Crying at home alone because I'm so scared of a C/S...

[newmomma]

Hi,

I need someone to come and tell me I'm being ridiculous.

Have just had my 31 week appointment with the doctor (I'm 32 weeks tomorrow) and the baby is still head up.

I have until my 34 week appointment for the baby to move (22nd March) - at which point they will start scheduling me in for a caesarean.

I know some people would happily opt for a c/s over a 'natural' delivery - but I'm sat at home in tears because I SO wanted my water birth this time round it hurts. I enjoyed my labour (normal delivery) so much with DS1 that I've been looking forward to having DC2 and this is just spoiling how I feel about the pregnancy at the moment. I'm booked in at a lovely MLU that only has 5 beds and means I can have a water birth, aromatherapy oils, one-to-one midwife care and it all just seems like its slipping away from me.

I'm actually terrified of having a caesarean.

Please someone come and tell me it'll be alright...

There is loads of time for your baby to turn. My baby has just turned at 35 weeks, I was shocked as he had been breech for the entire pregnancy. I wanted a csection as I had a csection due to breech presentation last time and it was a positive experience. I'm sure your baby will turn. In our health authority they won't even discuss csections until 36 weeks as the majority of babies do turn.

Where I am, a 'normal' breech presentation is not seen as a reason for an automatic CSection referral unless the baby is premature. A doctor is present during delivery though as the midwives don't have enough experience of such deliveries.

Especially as you have had a previous birth, I would investigate natural breech delivery this is quite good

c-sections are fine. I had an emergency one (would have obv preferred elective but no choice) and it was perfectly ok. As for bonding, no issues there, immediate breastfeeding etc.
Recovery takes longer but that's probably the only minus.
I think if you have it in your head that it's a failure to have a c-section then you're creating needless problems. Why is it such a big deal either way?
It is literally the least important thing about my DD, the way she was born.

Hi Newmomma,
A C section really is ok if you have to have one, but you do have plenty of time. I only discovered my daughter was breech at 40+9 so had a really good cry and then a section the next day. The canula is definitely the worst part of the actual operation - I even had to ask whether they'd started (they had but I couldn't tell).

AIMS do a good booklet about breech babies that will give you lots of info about your options and what you can do.

Good luck!

Oh thanks everyone - there's lots of reading material for me for later!!

And the midwife contact sounds useful...

I gotta pop out now but will be back later to have a proper read through.

Right, better go and re-apply some mascara

Thanks again...

there is an excellent chance your babe will turn OP. For a second babe they can turn once labour has started, as the womb muscles is a little more flexible etc.

In any case, a CS isn't the worst thing in the world you know!
You can have music and have your babe out and skin on skin on your tummy immediately after.

Sure it's not 'your waterbirth' but I think you are being a little too focussed on how you want things to go and are attached to the idea of having the same kind of birth as before.

There aren't actually any guarantees in life that you'd get the birth you want anyway. I know you're preggo and this has upset you, but I think you need to focus on the positives.

if you were in a country without the resources you have, most probably there would be a sad outcome for this pregnancy, not necessarily though - breech birth is possible, but you have so many more options than someone who has no hospital or MW nearby.

Count your blessings, blow you nose, chin up and get ready to meet your babe! Good luck.

DS2 was breech until 36 weeks, lots of babies turn at this stage, my ababbies were a bit small (ds2 nthing major - 6lb 11) and the cons said it meant he just had a bit more wriggle room before settling

And he shifted, I did a lot of the scrubbing etc but he did and was born in a MLU, I wouldnt panic yet

Vaginal Breech birth is an option worth considering yes although get up to date stats as trhe ones I had werent stunning but this was 9+ years ago

Hey Newmomma.

Is this your third, yes? (Skim-read posts, soz.)
If so you have loads of time for baby to turn!
I am 40+3 and baby is unstable, and has been transverse with cord presenting twice now when the consultant has happened to be around, yet I have thus far managed to avoid a CS, and they're still happy for me to HB as long as baby is cephalic when labour starts.

Is there another hospital nearby? I'm surprised Reading doesn't do ECVs. (Looked at your profile.) Others will. I've had one and a half!

