transverse at 33 weeks, booked ecv already??

[rhead]

I've just been in for a scan and the doc said the baby's transverse, and immediately booked me in for an external version in 2 weeks' time... does this seem premature? I'm sure she turned again that same evening but I don't know how to tell for sure - I definitely can't feel a head on either side and the bump seems much more up-and-down than side-to-side. He gave me a little diagram and said to lie in the "pont indien" position (I live in France, hehe) for 20 minutes twice a day, which is basically on your back with a couple of cushions under the base of the spine - tried it last night and my god was that uncomfortable!! I'm supposed to carry on with that until the version or until the baby turns on her own, but he didn't tell me how to tell if/when that happens or what to do if I think it has... argh! Wish I had a proper midwife, not a choice between the ob/gyn at the hospital or my near-retirement male gp.

Anyone have any suggestions for less painful ways to encourage the baby to turn? And will doing these exercises just have no effect if I'm right and she's already put herself in the "right" position? Thanks!

I thought they only did it from 37 weeks as if the baby gets distressed you may have to deliver

eeek!

google OFP, and spinningbabies.com

i thought ECV was done later not due neccesarily for that reason, but because if it is done too early, baby can spin back!

is this your first baby? has it been trasnverse the whole time, or does it go head down from time to time?

NICE guidelines say 36-37 weeks but then you are in France so they are bound to differ

I think she turns a lot - she's definitely active. This was the first I'd heard of her being transverse (third scan) and it seemed a bit of an overreaction to me not to wait another week or two and see if she sorts herself out! I'll be about 35 1/2 weeks when the version's scheduled, so not too early I guess, but I'm hoping it won't be necessary. Will have a look at the site(s) you mentioned, lulumama...

I very clearly remember the NCT AN class teacher telling me to try and lie on my left side as much as poss in the last 5 weeks to get LO into the best possible position. Not sure why that works but she was very insistent about it. Had very easy delivery but may be conincidental.
Am now 30 weeks with #2 and feel like she may be transverse last couple of days after several weeks head down. Last night lay on sofa on left side watching TV, then again in bed and she did seem to have moved back into more comfortable position this morning. This evening feels like she might be trying to turn around again so will try and repeat and see waht happens!
I'm having a scan Monday so will see what they say then.
I'm in New Zealand by the way (but had DD1 in the UK) so rules probably different here too...!

Hi there

Left side sleeping, cowboy style sitting (turn chair round), leaning forward over birthing ball, and making sure hips higher than knees whenever seated (e.g. in car) - altho try and avoid conventional seated position as much as poss. (See 'useful tips' section at end of page on the link below).

Gentle turning techniques to try are chiropractic treatment (find a practitioner experienced in pregnancy) and also acupuncture. Both very gentle and very effective.

Chriopractic from a skilled practitioner who is also experienced in cranial treatment will help sort you out structurally to ensure there is the right space for your baby to settle in the optimum position. Getting structure or any restrictions sorted are important as these are commonly the reasons why a baby is transverse, breech, or spine to spine etc. It's usually because of something so if you can sort the something you're on to a winner.

I can't rate chiropractic highly enough. Treatment throughout pregnancy is ideal as this usually means you can avoid any malpresentation altogether but it's also still worthwhile and very good to go and have treatment at late stage as is good to try for getting baby to turn and get comfy in the right spot. Good for both of you and in the long run can aid labour and aid your baby's wellbeing.

Here's a link to a website that will give you some info about how gentle the approach and how beneficial it is.

This is the pregnancy page.
(Also read the 'articles' as very informative)

www.barnes-chiropractic.co.uk/pregnancy.html

And lots of baby info on baby page too xx

Best of luck

Sara x

In case anyone's reading this later, the baby turned herself (many times!) and seems to have settled with her head down. The afternoon before the appointment for the ECV I had an accident - had to swerve onto the grass to avoid a truck coming around the bend in the middle of the narrow road, lost control and ended up going up the bank and rolling the car... yowza... so I was in hospital for 24 hours for monitoring and got all the hilarious jokes about the baby turning when the car rolled... haha... but anyway, all's well that ends well, didn't need the procedure, I'm fine, she's fine, and my little boy who was in the back is fine... lucky really as the car was totalled!! We're now at 36 1/2 weeks and she hasn't done any somersaulting for at least 10 days so I'm guessing she's happy where she is. Whew!