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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

turning a breech baby

113 replies

agalch · 22/05/2006 13:34

I am 31 weeks atm and booked for a homebirth.Went to see mw last Thursday and baby is now breech.How can i turn this baby round? I really want my homebirth and would be terrified if i had to have a cs.My other 3 births have been normal deliveries.Has anyone managed to successfully turn a breech baby? Or has anyone delivered a breech vaginally?
Any help gratefully recieved x

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jellyjelly · 22/05/2006 13:37

have you tried moxa stick they need to be burnt ina certain postion but are said to be great fro tunring as can reflexology.

Mistymoo · 22/05/2006 13:39

I had my breech baby turned by the consultant at about 39 weeks. It was not painful and I went on to have a normal vaginal delivery.

MissChief · 22/05/2006 13:40

ecv in hospitla (quick too) at 36 wekes worked for me, moxibustion a v expensive waste of time!
try exercises too - put legs up as aginst wall with head down on bed as much as possible!

frumpygrumpy · 22/05/2006 13:46

I think there are positions you can sit in to encourage a turn but I'm not sure what they are. Some experienced midwives can also use a sort of massage over the tummy to encourage a turn. Ask about for a good one.....

My DT2 was a breech birth and it was fine (however, DT1 had led the way headfirst and I did have an epidural!). He was a colicky baby and I took him for cranio-sacral therapy for that but there was nothing to suggest the birth had any connection. He's now 22 months, sleeps like an angel and wears a grin with a knowing look in his eye! Personally I'd be wary of a homebirth if the baby remains breech but that is just my own thoughts. Good luck.

Original poster

agalch · 22/05/2006 13:51

Thanks all.I wouldn't go for the homebirth if baby was breech.I am just not keen on the section thing.Will find out from mw if the hosp policy is breech=cs tho.
Thanks for the ecv info,have seen it done and it looked bloody painful but nice to know it's not too bad.Will google positions too.
I know theres plenty of time to turn but want it NOW and i can relax lol.

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MissChief · 22/05/2006 13:53

ecv surprisingly wasn't painful honeslty! I was given a muscle relaxant so not pain that you feel - more an incredibly powerful force for all of a couple of seconds then baby moved. Think it's generally 50-50 success rate but depends on who does it so ask yr mw what rate is locally and book it in if I were you. In my case, meant i avoided a c-section!

Original poster

agalch · 22/05/2006 15:09

Hi Mischief,thanks for that. Ideally i would want to go with my plan for homebirth if poss,but the only thing i really have to avoid is the cs.even the thought of it scares me lol{blush).I don't know why but it does.

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tamum · 22/05/2006 15:40

ECV pain seems to depend on how stuck fast the baby is, I think. Mine didn't work and was frankly really painful, but there have been several people on here who have found them pretty pain-free and successful. I don't want to be the voice of doom, but I hadn't heard anything about them being any worse than faintly uncomfortable, so I was completely unprepared. Would have been easier if I'd known, I think. The position I was told was good was kneeling down, elbows on the ground and bum in the air, but I would check first. Good luck :)

Wallace · 22/05/2006 15:44

Hi agalch, my midwife says a good way is to go to the swimming pool and do duck dives to the bottom. My baby was also breech last week at 30 week check, but I think it has turned since then. Midwife says not to worry until 37 weeks. I feel the same way you do about Csection, and would try for a normal delivery if baby was breech. It is your 4th - it should pop out

Original poster

agalch · 22/05/2006 16:48

cheers tamum,i want all the ins and outs of ecv so i can be prepared for how it painful/or not it might be.

Wallace you must be on the july thread.What are you going to do if baby is still breech at term/ Is this your first?

My friend says(cheeky bugger!!) baby will hardly touch the sides cos it's my 4th lol

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april74 · 22/05/2006 16:51

ms ds was breech and turned himself round at 38 weeks. Good luck and hope you have the homebirth you want.

Wallace · 22/05/2006 20:35

I am on the July thread - mainly just read it as don't have much time to post This is my third, and if it was still breech I would go for a normal birth as long as it was safe for the baby

MissChief · 22/05/2006 20:37

if you're even contemplating an ecv get it booked now! it needs to be done by 36 weeks if ity's to work and they're often booked up ahead.

Original poster

agalch · 22/05/2006 22:22

I hope to have a vaginal delivery whether or mot it's cephalic/breech so will see what mw says thanks Wallace(youre a fellow scot too then?)
Mischief i had no idea i would have to book an ecv.My mw said she would see what was happening at 37 weeks?? Will ask her about booking when i see her next week.
Thanks everyone

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tamum · 22/05/2006 22:32

I have to say I thought ECV was always done after 36 weeks, usually at 37 weeks, because most babies will have turned by then. I didn't have to book either- it was just offered.

PomsMum · 23/05/2006 14:17

I had a sucessful ECV with dd at 39 weeks using salbutamol as the muscle relaxant, painless, quick and easy - the difficult bit was the hanging around afterwards hooked up to a monitor to check that the baby hasn't got distressed. Currently 38 weeks with no. 2 which is alternating between being breech and ceph week to week, not unduly worried knowing that the first was turned at 39 weeks. Hope this helps?!

MissChief · 23/05/2006 14:20

check what yr local hosp's policy is - mine was definitely 36 weeks max , any later made the chances of it working much worse they said (and had to book but it was London). It does seem to vary hugely - some areas don't seem to do ecvs at all so discuss it with yr mw and she sd be able to tell you what yr options are and their timeline.

NotAnOtter · 23/05/2006 14:21

it will probably turn - mine do around 36 weeks - the one that did not - i went downstairs on my tummy and that shifted him!

LilacBump · 23/05/2006 14:23

i'm 38 weeks today. my baby was breech until sometime last week. on friday i had a scan and showed the baby was head down. i was so scared of needing ECV or c-section, so feel very happy about him turning on his own. i didn't notice the actual turning though. i tried some positioning (the one where you're on hands and knees with bum in the air) and sat on a birth ball for the last two weeks. whether those helped or not, we will never know.
good luck!

MissChief · 23/05/2006 14:25

honestly, ecv wasn't scary - and I'm the biggest wuss going! Absolutely not up there with a c-section, IMO! i know there was one poster who had not such a good experience but most of us found it fine - some consolation there i hope!

Orlando · 23/05/2006 14:25

I had normal (lovely, in fact) vaginal delivery with footling breech. Had to have an epidural (which was why it was so lovely), and watched in pain-free fascination as a tiny purple foot emerged...

You have to be prepared to fight quite stubbornly to bypass the automatic c-section I think. This was 5 years ago and I think things were a little more flexible.

Good luck!

Original poster

agalch · 23/05/2006 14:59

Thanks for all the replies ladies.It's such a help,of course i hope the little pest just about turns and goes head down,but i will speak to my mw next week about ecv timing etc as i know how these things can vary from place to place.
Nice to hear so many positive outcomes as well,not quite so worried now.

Notanotter?? you went downstairs on your tummy? Was that not sore?

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LilacBump · 23/05/2006 15:01

good luck and keep us posted :)

jabberwocky · 23/05/2006 15:01

A friend's daughter was told baby was transverse at 33 weeks. When it hadn't turned 2 weeks later they had her burn her toe (I think the little one) with an incense stick and it worked! I think this is what jellyjelly was talking about, although I had never heard of it before.

Original poster

agalch · 23/05/2006 15:01

Sorry orlando meant to say i will not be having a section just like that!!! One of my friends thinks that i am off my head even thinking about a possible vaginal breech birth but your story shows it can be done thank you

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