A breech vaginal birth is totally do-able, although it will probably be in theatre.

I can't imagine labouring on dry land either!

Good luck! Keep us updated!

My daughter was breech, they tried to turn her at 36 weeks and can honestly say that that was a horrific experience and would definitely not recommend it!

I had a C/S and I was extremely nervous as I've never had an operation before or stayed overnight in a hospital before. I didn't want to be away from DH for 2 nights either.

However, if I'd have known then what I know now I would have had no need to worry. Having an elective C/S was absolutely fine, the spinal (which terrified me) was minor discomfort and not painful at all. It lasted less than an hour. I can honestly hand on heart say I had no pain (unless I coughed of laughed), not sure what they gave me but it worked a treat! Being in hospital for 2 nights with me and my baby was wonderful, I felt like I was in a bubble and just couldn't stop staring at her the whole time.

Hope that that's put your mind at rest a bit!!

Hello again!

Just re-reading posts, s'funny about your consultant saying the floor scrubbing etc is bobbins; our hospital sends women home with a sheet of exercises to do to get the baby turned!

Also, during an ECV the baby is monitored constantly, and a theatre team would be on hand in case of any distress. Although the chance of an ECV going to section is teeny tiny.
(FWIW mine didn't hurt a jot, maybe the friction was a bit uncomfy, but that was it.)

I really think your team are just covering their bases though, making sure you have a slot booked in case you need a section.

Your uterus is wee bit bigger with your third, so the baby will be floating about to some extent.

I so feel for you though! I'm having lots of twinges at the mo, so I'll let you know how I end up delivering.

I spent HOURS climbing off the sofa in the way it suggests on the spinning babies website. Then I found out they couldn't tell the difference between his head and his bottom (twas very pert as I found out). It may be worth asking for a scan unless it is very obvious.

I am with you on the crying about c/s front as I did it too. As others have said, it is just too easy to focus on the birth method, which although very important, is not as important as having a happy, healthy baby and mummy.

I found all my focussing on the birth left me very unprepared for afterwards as I hadn't really got past it. Maybe focussing on having the baby at home and read about feeding/winding/slings will take your mind off it as I'm sure it will happily turn a bit later on.

Hi
I had vaginal delivery of my DS who was bum first breech. It was undiagnosed. After 14 hours of labour my waters finally broke and they could see that the "head" they had thought was "almost here" for ages was a bum which was just coming down a bit with pushes and going back up again in between.
Taken to theatre and prepped for CS but DS was far down birth canal by then so it would've been hard for them to do and for me to recover from! So "push" they said and push I did. Out he came with episiotomy and being pulled by an obstetrician.
If I had known he was breech I am honestly not sure what I would have done - maybe I would have gone for CS.
But it can be done!
Am now 12 weeks with DC 2 and if this baby is breech I think I will talk to a specialist midwife. The worst thing about it was the shock of finding out when I was so tired and when for hours the midwives had been saying "the baby's nearly out" and the ensuing panic among the HCPs.
good luck and look after yourself

sorry drifted off a bit at the end and meant to say from talking to many other I don't think the delivery itself/pain etc was any worse or different to delivering a right way round baby - it was just the unexpectedness that was orrible.

I had emergency c/s and despite having a very medical delivery, lots of drugs/drips/monitors, I look back on it with positive thoughts. DD and me were just fine, although she was given antibiotics as a precaution as I'd tested positive for some bug in the womb, but again she was fine.
Best wishes for your birth and if baby doesn't turn, I hope you're comforted a bit by all the people who've had good c/s experiences.

Newmomma
Both my girls were born by c section; dd1 an elective CS due to being breech. My elective CS was actually v special, and all the more so for planning it. They had a CD player in the operating theatre and the surgical team were lovely and genuinely thrilled about arrival of baby. She did not get handed to me straight away as she needed oxygen, however dd2 was dropped right on my chest after coming out so the contact was v quick. Partner had a hanky with lavender oil on it which helped with relaxation and made the operating theatre less sterile. Made sure I had a nurse at the ready to take photo.

