What if baby is breech? :(

[Guppy051708]

hi girls,
I have EVERY intention on having a natural birth at a birth center (thats within a hospital) with a MW. Obviously, if an emergency comes up thats a different story. Im still not convinced my little one has flipped yet Maybe he did, and i just dont know (as this is my first) but the DH and i have spent so much time preparing for a natural, water birth, and if bubs is breech that dream will be gone We took Bradley classes, read loads of books, got some great advice from some ladies on BnB, and will be taking a water birth class in a couple of weeks (which i am VERY excited about ) but im just so nervous that my natural birth will be taken away because my LO is breech.
Maybe im just freaking out over nothing maybe he did flip, but im just so nervous!

 

[silver_penny]

Honestly, no one can make you have a c-section just because your LO is breech. You can still have a natural, drug-free labor and delivery with a breech baby (Trust me, I have done it!) With that being said, only 3-4% of babies are breech, so chances are slim. You might also try the site :https://www.spinningbabies.com/ If you need anyone to talk to, I'm just a PM away!

 

[Guppy051708]

thank you!
that is very reassuring! Will def. look at that site. I think i've heard of it before, but my preggie brain got me

Wow, you delivered a breech baby naturally...how was that? ...thats probably a huge question to answer Do you have to get a speical MW if thats the case, or do they know how to handle a breech baby? Honestly, i would be a little scared of that, but if i knew i had a great MW that has experience with that, i would be okay. I would rather do that than have a C-section!

 

[silver_penny]

My Lo was actually a planned home birth, when my MW discovered he was breech I was already 6+ cm dilated. The car ride, I think was the worst part about the labor, as I was working against the contractions. We transferred to the hospital (much to my dismay) but by the time we got there I was already fully dilated and my LO was on his way out! Most MW's and OB's are not experienced in delivery breech babies, and I know the OB I had was not, as she had her hand in me to "protect" my perineum. So I tore, not on my perineum, but up near my clitoris (talk about painful!) So while my experience wasn't all daisies and butterflies, I would deliver a breech baby naturally again in a heart-beat.

 

[bky]

The main reason they offer C-sections for breech babies is because it's a bit of a lost art for delivering them (and of course potential lawsuits). Which is a bit counter-intuitive but.. hey ho.
In a few weeks (if you haven't already) you'll probably start getting abdominal checks to see where the head is. I think I got my first head check around 34/35 weeks. And you can self diagnose a bit with the spinning babies site as well (though it recommends you be 8-9 months).

 

[winegums]

Hun billions of people deliver breech babies perfectly naurally... its slightly harder for the midwife and carries a little more risk but any GOOD midwife should be comfortable enough to help you birth a breech baby.

My baby was breech, i had a home birth booked, had mybirth pool set up etc. My midwives were SO nasty.. they told me things like my babys body would come out and his head would get stuck and he would suffocate and die and it would be my fault for not having a c section.

So we booked a c section for a couple of days later and I believe it was the worst decision I have ever made.

You need to look up everything you can (from proper sources) about delivering breech naturally and tell them you understand their point of view but you'd still like to do it your way.

I know independant midwives and doulas are expensive but you could always see if any of them would give you any tips? instead of going and hiring one, some are lovely and wouldnt mind! they try and advocate natural birth whether its breech, or HBACS or whatever.

xx

 

[lozzy21]

There is still plenty of time for your baby to turn if it hasent.

Spend lots of time on your hands and knees with your bum higher than your head and put some ice on the top of your bump to encourage it to turn

 

[SimplyRhi]

A great way to try and turn a breech baby is by having reflexology or acupuncture. Both have brilliant success rates!!

 

[Pixxie]

Im going for birthing center too and if my baby is breech im not changing my plans! Millions of women have natural breech babies every year, if thats what you want stand your ground! Dont let them force you into a c-section if you really dont want one, you will regret it xxx

 

[Rmar]

Ditto to what everyone else has said. Brilliant responses.

Ask you care provider if they have ever delivered a breech birth before. A really experience midwife would have come across a few natural breech births during their time.

To ease your mind, I do know of someone whos baby turned during labour. They said they could feel the moment and it was the most painful part of labour but after that, everything went so much quicker and easier.

 

[snagglepat]

To follow up on winegums comment, I'm a doula and I'm more than happy to chat by PM about breech births to anyone who faces it. I've had a few clients who have had breech babies, resulting in both vaginal and caesarean births depending on different circumstances/choices so have some experience. You don't have to hire me to have a chat, I promise!

Gina.

 

[winegums]

that's lovely snagglepat i wish i had somebody to talk to before i had my c section! i didnt see replies till i got back from hospital and my hypnobirthing teacher even offered to give me acupuncture to try and turn him but it was too late

 

[EmyDra]

Midwives used to be trained in Breech Births, but as mentioned earlier is is a 'lost art'.

Nearly 19 years ago, my little brother was born breech (discovered too late as the midwives wanted my mum to have a section) he was born absolutely fine and actually had less complications than myself as a baby (I was a natrual, normal birth but suffered from jaundice afterwards).

