high during artificial membrane rupture, there could potentially be a risk of the cord prolapsing (I explained cord prolapse in a previous post) It's also useful if a woman has had an epidural and she is fully dilated; If the head is to high, it may be worth waiting for the head to come down more before commencing with pushing. . Fetal station refers to where the presenting part is in your pelvis. The presenting part. The presenting part is the part of the baby that leads the way through the birth canal. Most often, it is the baby's head, but it can be a shoulder, the buttocks, or the feet.

Ischial spines. These are bony points on the mother's pelvis. Normally the ischial spines are the narrowest part of the pelvis.

0 station. This is when the baby's head is even with the ischial spines. The baby is said to be "engaged" when the largest part of the head has entered the pelvis.

If the presenting part lies above the ischial spines, the station is reported as a negative number from -1 to -3

By the time the head is +2/+3 it is usually visible externally when pushing and birth is imminent!

In first-time mums, the baby's head may engage by 36 weeks into the pregnancy. However, engagement may happen later in the pregnancy, or even during labour for women who have already given birth. . . . . . . . . . .

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