On the 'be prepared' side, have as much round the clock help as you can at the hospital / home to help you lift baby - be kind to yourself. Take time to explain to your younger child that you may find it hard to pick them up for a while. You will need to use your arms to sit yourself up as you can't use your stomach muscles, so make sure they put your canula in a place which is not going to obstruct you pushing yourself up. It is a good idea to ensure your baby has a 'hip score' done as breech babies are slightly more likely to have difficulties with this (v treatable). It can take longer for your milk to come in after a CS - I think that is something to do with the hormones normally released during labour. Make sure you (and those around you) take superb care of you, esp with rest / food / not too many visitors. I found the first few days were difficult but then was surprised by how the healing process really accerlerated, rather than just being a gradual getting better.

You may find that there is someone willing to do a breech delivery. My consultant (lovely old guy who used to deliver babies in his pyjamas at times) said the problem was that less and less staff actually have experience of doing breech delivery and so steer women towards a CS when breech deliveries can be v safe.

I wish you all the best with whatever way your lovely baby arrives.

The breech tilt worked for me and my baby turned at 34 weeks. Rather than get a plank I lay on the sofa with my bum on the arm, cushions under my back propping me up and legs against the wall. She turned after a couple of evenings. Not massively comfortable! but very effective!

Fortunately for me, there was a lady in my NCT class who was having her 5th baby (1st with current partner which is why they were there). She was also a former gyne nurse and had had an EMCS herself, so we got LOADS of info/insight on it from her. Thank goodness for that, because when I ended up with an EMCS I wasn't scared, everything happened pretty much as this woman had described, and I had thought about it beforehand.

No trouble with bonding whatsoever. DS wasn't so well when he came out, but ok after 5 minutes and then they gave him to DH who held him by my head as they stitched me up. As soon as I got into recovery they helped me out of the gown to do skin-to-skin and his first feed, and it was absolutely lovely (still BFing at 6.5 months). As for recovery, I actually was up and around and feeling better faster than most of my NCT friends who'd had vaginal births! Even an EMCS can be a positive experience.

I had a C/S because of pre-eclampsia and was absolutely terrified but it wasn't that bad and is over very quickly.

When it comes to bonding, my dd wouldn't stop crying (if only I'd known that was just the start!) and as I couldn't get out of bed a midwife just put her on my chest for the whole night after the c/s, which as far as I am concerned is the best thing that could have happened as by the time morning came I was absolutely besotted.

Back to your intial post newmomma
Its not ridiculous to be scared and anxious about things, Just ensure you have a good friend and or confidant who can listen to your fears without automatically saying it will all be fine. Chances are no matter what happens you will sail through it but that doesn't always help right now whilst feeling scared (at least it doesn't for me anyway).

Anyway have you heard about the Webster Technique its a chiropractic technique which can help breech babies turn and is much less uncomfortable aparently than conventional medical turning.
Sorry no personal experience but if you google it you should be able to find more information on its effectiveness studies etc

www.chiropractic4health.co.uk/breech_babies_47.html

Also here is are a couple of websites with information about breech babies / births. You may have already found them but as you seem to be interested in looking things up these may help you get more information then you may find you can phone and ask more specific questions which may help you to aly some of your fears.
www.radmid.demon.co.uk/breech.htm
www.aims.org.uk/Journal/Vol10No3/handOffbreech.htm
www.radmid.demon.co.uk/breech.htm

Thanks everyone - I'm sure lots of people have had wonderful experiences of c/s's. Some of my closest friends have and say they'd happily opt for an ECS next time round.

I just really enjoyed labour first time round but because it was largely an experience I wasn't ready for (away from home, no hospital bag, no notes, strange hospital, 2 weeks early) I had really focussed on birthing 'my way' this time.

I know childbirth is something that you can't plan because it is so unpredictable - I just still can't my head round having to have a c/s.

BomDigger can you come back and answer some questions for me??
Could you explain what ECVS is (its not in the acronyms bit and I'm a bit stupid )
Also what does cephalic mean? I'd love to know how your experience pans out - can you be sure to come back and let me know how your (hopefully) hb pans out?

Although I live in Reading - I'm booked into Wallingford MLU which is linked with the JR in Oxford rather than the RBH in Reading. Which is another massive pain because if I end up with a CS I'll have to go all the way to Oxford for it. Silly, but because I was so far from home with DS1 I really wanted to feel 'local' when having DD this time round. I've already packed my bag because I'm taking no chances of being unprepared this time round...!

