First off… what does OFP mean.
Optimal Foetal positioning.

What???

Ok why do I need to know about OFP?

Many difficult labours result from ‘mal-presentation’, where the position of the baby makes it hard for the head to move through the pelvis, so changing this could make birth easier for mother and baby. It’s a theory by midwife, Jean Sutton, and Pauline Scott, an antenatal teacher that a mother’s position and movement could influence the way her baby lay in the womb in the final weeks of pregnancy
The baby enters the mother’s pelvis in what is medically known as the LOA position — that is head down, back between mother’s left hip and umbilicus. This is described in all textbooks as the ‘normal’ position. It is made easier because the uterus near full term leans slightly to the right at the top and has a curve to the left at the lower segment. In the books, this is called right obliquity and dextro rotation.
The mother’s abdominal muscles are relatively stretchy and the lumber lordosis (curvature) of her back increases. So as long as the mother maintains postures that keep her knees lower than her seat, her pelvic brim is kept as wide open as possible and the baby finds it simple to engage at the correct angle. The baby is able to flex his neck and bring his chin well down on his chest. This makes the occiput the leading part of his head — reducing the diameter to 9.5cm from 11.5cm.
First babies usually make this move at about 36 weeks gestation while they are still relatively small, so that the maximum hormonal and physical stimulation is given to the cervix when Braxton-Hicks contractions increase. Subsequent babies may wait until 40 weeks or even until labour begins.

Occipito-anterior (OA) and occipito-posterior (OP)
– often called “anterior” and “posterior” for short — are the technical terms to describe the way your baby is positioned in the uterus. Both of these terms apply to a baby who is head down.
In the OA position, your baby is head down with his or her face looking at your spine. In the OP position, your baby is head down, facing your naval
An OP baby and mother must do more work in order to have a vaginal birth. Labour is often longer and more painful, while the baby attempts to rotate to the anterior position. A common occurrence in OP labours is excruciating back pain, caused by the hard surface of the baby’s skull pressing on the mother’s lower back.
The best way to avoid your baby from adopting an undesirable position is to avoid:

Laying on your back with your feet up
Sleeping on your back
Slouching back in an arm chair, recliner or sofa
Anything that has your knees higher than your pelvis.
If your baby is not in an optimal position the following things have been tried and tested by other mums-to-be.
Buy, borrow or hire a birth ball and try to spend as much time as you would sitting, leaning over it, perhaps watching tv.
Read the newspaper or a book on all fours with the book on the floor and bottom in the air!
Crawl around the floor… (ed: mmmm…. close the curtains first!)
Float belly down in the bath.
Sleep on your side.
Lean forward against a pile of bean bags & pillows while relaxing.
Basically any position that allows your belly button to be lower than your spine… gravity will pull baby’s spine down to rest behind your belly button.
It has also been said that a breech baby can be turned by the following;
When you feel your baby is most active, lay on your side and tuck your knees under your chin (ed: obviously as far as you can manage…. I don’t think my knees and chin would ever meet even non preg!) Apparently the baby will want to turn.
Please remember that information on this site is not intended to replace the advice of a midwife or doctor. Always check with your medic before doing any exercises! Information found here has been researched form articles, books, midwives and personal experiences of Mama Pack Forum members.