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Childbirth

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

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Original poster

home birther with breech baby, c section looking more likely... elective or wait until i go until labour...

18 replies

wombleprincess · 09/10/2008 19:50

was hoping for a homebirth, have pool set up, everything... but baby is breech. have tried pretty much everything... all fours, handstands, moxibustion, reflexology, and today a failed ecv, was horrid to be honest.

so they've said they wont send out a midwife to a breech homebirth and i cant face the thought of a long birth and then possible emergency c section as well. i would prefer to go into labour naturally and then go in for c section but hospital not particularly happy with that (and husband isnt either) so under a fair bit of pressure to book an elective date... so have been given to dates.. due date minus 5 days or due date plus one day.. or put my foot down and wait until i go into labour naturally to give the baby as much chance as possible to turn.

any opinions... or commiserations...

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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thisisyesterday · 09/10/2008 19:52

hmm well personally if I was expecting a breech baby I would go for a hospital breech birth.

if you've definitely decided to go for the elective then I'd book it.

lulumama · 09/10/2008 19:54

speak to www.aims.org.uk push the hospital to send an experienced breech midwife or to pay for an indie midwife

if you go into labour spontaneously and have an unagumented labour that progresses well, in all likelihood you will birth yur baby vaginally

google and get in touch with mary cronk, the breech birth guru

if this is your second baby, then your pelvis has been proved by the fact you got a baby out of there

do not set anything in stone as regards a c.s untl you have explored more options

liahgen · 09/10/2008 19:58

have a look at this.

londonbirthpractice.co.uk/joomla/educational/breech/home-breech-birth-photo-series_2.html

graphic alert.

BetsyBoop · 09/10/2008 20:45

just wanted to say don't give up hope of baby turning

DD (my first) was breech from when they first start checking (about 30wks?) Had successful ECV at 37wks exactly, only for her to turn breech again 2 day later....

el c/s booked for 39+3.

DD turned head down under her own steam at 39+1, arrived 39+4 (ended up an em c/s, but that's a whole other story...) She's now a wilful almost 3YO, no surprise there then

She was 8lb8.5oz, so not small either. So despite what they've no doubt told you, babies can & do turn late, so fingers crossed

That said if baby wasn't for budging during ECV (and all the other things you tried), then sometimes it's for a reason, like umbilical cord wrapped too tightly round body for baby to move, making vaginal delivery more risky.

Tinkerisdead · 09/10/2008 20:49

echo what lulamama has said. i have an independant midwife and if my baby is breech, having learened all bout mary cronk's findings i'd be pressing for a breech skilled midwife. When i looked up mary cronk i felt empowered that a breech birth is just as achievable at home as head down.

Tangle · 09/10/2008 20:51

What Lulumama said .

Its also worth talking to IMs near you - they can be very flexible, especially for women with more unusual situations like breech presentations.

Sometimes babies are breech for a reason - but a lot of the obvious ones (like placental position, cord length, etc) should have been checked by ultrasound before they attempted an ECV. You'd need to check with someone like Mary Cronk or Jane Evans, but my gut feel is if they were happy to attempt an ECV then you'd find an experienced midwife would be happy to attend a vaginal breech birth.

Tangle · 09/10/2008 20:52

TDW46 - I had a breech birth at home with IMs following the Mary Cronk model, and it was a wonderful experience. Its not for everyone, but its definitely an option that women should know about before deciding on a CS.

liahgen · 09/10/2008 21:09

maidstone will "allow " you to birth your breech baby.

What Lulu said.

twinkle3869 · 10/10/2008 11:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

JustKeepSwimming · 10/10/2008 11:19

womble - commiserations first
but there is time for turning yet...

i had an undiagnosed breech with ds2 planned hb (as with ds1) was rushed in em-c-s much to my distress and disappointment.
the mw that came home said she 'had no confidence to continue as [she] had never delivered breech before'
One thing that reassures me is that labour started on its own so he was ready to be born, all hormones, etc. were in place, he just had to come out a different way than planned.

so armed with knowledge i think you have to decide:

home birth with ind mw - cost issues?
hospital birth with experienced breech mw (i have found one here that would have assisted me in hosp if only...)
wait for labour then el c-s
el cs on set date.

I think it must be better for baby and you and bf and so on for you to let labour start.
the mw i found said she would recommend hosp birth for breech babies as they can come out needing more 'support' post-birth but would be happy to assist in vaginal delivery and fight my corner. (hoping not to have breech ever again though!)

hth and good luck deciding.

