Randomised controlled trial:

A randomised trial is a type of clinical study where the participants are allocated to one of two or more treatment options randomly (also called 'randomisation').  Many treatments in all areas of medicine have been tested in this type of study. 

In the case of the POP-OUT Trial, the treatment arms are:

(1) a manual rotation or

(2) a 'sham' or pretend manual rotation. 

In this study, a computer decides which option the women has in a process like flipping a coin.

At the end of the trial, we will compare the women who had a manual rotation with those who did not, and see which group of women were more likely to have a normal vaginal birth.  If the women who have a manual rotation are more likely to have a normal birth then this will show that manual rotation can improve the chances of a normal birth if the baby is in the posterior or transverse position.