If I was having a breech baby, I would still opt for homebirth/waterbirth.

 

[cupcake23]

All midwives are trained to deliver breech the only problem being is that they don't actually get practical experience....when a breech is diagnosed during labour 2 things happen

1) emergency c-section
2) if it's too late for that then the most senior obstetrician will deliver

All women who present with breech will be offered (told) that they should have a c/s as they deem this the safest mode of delivery. I personally disagree with this.

I am lucky that if Mya was breech I would have planned to birth vaginally as I know midwives who have had loads of experience with breech births.

At the end of the day you have to he confident with your decision, they will tell you you have to be continously monitored, iv access, encourage you to have an epidural because they will see you as an emergency waiting to happen however this is not the case.

I know of a student midwife that agreed with the above but she laboured at home, come into hospital fully dilated, declined all interventions, the registrar and SHO were not allowed in the room and 45mins after coming into hospital she had a little girl with no complications, 6 hours later she went home.

It can be done, you just to research it and speak to a midwife you can trust and have confidence in, there are some wonderful midwives about that truly care.

Best of luck.x.

 

[gina8177]

I am in the same situation, little guy has been breech for a while. I have a scan today to see if he's flipped.

I've been doing lots of hands/knees, leaning forward, visualization and I started acupuncture as well.

I agree with cupcake that they shouldn't automatically recommend a c-section for breech presentation. I have found out that the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada no longer recommend automatic c-section for breech presentation and say that vaginal delivery should be considered.

I am sure that if you're little one doesn't flip you have options, a doula may be able to help you determine these options. For me, I would likely have to try to convince the one OB that attends breech deliveries to attend mine or go with an underground midwife.

You still have lots of time for him to turn, I'll send turning juju your way!

 

[pachamama]

2 things spring to mind after reading your post.

1. In the UK, the NICE guidelines (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) recommend that midwives don't even feel for position of the baby until 36 weeks because it is felt to be insignifcant prior to this because so many babies will change to head down by this time.

2. There is a wealth of research to suggest that moxibustion is more effective than ECV (external cephalic version - offered in hospital - it's where they try and turn the baby from the outside) - in turning breeches. It is performed by most acupuncturists and involves burning the herb (moxa) by your little toe (an important energy channel - sorry, bit vague here!). It has been found to be so effective and non-invasive that even some forward thinking obstetricians are recommending it.

3. In my local trust, when one woman had booked a homebirth and then found her baby was breech at 36 weeks, she continued to desire a homebirth so they hired in an experienced independent midwife to support the local NHS midwives. In the event, she wasn't needed as the baby turned to head down at 39 weeks!

x

 

[gina8177]

Acupuncture and moxibustion worked for me. He ended up flipping Monday night after one visit to the acupuncturist where I had needles and moxibusion. She showed me how to use the moxi at home and told me to do it one to two times a day. That night I went home and did a moxi round followed by being on all fours with a birth ball.

The next day baby's movements felt different, I no longer got a head in the ribs. My MW was pretty sure he turned and it was confirmed by scan.

 

[yogalover]

im in the same position and im 37 weeks pregnant!! babys can turn at anytime but they are trying to force c section on me too.Id rather my partner deliver my baby.Ive tried cat stretches crawling and visulisation imagining my baby turning head down,Also listened to my hypno birthing affirmation c.d and my mums gonna do some reiki and acupuncture on me on monday!!positive thoughts and good luck.x

 

[lousielou]

All the best hun.

I found out my LO was breech at 42 weeks, so I really didn't have a chance to research into options, and felt very pressured into a C-Section. I'm not saying that going for the C-Section wasn't the right thing to do in my case, but I'm sure that if we'd found out he was breech earlier then things would have been different. Having said that, my consultant was very unimpressed when I asked about delivering vaginally. We were told that he'd never birthed a breech baby where the mother had known beforehand that her baby wasn't head-down, and that he wasn't at all confident a vaginally breech birth would be without complications. So I think that although technically we did have a choice, when faced with a medical professional who was blatantly uncomfortable with a natural birth, there wasn't much of an arguement we could put forward

If we'd known earlier, I'd have gone for the acupuncture and looked into getting an independant midwife. I've read about visualisation and heard that that is very effective too (more so than ECV in fact) and hypnosis is said to be good as well. There are lots of positions you can try to encourage baby to turn, and I think someone has already mentioned the spinningbabies website which is good as well.

Pixxie - if your baby is breech then you'll either have to give birth in hospital or at home as you'll be classed as 'high risk' and the birthing centre won't admit you hun. As a VBAC mother next time, I won't be able to birth in a birthing centre either as they're for 'low risk' pregnancies only xx

 

[Darkest]

Hi, just popped in and saw your post.
You banner says you are 31 weeks?
Which my first he was breech until 36 weeks, and we were on the very early talk about possibly having a section if he stayed like that. But he moved(not that i noticed, and he was a big baby too) and all was well.
TBH your little one might be breech, go head down, 10 times before you deliver. I think that a lot of babies still turn up to 35/36 weeks.
Hope you get the birth you want.