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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

So what exactly are the risks of having a breech?

57 replies

mum2george · 26/06/2007 17:54

The mw's keep saying that they either aren't sure which way up the baby is or they say that it is Ceph but they aren't certain.

If I do end up having a section I want to be aware of it beforehand so that I can sort out care for DS while I'm away.

Have got an appt at the hospital on Friday to see the consultant to find out which way around it is, (arranged by me as the mw seems a bit too relaxed about it IMO).

I know that there are risks giving birth to a breech baby naturally but I'm not exactly sure what the risks are. Can anybody enlighten me?

ps was 3/5ths engaged last Tues, and 35 weeks tomorrow and had DS at 38 weeks-if thats any help.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

SconesandMajesticSandwiches · 28/06/2007 10:36

I am another that had a footling breech (but was delivered at 27wks so I think the potential risk of head getting stuck becasue of being too big is minimal - although there are obvisouly still other risks).

Was unplanned - twin 2 transverse going into labour flipped the wrong way after she had kicked her sister out.

Then she decided that she would poke out 1 foot (like in mears picture gallery) so the doctor decided to delve in and free the other foot OOOUUUUUCCCCCHHHHHH (unlike Mears picture gallery ).

She has been a tricky little so-and-so ever since

maxbear · 28/06/2007 11:17

I think that the risk of the head getting stuck is actually higher in a prem baby as the cervix may not be fully open and is more likely to trap the head. Obviously though as the second twin the first one paved the way. I found the photos on the link great to look at but those there must have been holding their breaths for about five minutes, the time between the belly button and the babys birth, it would have freaked me out.

DaisyMOO · 28/06/2007 11:30

I read somewhere about a trainee midwife years ago being left alone with a woman who was delivering a footling breech. The trained midwife hadn't arrived yet so every time a foot appeared the student tickled it and it shot back up into its mum's vagina!

SconesandMajesticSandwiches · 28/06/2007 11:32

My cervix was described as 9-10cm before it was decided I was in labour - so not problems there!!!

SconesandMajesticSandwiches · 28/06/2007 11:34

I guess that was slightly inaccurate...at the point of a decision being made that I was in labour...

CoteDAzur · 28/06/2007 12:58

I can't say if the hip problems were because of attempted vaginal delivery or not. My friend seemed to believe they were, since no hip problems were detected in prenatal scans.

Diplidophus · 28/06/2007 13:06

hip problems are a risk for breech babies regardless of mode of delivery.

WendyWeber · 28/06/2007 13:12

A bloke at work's daughter was born a few weeks ago, bottom first with feet by head, and they had no idea she wasn't headfirst until it was too late to change the delivery method. He said from full dilation to delivery took about 4 hours, and his heroic wife managed with no pain relief at all (She was in a birthing pool until the breech discovery, when she had to get out, and she didn't get on with gas and air)

The baby is now about 6 weeks and when she lies on her back her legs stick up at 45 degrees, it looks very funny

(Dunno if this helps but it's the first breech delivery I've ever known anything about)

mears, those pics are stunning (scary purple gloves though )

WendyWeber · 28/06/2007 13:13

(He didn't mention hip problems, would they know yet if there were any?)

frogs · 28/06/2007 13:19

My dd2 was breech until 37 weeks and had outrageously bendy legs for quite a long time after birth, even though she was born headfirst. You'd be holding her against your front, and once she'd moved down a couple of inches, you'd suddenly find there was a little foot tucked up next to her cheek. In fact she is still freakishly bendy (now 3.5 years, can do the splits), and we're not a generally bendy family.

They scan for hip problems at 4 months and again a few months later, but all was fine.

SconesandMajesticSandwiches · 28/06/2007 13:32

The hip problems are because of the way they tend to be positioned in utero - not because of method of delivery.

WW if there were hip problems they would probably have been picked up by the clicky hips test at the 24hr and 6 weeks check. They do a hip ultrasound to double check. DTD2's was done at 3 1/2m (2weeks corrected for prematurity). I am pretty sure my neighbours baby was scanned before/around 6 wks check as she couldn't drive due to c-section.

Even for breech babies hip problems are relavtively uncommon they are just more common in breech babies than headfirst babies I think.

babyjamas · 28/06/2007 19:25

dd2 was born breech - but like scones was also a 27 weeker. We knew she was going to be breech but the consultant was happy to deliver her like that(presumably as she was so small). She had her hips checked about 4 months later but i think as she had still had plenty of room to move around there was no real concern there. All i can say is that having had 2 previous head first deliveries it felt very weird to have delivered the body and to still feel the head inside (iykwim!).

sazzybee · 28/06/2007 20:51

There was a discussion about this on woman's hour last Thursday - you can probably download it from the listen again bit of the radio 4 website

WendyWeber · 28/06/2007 21:01

It's here - Woman's Hour does have the best archives (well, apart from the Archers )

sazzybee · 28/06/2007 21:03

Aren't you kind wendyweber? Thank you. I would have done it myself only it takes me about 20 mins to do the link and I usually get it wrong and make a total fool of myself

StripeyKnickersSpottySocks · 29/06/2007 20:04

I've seen a few breech births, one with a good outcome (it was undiagnosed until the baby's "head" had a wee as mum was fully and pushing). Another not such a good outcome to say the least, but there was only inexperienced staff there - again another undiagnosed breech. Most trusts will have more expereienced m/ws who have facilitated a number of breech births in their time. If I was having a breech baby I would want to be delievered by a m/w with experience. I would not want to be delivered by a registrar who may only have seen 1 or 2 (if that) before but wants to fill a page on their training log. One woman I cared for in labour with a planned vaginal breech the reg asked if she could deliver the baby. My mentor said no, that it wasn't an appropriate training opportunity for her and she was to stay out the room

