'BREECH WATCH' !!

[Hopeitwontbebig]

So who's breech at the moment and how many weeks are you?

I'm 33+1 and I don't reckon this LO will turn!

Will keep you updated

Fettle - that is great news!

For those firsttimers with cs's booked - found this thread on mnet re csections and what to pack - am going to get the big pants/ peppermint tea and add it to the hospital bag.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=1365&threadid=361143&stamp=070804234707

Maternity leave has started for me too - so excited. Have the luxury of DD being in nursery 2 days a week for a couple of months, and can't wait for time on my own, being able to shop without screams of 'no shops' etc.

Mrs Mar, sounds like you totally made the right decision for you. When the time comes, let me know how cs goes. I may well have to have one anyway (on placenta previa watch as well as breech watch!!)

Just another quick quick one from me.

MrsMar, I was born on Friday 13th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I've turned out ok!

There was something else I was going to say, but it has immediately dashed away from my poor pregnant brain

Off to bed now.

Night night

Oh yes, just remembered, thanks dal for that what to pack link, I;ll have a look at it in the morning.

mrsmar - i totally agree with your decision and also spent the last few weeks weighing up the pros and cons, and although i wanted to totally avoid another section, i knew it was the best, and least distressing option for the baby. so i was decided on one too. Then it turned, and i feel totally unorganised now, just waiting for labour to start, but very excited!

All the best for the 13th Sept. I am a 13th birthday, not sure if it was a friday though. always been lucky for me

MrsMar, so proud of you!

Well, my only update is that I went for moxabustion yesterday - hm, not sure that was worth £60! still, I am going to try it until Tuesday when I have my scan (in my garden, as it really smells!) to se if he has turned. Fingers crossed. I am pretty convinced that I am going to say no to ECV if he has not turned. Will keep you posted!

Holly - £60!! Blimey! Thats a nice elemis massage! What did they say should happen? Do you need a course? How soon should the baby turn?

Mine went on a really wriggle mission last night and I am convinced it was trying to turn. Didnt manage it though, kicks are in the same place and head is still below ribs. I reckon this one is well and truely stuck!

Am sure we will be back on for updates next week - have great weekends everyone!

MrsMar, I'm glad you've made a decision, it does lift a weight off doesn't it. I turned down the ECV, even though my consultant said 'they're not that bad', ahum, he's a MAN!! How does he know? Also, with my previous history of severe bladder irritability after giving birth to DS2, he advised that even if LO does turn cephalic, it would still be wise to have a CS to prevent damage to my bladder/pelvic floor again. This was obviously made worse by the fact that DS1 and DS2 were so big. I was reassured more that I'd made the right decision by the growth trend that this LO is on, it's going up and up on the centile chart, the thigh bone is almost up to the top line, which is what DS2 was like on his scans. They said that at 36+3 she already weighs at least 7lb. So I feel relieved that there are no variables in this, it will be a CS regardless of baby's position, but TBH I don't thinks she'll turn head down. Although like dal, the other night there was a lot of wriggling and scrabbling going on, but in the end she gave up!!

Thanks so much everyone for kind and supportive messages. It does feel so much better knowing a decisions made and it's really given dh a focus for getting the nursery finished

HIWBB - typical surgeon to say ecv isn't that bad, it's just like most men rolling their eyes when we complain about period pain. If men had babies they'd have invented some amazing way to get babies to turn without touching them!! I guess you may have to change your name though, I thought 7lbs at 37 weeks was big, but sounds like you're going to beat me! Oh and of course you turned out fantastic!!! People born on the 13th rock!!!

diddle - I'm glad your baby has turned. I know what you mean about being in a state of disorganisation, I must admit now I've decided on the cs and worked it all through in my head I'd be really thrown if he turned and I had to change my way of thinking again. Gosh that's really selfish, but I've reconciled myself to a cs now, to have to start thinking about a vb again would really throw me!

Orangecat - I hope that placenta moves up, maybe being on mat leave will help

Dal - great link, thanks for that. I've done a new list (well just extended the old one) and added the peppermint tea and other top tips (must remember more clothes for the baby, we'll be there for a few days I guess, he'll need at least three days' clothes!) Sorry to hear ecv has been ruled out for you, despite my decision, if it was what you wanted that's annoying!

Does anyone know the odds of babies turning after 37 weeks? I also get some frantic scrabbling but I'm pretty sure he's stayed put, still got that hard lump under my ribs. I don't think I'll get scanned again before the section so I won't know for sure if he turns last minute unless I feel it (pretty sure I would, he's pretty big!) I'm sure now they've booked me in they won't change unless I beg them to scan me again and reconsider, and to be honest, for the reasons I've outlined above, I'm not keen on changing plans again now I've decided what I'm doing.

