A Perfect Posterior

I had a rather unusual birth recently.  A speedy birth.  Four hours, in fact.  The client arrived at the hospital at 9cm and had a baby an hour later.  So what was unusual about this birth?  The baby was posterior; born facing the sky.  And none of us had any idea that was coming. 

Usually the first clue that a baby is posterior is long labor or prolonged pushing.  Or back labor.  My client had none of these.  Her body must like posterior babies.  Some women have an anthropoid pelvis (oblong) and handle posterior babies with ease.  She pushed for only 40 minutes in the hospital “curl around yourself” semi-sitting position.  I imagine this length would have been even shorter if she had been vertical or on hands and knees. 

My favorite part about this birth is that the baby latched on 5 minutes after birth and remained actively nursing for 20 minutes.  It was beautiful.  I am so proud of this strong woman who handled a hard, fast labor with ease.