Please talk to me about natural breach birth.

[rosiedays]

Ok I'm 34 week and baby is breach. I know she could still turn and I'm doing all the ball bouncing, picking up fluff from the floor, spinning baby's techniques to help. She is baby no 3 but the other 2 were a long time ago ( 25 & 23 years!!!) Both very easy no intervention natural births with only gas and air at 34+4 and 36 weeks. so chances are she may put in an early arrival too.
I really don't want a section unless medically necessary however it seems to be becoming the norm with breach presentation. I have Mw on Tuesday to discuss birth plan. Will she think I'm nuts if i say I want to try to deliver naturally even if baby stays breach? When i had my first 2 it was quite common. Due to my advancing age (43) i have agreed to a hospital birth ideally a water birth.
Your thoughts and experiences would most helpful.
When in doubt. .... mumsnet!!

[mawbroon]

I had a section for my breech baby, but I felt railroaded into it really

I wish I had been able to stand up and say I wanted a natural delivery, so go for it!

Good luck

[babyhmummy01]

Dunno if it helps but at my parentcraft class this week they said that if baby is sideways breech (arm down) or facing the world rather than face down breech they will try to deliver naturally and try to turn baby, poss using forceps or vontuse if needed. If its a feet down breech then medically its unsafe to try for natural birth and only option is c section.

Do you know which type of breech baby is?

[WeeS]

My baby is breech & I was offered an ECV where they externally manipulate the baby. It has to be done before or roundabout 36 weeks & I was told that I would have to take my hospital bag in with me as if it doesn't work it is sometimes necessary to deliver the baby by section that very day! However, I was told by the Dr it had good success rates...
I have decided against having the ECV & have been booked in for a section at 39 weeks. I figured it gives baby time to turn on her own & if she doesn't, a section just seemed to me to be the safest option. Although they did say it is still sometimes possible to deliver a breech baby - you are just a lot braver than me for being willing to try! I'm a scaredy cat
Good luck!

[SirBoobAlot]

A lot of it will come down to what type of breech she is as to how much resistance you receive.

Would recommend the Birth Without Fear blog / page, as there is loads of breech information on there.

[Imnotaslimjim]

Have no experience of breech birth but wanted to say that my SIL was booked for a section at 29 weeks for footling breech. She got to hospital to find not only had baby turned overnight, she was already in labour and delivered naturally 12 hours later!

[justmuddlingalong]

Ds3 was 10 days late and had been turning breech constantly, at one point he was manually turned. My MW said I would have no problems delivering him naturally even if he was breech fanny like a bucket?. Anyhoo, on the day I was being induced he was breech again. By the time I'd had a shower and went down to the delivery ward, he was head down and was born that way. So you've still got time for your Dc to turn.

[januarysnowdrop]

I had a natural breech birth earlier this year - at home, and undiagnosed until what the midwives thought was a head turned out to be a bottom. It was pretty scary, because of the whole surprise element (I was high on gas and air, but aware of the midwife barking the words 'obstetric emergency' down the phone to the ambulance people). But both the baby and I survived unscathed (dd3 needed resuscitating and I had a tear but no stitches).

I think we were pretty lucky to have two experienced midwives who had delivered breech babies before and knew exactly how to do a 'hands off' delivery. Completely terrifying for dh, though, as he had to watch dd3 hanging while they waited for the next contraction for her head to come out.

In your case, obviously, there wouldn't be the emergency element! Would they let you deliver naturally in the NHS? I suspect they'd be pretty reluctant to (this is a problem in some ways, because it means that the skills of safely delivering a breech baby are dying out as midwives see them so rarely). I know in my case that if they'd diagnosed the breech presentation in advance I'd have gone for an ECV and then a Caesarian if necessary - I definitely wouldn't have had her at home! But she and I are living proof that breech babies definitely can be delivered safely.

Best of luck with whatever you end up doing.

[rosiedays]

Thanks ladies
I'll carry on bouncing and hopefully she'll turn. Seems such a shame that the skills needed to deliver a breach naturally are a dying art. I might be brave but I'd never put baby at risk so may be i need to prepare mentally for a section (while listening to my hypnobirthing app)

[Cavort]

I was a breech baby myself and my Mum had a natural delivery in 1978. Everything went ok but she needed about 60 stitches and they had to attach the ventouse to my backside which left it black and bruised. If I was you I would opt for the CS!