I think its interesting that in Africa breech births are not even considered high risk. The midwives are that used to delivering breech babys that they have fantastic skills. Here most m/ws don't have those skills.

newgirl · 30/06/2007 01:01

story in my local paper about parents suing local health trust for the brain damage their daughter got when breech and not delivered in time by c -section

dont want to scare anyone but please just do what is safe for you and your baby

Original poster

mum2george · 30/06/2007 09:57

Thanks to everyone who has posted. Went to have a scan yesterday and it is the right way around so hopefully everything will run as smoothly as last time

OP posts:

RGee · 30/06/2007 15:51

My DD was an undiagnosed footling breech. First the midwives knew was when I was over 9cm dilated, they broke my waters and out popped her foot.
Was taken out of the comfy birthing pool, and a consultant tried to push her foot back inside me to attempt a vaginal delivery as a c-section would be tricky.
Needless to say, this failed and I was wheeled off for emergency c-section.
Am pleased to say all was fine. As previously mentioned in the thread, she had to go for a hip scan at 6 weeks, but again that was fine.

Good luck with the birth mum2george!

paranoidmother · 30/06/2007 22:50

My DS was born 9 months ago by C Ssection after we found ot the day before he was due that he was breech. Kind of a shock, they tried to turn him but that didn't work so booked in for C section 5 days after (DD was 14 days late 18 months prior).

Went into Hospital night before and went into Labour. Was in Labour less than an hour and was 5cm dialated. Then got into labour Ward. MW on duty was great said she was use to dealing with Breech Natural Births and would help me whatever happened. Luckily doctor appeared and I was wheeled into surgery, given a spinal injection and then my waters broke. They then checked and found I was 10cm dialated and DS was already getting his feet out. He was pushed back in and I had a C Section.

I have one piece of advice with a C Section and that is drink as much water as you can get for 24 hours afterwards. Make everyone who comes past get you a drink or refill your jug of water. I drank so much water it flushed all the nasty stuff out and I was up and about within 24 hours and out of hospital in less than 72 hours.

A lot of other people in the ward were not making any effort to drink any water and one woman kept fainting as she wasn't making any effort to look after herself.

DS is a lovely healthy 9 month baby and just trying to walk , he only learnt to crawl 10 days ago. He was all fine but looking back i'm glad I had the C Section rather than tried breech birth with all the problems that can happen. Although if you meet all the midwives and have one or two who know what they are doing it'd be more than fine I would say.

Sorry to witter on and good luck. What ever happens i'm sure it will be whatever is best for you.

Annie75 · 01/07/2007 10:08

Just wanted to say that those pics of the footling breech are amazing - so glad women want to share these experiences as it takes away a lot of the fear around the unknown (I'm currently diagnosed breech).

Just goes to show that having experienced and confident midwives around you is so important. I wish I knew who might deliver my baby in advance - still have to have the conversation with my surgery midwife about what to do if baby still breech around delivery. Am v keen for a vaginal birth at home, but know this is really only feasible if I can get a midwife experienced in this sort of birth (should I still be breech), and the home birth rate for my city currently isn't great.

Anyway, MN is just brilliant for all of this - I'd wouldn't bee nearly as clued up otherwise.

dollybird · 01/07/2007 13:27

My dd was an undiagnosed breech - mw said to dh "with the next push you'll be able to see the head - oh! push that button - it's a bottom" - major panic ensued in my dh! She just came out easy as anything, although was my 2nd. No hip problems for her - she was scanned at 6 weeks because of being breech plus ds had congenital hip dysplasia and was actually in his hip spica when dd was born! He was born head first, so it just goes to show the statistics aren't all correct.

lynniep · 01/07/2007 18:41

What happened to me is exactly as described by jellyhead ie ...the head can get stuck or there is a delay in being able to deliver the baby's head increasing risk of lack of oxygen to the baby.

My DS was undiagnosed footling breech, a quick labour (less than 3 hours) and only discovered when his foot was poking out, at which point it was panic stations. MW's called consultant and I was wheeled off to delivery where we were told it was less risky to me to deliver naturally, but probably moreso for baby. We opted out of csection therefore.
DS was oxygen deprived and had to be recusitated and was whisked away which meant didn't see him for another 6 hours. He was a very sick baby - he was ventilated and his organs shut down (liver and kidney functions) and he was convulsing repeatedly.

The good news was he recovered within the week (dr's told us could be in SCBU for weeks) and he appears to be a perfectly healthy (both physically and developmentally) and is a happy little 4 month old.

Next time though I'll trust my instincts when I tell the MW his head is near my ribs and she says 'oh thats his bum' I would also opt for a c-section if my next were a footling breach

maisym · 01/07/2007 18:45

had a footling breech baby at 39 weeks by planned c/s. Happy to have had a c/s for this as my labours have been quick and the risk of the babys head getting stuck just one risk I didn't want to even worry about.

ScotGirl · 01/07/2007 20:03

I had a section at 37 weeks for my breech baby.

My friend is a neonatal paediatrician, who put it very simply to me - "do you want the largest bit of the baby (its head) to come out last"? Here in lies the dilema.. If it gets stuck and it is first not so much of a problem as there is time to get a section, if it gets stuck and it is the last bit to come out big big problems.

I decided not to take the risk.

As an aside, I don't know if it was because the baby was breach and they had to stretch the incision - he came out bum first arms and legs trailing, but I was really really sore after my section - getting to the loo the next day made me cry

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