Baby Head Not Engaged at 39 Weeks: What to Expect & What Can You Do?

Question
I am 39 + 1 weeks pregnant and have been told that my baby's head is not engaged - not even 1/5.  This is my first pregnancy.  Is the head likely to engage in the next 10 days and is there anything I can do to facilitate engagement?
Thanks for your advice.

Answer
Once you start going into labor, the baby's head will engage. Engagement is achieved when the biparietal diameter of the baby's head passes below your ichial spines in your pelvis. First, you will start too get contractions. When you have contractions every 3 minutes (from the beginning of one to the beginning of the next one) and each contraction remains hard for a full minute, and this continues for a full hour, you are considered to be in labor. If your cervix is dilated more than 3cm, you will be admitted to the hospital. Then you will be checked to see if there is engagement. In order for engagement to occur, the head must start moving down towards the cervix. Don't worry. This usually does not start until 40 or 41 weeks gestation.