GreenMonkies · 10/10/2008 11:44

breech homebirth

It is a full natural breech birth, so obviously there are some naked lady parts in it, be warned!!

Can they really refuse to send a MW just because your baby is breech? Surely they still hsve a duty of care towards you and your baby, no matter which way around your baby is!

LadySanders · 10/10/2008 11:49

if homebirth is important to you, give it your best shot. i wanted homebirth (vbac), went 2 weeks overdue, resisted all pressure from hosp to induce/elective section, still ended up with emer c section... but was absolutely the right decision to hold out for natural labour and am really glad i let ds2 come when he was ready. there is still time for your baby to turn...

JustKeepSwimming · 10/10/2008 11:53

The more i read about it now, i wish i had pushed (no pun intended!) for a vaginal delivery once in hospital - of course i would have preferred a hb but not with the mw i had at the time.
So it spelled out to me that the more important part was 'feeling like i had given birth' if that makes sense rather than the doing it at home bit.
will be pushing for an HBAC next time

carmenelectra · 10/10/2008 11:55

Hello.

Sadly vaginal breech is considered a bit of an obstetric emergency these days and that why they are denying you a midwife. This is even more true if its your first baby. You have to understand it from a midwife;s point of view where these days vaginal breeches are quite unusual(unless undiagnosed) Is it your first?

ANYWAY, yOU still can refuse an elective CS. i think if i were you, id abandon the idea of a homebirth. If you really want to have vaginal birth wait for the baby to hopefully turn, If not, try for a vaginal breech birth, but if it doesnt progress well, prepeare yourself for the chance of an emergency CS.

SugarPig · 10/10/2008 12:22

Just like to say that I am in exactly same position as you and have settled on elective c section a couple of days before due date.

Has been a really tough decision, but this baby is not for turning at the moment (also have reduced fluid) and I would prefer an elective to a vaginal birth with possible instrumental intervention or emergency section.

Good luck what ever you decide, but let it be your decision! Somewhere deep down I'm sure you'll have a gut feeling about what is best for you and your baby.

Tangle · 10/10/2008 14:42

Please don't let assumed cost issues put you off contactin IMs if you really feel that is the way you want to go - I know some will do a reduced package that just covers the birth, some will take payment in kind rather than cash (mine was desperately hoping she'd book a decorator!), and most will do some form of payment plan. I talked to a few before even meeting any - and they were all more than happy to talk through the issues I had and act as a sounding board for ideas. Some even said they were more than happy to have another chat regardless of whether I booked them or not (and I think I'd already been talking to her an hour!)

AIMS are probably the best people to advise on duty of care, etc. I also don't think they can refuse to send a MW just because baby is breech. However, they may not be able to send a MW with breech skills purely because they don't have any. Arguably, in those circumstances, they should contract in those skills but that may be a very large argument and time is on their side .

Fingers crossed for you.

jaydee1 · 10/10/2008 23:06

commiserations Wombleprincess.
I can empathise - I had an unsuccessful ECV today (after trying everything, like you) , so have scheduled a c-section. it wasn't an easy decision as I really wanted to have a natural birth in my hospital's birthing centre (first baby, husband wasn't too keen on home birth, so this was our compromise). I feel that at least this way I can prepare myself and leave the uncertainty behind. It's not ideal but I'm determined now to try to make the c-section as positive an experience as possible. If he does turn, then that's a bonus, but I'm not expecting / hoping him to (plus he's really stuck, so it's unlikely). in the meantime I know with some certainty what's going to happen and when, and hope to be able to prepare myself for it.

I know the decision I have made is very different to the one you're contemplating - however I think what's important in any decision about childbirth is that you feel somewhat in control. if going into labour is what you want to do, then do that - your hospital may not like it because it's not structured and doesn't fit in with its timetable, but most hospitals perform dozens of emergency cs every week and they're well equipped for it. they won't turn you away. and the bonus to you is that you will feel that you've given your baby every chance to turn by itself.

good luck with whatever you decide.

Highlander · 11/10/2008 07:57

I'm very pro-section, having had 2 elec CSs myself.

But I sympathise with women who don't get the birth they desire.

If it's any comfort, I was breech on a Friday and my mum was due to go in for a CS on the Monday. She went into labour on the Sunday - hey presto I'd turned! All her subsequent births (there's 5 of us!) were straightforward, including 1 at home

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