Breech Baby

[DebbieF]

I will be 34 weeks on Monday and baby is still breech. I was wondering what the chances are of him turning at this point are? I am scheduled a c-s on April 21 (37+1 because of cholestasis) due to the breech position and the fact that I had a 4th degree tear with my dd. I am getting very nervous about the idea of a major surgery and think I am willing to try another vaginal birth even with the risk of more tearing. I have read horror stories of doctors manually flipping babies and I do not want to try that! (I'm a big baby, I know)

A few other things I have been thinking about are what are the chances that induction will actually be successful for me at just 37 weeks? Will the baby be smaller than my dd, therefore reducing the tearing risk? (DD born @ 41+2 at 7lb 13oz and posterior)

Also at my last appointment I asked the doctor her thoughts on the reason that babies are breech and the first thing out of her mouth was down syndrome or another developmental issue. Really? I've never heard that before and now on top of everything else she has me worried sick thinking the worst. I don't know what I am looking for out of this post, maybe some advice or positive stories from other BTDT moms..

 

[Button#]

My DS was breech at 34 weeks and he turned by my 36 week appointment. You still have time. You can always check out the spinning babies website for ways to help baby turn.

I'm afraid I don't know the answer to your induction question and my advice about your drs remark is to ignore her.

 

[BabyCleo]

Ive never heard about breech being a sign of DS. To me, that's stupid. Any baby can be breech...

You said your DD was 7lb, what was the reason for the 4th degree tear?

My old manager had a breech baby. They found out during labour, and called in like 4 midwives to attempt to turn him. It worked! She said it was painful (she had a natural hospital birth) but so happy they could turn him as she was avoiding C-section at all costs.

My mum had 2 c sections, an emerg with me (im the oldest) then elect with my sister. She was induced at 37 weeks with both of us cause she has diabetes (not pregnancy related) and I got distressed. During her second c section when they thought they were feeling my sisters head, it was her bum. they had no idea she was breech until my mum was cut open.

My mum said she enjoyed her c sections, even to the point of telling me I should elect for one ... shes a bit nuts though. Ive heard very positive stories on them and at the end of the day its about the safety of you and baby.

Im also terrified of major surgery, I hope your baby behaves and turns around!

 

[DebbieF]

She was posterior (face up)

That's the reason they gave me for the tearing..

 

[Kalabear]

My DS was breech no developmental issues what so ever. This one is breech again. I asked the dr that I had heard turning down was the baby's first "developmental milestone" he said he hadn't heard that and wasn't worried a bit. P

Plus baby still has time to turn at 34 weeks....especially with second or more babies....they have some more room

 

[DebbieF]

My DS was breech no developmental issues what so ever. This one is breech again. I asked the dr that I had heard turning down was the baby's first "developmental milestone" he said he hadn't heard that and wasn't worried a bit. P

Plus baby still has time to turn at 34 weeks....especially with second or more babies....they have some more room

I read that as well. I never put much thought into babies position until the doctor made that comment.

Did you have a cs, or did baby turn before labor?

 

[atx614]

I was induced at 37 weeks and all went well and baby came very quickly!

As far as breech and turning. My little sister was breech, they had my mom scheduled for a c section, but my sister turned on her own at 38.5 weeks.

Good luck!

 

[Julesillini8]

My first was sunny side up too, And I had a horrible tear. So I hear ya girl. But my second was not and labor was better and although I still had tearing ( but that's because of her big old melon and she was over 9 lbs) it wasn't nearly as bad. If your baby is facing the right way hopefully you won't have that kind of tearing again.
I have never heard of the breech and DS before, I would just let that go in one ear and out the other. There's defintiely a chance baby can turn still! My OB office doesn't even check head down position and officially write it in my notes until week 36 bc there's still such a chance of babys position to change ( but they obviously monitor it at and after 36 wks) so I'm hoping your baby switches if you really want to try to do this vaginally! Good luck my friend!

 

[mayacat]

I know lots of people who were born breech, including my own mother and sister, and none of them have Down's. I'm not sure where she would have got that from, that's kind of stupid. Chances are, your baby is just cozy where it is .

My own baby is breech, we figured out at 36 weeks and I'm 39-3 now and it still hasn't flipped. We tried the External Cephalic Version (ECV - manual turning) at 37-3 but it didn't work. The Drs said there's roughly a 50-50 chance of it working, with it being easier to do on somebody who's had a baby before (this is my first - huge count against it working in my case), and easier if the mother has a slighter build. It was horrifically uncomfortable and it did hurt a bit at the time, but I didn't have any bruising after and baby handled it just fine. I was just a little sore for a day or so in the spot where they were pushing on the baby's head. The chances of going into labour that day from it, or needing a C-section were about 1%. They wouldn't have offered it in my case if there were any complications that would have risked baby or I more than that. As uncomfortable as it was, I have a feeling labour feels much worse, lol. Hubby holding my hand helped and it was a good time to practice breathing at least.

At 34 weeks, there's still lots of time for it to turn on its own. I've heard stories of babies waiting to turn head-down until their due date even (I'm hoping that means there's still hope on my end too!). If it comes down to a C-section, I've talked to some friends who've had babies in the last year or two who've had them and they were very reassuring. They were disappointed to have to book one, but came away with a very positive experience. I'm hoping to avoid one too as I'm trying vaginal first, but if it comes down to it, the baby has to come out safely somehow.

I can't speak about baby size or induction, (my hospital actually will not induce breech babies - it's either on your own or C-section), but hopefully the rest of it was helpful! I know it's worrying, but thankfully there are lots of people who've gone through at least one or two of the things you're concerned about, so you should be able to find lots of positive outcome stories

 

[babykate]

96% of babies will turn before labor starts naturally, dont worry you still have a lot of time

 

[bungle]

Isn't bouncing on an exercise ball meant to help baby get into the right position? Might be worth a try at any rate. I also heard that babies are more inclined to be breech if you do a job that requires you to sit down for long periods of the day, like an office job? I wish some of these so-called professionals would think before they spoke! X

 

[CamoQueen]

Just got back from my 36 week check-up to find that my baby turned from head down to breech sometime in the last 4 weeks. She's a very, very, VERY active baby, so I'm not all that surprised. I've scheduled an ECV for next week, but I'm really optimistic that she'll flip again, as she's always on the move.

About the defect comment -- your doctor is an ass for saying that, honestly. 1 in 25 babies are born breech; the odds of your LO having Down syndrome is around 1 in 1,000 (if you're 30 or younger). If your ultrasounds and blood work all came out clear, then there is absolutely no reason to worry that the breech is due to an unseen defect.

Also, my best friend had to have her second child manually turned when he was breech; he's a perfectly healthy, normal 6 year old.

 

[Kalabear]

Hi Debbie....I had a c/s with my first as we didn't find out until 40 weeks and a rcs for this baby.

Hope baby turns for you

 

[babifever]

Never heard of breech baby having ds. I'm going to ask about that when I go to the specialist on Tuesday. That's crazy. I hope she turns for you!