And thanks to everyone for the links - I@ve bookmarked them all and I'm going to go read them all now - to make sure I'm up on all the facts if I decide to try for a VB delivery so that I can talk confidently to the midwife.

Also going to put a call out for Tangle to see if she'd be happy to talk to me about her experiences...

Am going to make sure there are no more tears today and try and concentrate on:
a) turning the baby and
b) making sure I'm comfortable with a c/s if that's what it comes to...

Oh and one last question (Columbo fan )...
If they scan me at 34 weeks and baby is still breech... they book me in for a c/s - can I request weekly scans afterwards to find out of the baby manages to turn before the c/s date or is that it? Set in stone...?

I don't think they can set it in stone, and I don't think they can force you to have a c/s. You need to find the green tops on delivery and a woman's right to choose. You'll find it you get a bit uppity and change your unhappiness into feistyness, senior people start to appear and take you very seriously. I changed hospitals at 36 weeks to make sure I had the best chance of a vbac and had all sorts of people write in my notes which ensured I got a very experienced midwife. Don't take it lying down, is my advice!! SHOUT and get what you want...

It's the squeaky wheel that gets heard IMHO

Hello again Newmomma.

Sorry, an ECV is an External Cephalic Version; in other words turning the baby from the outside. A consultant and doctor will monitor the baby's heartbeat and use a scanning machine to make sure they are not squishing the cord while they physically maneuver the baby around.
It can be a little uncomfortable. Sometimes muscle relaxants are used. You can feel a little wobbly afterwards.

Cephalic Presentation is when the baby is head down. This is what you're after!
Transverse is when the baby is kinda right to left. In my case, it's as if the baby is laid across my lap, face down. The cord was the bit nearest my birth canal, followed by feet. The danger is if my waters were to break, the cord would "fall" into the birth canal, followed by baby, which would compress the cord, starving BabyDigger of oxygen.
Thing is, I'm overdue,and baby still keeps moving about! Luckily consultant witnessed this t'other night when, just before my second ECV he was called to a Cat1 section. 3 hours later my baby had turned by itself to Cephalic. How we laughed!

Have you looked into changing hospitals? You are perfectly within your rights to. It seems quite early to be writing off your vaginal birth. You can try to request a scan every week after 34 weeks. You do need to be quite firm as 120 says. My consultant has stopped asking me if a want a section now.

Thanks for replying BomDigger

I watched an ECV on youtube (after googling what it was) and it didn't seem to be too bad. Lots of people have warned me against them - placentas coming away and broken baby limbs... But I guess its redundant they haven't offered me one...

Would you have one again? I see you;ve had two - how long did the baby stay in the cephalic position?

Fingers crossed for you - will you come back and let me know the outcome? Hope you get your hb!

Have definitely decided that if baby is in the 'right' breech position that I'll shout and try for a natural birth. As its my 2nd I'd hope everything would be a bit stretchier...

But only if its a natural birth, rather than a breech delivery (check me out - I read Mary Cronk!)

And if it goes wrong/slows down/babies in distress then I'll have to have a section. But I'd like to try for a vaginal breech delivery I think.

Good to know I can request weekly scans - I'd hate to find out that they did a c/s only to find out that the baby had moved somewhere between 34 weeks and D-day.

Thanks for all your help and support ladies.

Am going to concentrate on turning this baby over the next two weeks and after that I'll consider the alternatives. At least I feel a little more 'clued-up' about things.

I would and probably willhave another ECV. The plan is, when I go into labour I'll go immediately to the maternity unit, where I'll be checked to see if baby is in the right position. If not I can have an ECV in early labour, but will probably deliver at the hospital. (To keep DH sweet. He's terrified since seeing a neonatal resus on TV.) If baby is cephalic, I'll go home.

Another thing they can do is a controlled ARM, where the'll break the waters once baby's head is down, kinda forcing her head into the birth canal.

Can you not get a referal for an ECV? The outcome is much more favourable than for a breech birth I think.

Good luck though! I would go for a Vaginal Breech Delivery too.