Troubled by ECV experience

[beabee]

Went in for an ECV today as my last scan at 36 weeks (i'm now 37) showed baby still in breech. Unfortunately it didnt work but it was the way it was conducted that left me feeling a bit traumatised. I was wondering what others experiences of ECVs were like (especially any done on the British NHS)?

I knew it was meant to be an uncomfortable procedure but it's left me feeling like i want to change hospitals - anything to avoid going back there.

I went in alone after being told by a midwife it would be a quick straight-forward process. When the doctor came into the room to perform the procedure she was very fast talking, got right down to business and never once asked me if I was okay throughout what was a very painful 30 minute procedure (2 attempts were made, each lasting about 10-15 minutes).

Firstly i never expected them to tilt the bed backwards so my head was lower than my feet. It was really disconcerting and i felt extra vunerable. Anyone else have an ECV with this technique?

Second the doctor used talc on my belly then pure brute force digging her fingers and fists into my belly as hard as she could. At one point she mounted the bed to get more traction, i could barely breath or speak, was in excrutiating pain and felt like vomiting. After a while I asked her to stop for a moment but she said 'well that would defeat the purpose of doing this' and kept going. I felt like i'd been told to shut up and just let her get on with her job.

Came home shakey, bruised and very tender, promptly burst into tears. It didnt even work, baby moved perhaps an inch. I dont think this doctor's technique was even effective. I've seen a short clip on an ECV being performed and it appeared to be more a strong massaging technique, not this pressing of fists into a single spot as hard as possible.

Anyone have a similar (or very different/better) experience of this?

Thanks for reading

 

[Exmxb]

Hmmm... I just had the ECV done on Friday as well, and my experience definitely seems a lot less traumatic than yours. I did get tilted head lower than the rest of my body, I think that helps baby get into proper position.

I had two female doctors perform the procedure, and they both checked their nails first, and used ultrasound goo all over my belly. There was also a nurse at my feet rubbing my shins and telling me to breathe. It was very painful but it only took about five minutes total, and they stopped twice to ultrasound baby, and once because I asked them to stop for a minute and breathe. Both of the doctors and the nurse were sooo encouraging, telling me I was doing great, keep breathing, etc.

I mean, it was very painful for me, I was very tense and the father of baby wasn't there so it made it hard for me to calm down. But I just kept forcing myself to breathe through it. It really sounds like the doc didn't do the best job to keep you comfortable... My experience was unpleasant, but they made it as good as it could have been! I'm also sorry it didn't work for you... The success rate from what I was told is about 50%, and a bunch of nurses and another doc came into my room after all excited since they don't do them very often and are hit or miss with success.

But your baby will be here soon, one way or the other, so I wish you the best luck and hope it's wonderful!

ETA: I felt very shakey after the procedure. As soon as they were done the doctors left but the nurse stayed a minute, I was sweating bullets, and if I hadn't fasted I am certain I would have vomited, because I felt extremely nauseous. My belly felt VERY sore the night after (I had the procedure done around 4:30), and quite sore the next day. Monday it felt basically 100% though.

 

[beabee]

Thanks Exmxb i guess they all do sound pretty rough, I just missed out on having that little bit of TLC during and after it which could have made a big difference.

Like you i was so glad i had an empty stomach, otherwise it could have felt a lot worse. Also like you i had another doctor come in excited to just be able to watch it being done!

So i guess i did have a similar experience, just lacking in the more caring bedside manner department. Although that the doctor didnt respect my request for a break was very poor. It at least taught me to stand up for myself i bit more. My antenatal class instructor, an ex-midwife, did say that sometimes doctors and nurses can get very autocratic and make otherwise assertive women feel steamrolled into doing things because we are in physically vulnerable states at the time. It's important to know its our body and our right to say no/please stop etc. I'm sure she did what she thought was best but not listening to your patients is a quick way to lose their trust.

Best of luck with your upcoming birth also!

 

[Exmxb]

Yeah that bedside manner makes all the difference though! I'm sorry that they treated you like that, I felt that my doctors and nurse were very compassionate and considerate of my pain. I'd been whining about not having food since breakfast so as soon as they decided baby took the procedure well the nurse came in (about fifteen minutes after) with a small package of graham crackers and ginger ale it was incredibly comforting.

Immediately after I said I wouldn't go through it again, but I think I would try it again if he happens to flip... I hope not though.

 

[cflower04]

At my antenatal class yesterday the MW said they've stopped doing ECV on first time mothers because the stomach muscles are too strong and it takes too much force to turn the baby! Even for second/third time mothers she said she wouldn't recommend the procedure, not unless someone was dead set on a vaginal birth.

 

[KatyKat]

Hmmm, I had this with my daughter and it doesn't sound like your doctor had the best bedside manner?

I was given an injection to relax my stomach muscles first - did you have this? I was tilted backward - it was explained to me that it helps to move the baby. There were two doctors in my case, and the pushing was quite intense, and one did end up kneeling on the bed at one point to get more 'force' into the pushing at one point. However, I was aware form the start that this is a tricky procedure, and you need quite a bit of brute force to shift a breech baby, so I wasn't suprised by it.

However, they did talk to me all the way through (DH was in with me as well) and kept asking if I was ok to continue?

Sadly it didn't work as my daughter kept moving so far around, and then just springing back into her brecch position, but I wasn't sore afterwards? Perhaps the injection helped with that though?

I have to say, it wasn't a traumatic experience though, and I would try it again if it was necessay. Both Drs were lovely though, and were very good at talking me through what they were doing, what was happening and just generally making me feel like I knew exactly what was going on, so maybe that was what made the difference?

 

[mrs.amillian]

Arh hun what a horrid experience xx

I'm sorry it didn't go to plan, I refused a ECV with my LG and will if this baby remains breech.

An ELCS isn't that bad and recovery is better than an emergency one send loads of good luck vibes xx