MrsMar: I know of 2 babies that turned at 39 weeks, one had been breech for ages, so it does happen. But it sounds like you're very comfortable with your decision, maybe that's what matters most !

Hey MrsM - it is always a possibility for them to turn, but becomes less likely as you get to 37 weeks. Re. the ECV, it is what it is and I am glad he is recommending what is best for the baby.

Oh well - I have another early doors appt tomorrow. Will update afterwards. I veer between wanting to meet this bub asap but wanting it to stay put so it isnt preterm.

Hope anyone with appts this week, it all goes well.

MrsF - let us know if you get anywhere with bringing your appts forward!

Hi all, thought I'd join the thread since my LO seems to think she's an acrobat, and turns in alternate ways at every appointment I go to.

I have a normal MW appt on Friday and then an appt at hospital the following Thursday if she hasn't turned. I was under the impression that it was just to check her position and then I would have to make a further appt for an ECV if she was still breech, but DP seems to think they'll do it the same day if she is. I'm not sure how I feel about that as I don't know if I want it done. Does anyone know if ECV is painful or if having one makes you more likely to go into labour early? I'm even more scared at the thought of them making me having a VB if she is still breech.

Hi Emj23 - I'm in the same boat as you. From what I have read there is a chance that an ECV can start labour which is why they won't do one till you are 37 weeks. They monitor the heart rate the whole time, but there is a chance that they will do a cs the same day if it doesn't work, from what I have read that is. It also seems that they really only have the 37th week to try it because any later and baby is too big, or has started to lose the fluid around it. This is why I am annoyed at the hospital not booking me in for a scan even though I am 36 weeks today and the mw said I didn't have much fluid around the baby as it is. I really hope the mw is understanding tomorrow when I ring her and ask for an earlier appointment.

Welcome EmJ - wow, how many of us from the sept thread?

My recommendation is to do a search on ECV in thread title. There have been 3/4 quite extensive ones fairly recently and have quite a lot of info on them.

Re. your own ECV; a lot depends on the person performing them. I would try and find out more about the procedure and consultant - i.e. how long have they been doing it for? what is their success rate?

Thanks MrsFish and dal21, it is weird how many of us off the Sept thread are having girls and now breech babies as well.

I will be 37+4 at my (possible) ECV appt, I was told last week that I do have a good amount of fluid around the baby which apparently makes ECV more likely to work but the thought of possibly needing an emergency CS after having it done is off-putting. If I need a CS I have no problem being booked in for one but I'm a bit nervous at the idea of suddenly needing one after being prodded about so much IYSWIM.

I will have a read of the other ECV threads and see how I feel then.

emj23

I had a ECV about 2 1/2 weeks ago, and it wasn't painfull just uncomfortable. Luckly for me LO has stayed turned. If looked down this thread about the 18th a more detailed account.

I have to say i am now 40 + 3 and i'm still waiting been having pains but nothing amounting to anything.

EMJ - worth finding out what breech position baby is in, as this also affects likely success of ECV.

I had really straightforward one, with barely any pain. But I had lots of fluid and had a frank breech which, apparently, is the easiest position to turn.

At the end of the day, totally your decision. For every good story there is another unsuccessful one...

Hopefully the other threads will help you in your decision.

Everybody else - my MW appt is tomorrow, so fingers crossed for confirmation that baby has turned. Then it's onto that damn placenta... Will let you know how it goes

Well, I have just rang the mw, and she is going to see me again on thursday to have another feel, if she still thinks its breech, they will then hopefully see me a week wednesday for a scan where I will be 37+3, which I feel is better than waiting a further week. So still have to wait but feel happier thats its only a week not two weeks to se mw

Mrs F - result! I also asked my obs this morning when the best time to carry out an ECV is and they try between 37-38 weeks at QC. It is optimal time for best chances of turning bub combined by lowest risk of it turning back, so if you need an ECV it will be spot on re. timings!

My appt went well - bub still fine and yes still breech...back in this friday for another check up.

Good luck everyone else with your appts

Hello all,

yes, Dal21, £60 seemed a bit steep to me too but it is a one off, she gave me the moxa sticks and now i do it every day on my own. it is quite good and I have to say that the wee one is now wriggling away like nobody's business so maybe he will turn. i know this sounds awful but part of me hopes that he does not turn because in my head i am now geared up for a c-section - does that sound crazy? scan tomorrow at 4pm to see how the land lies...

Holly - no, doesnt sound insane at all. My consultant was happy with progress bub made so has said he will still consider me for ECV, then next 4 days will tell us more. Last Friday - he didnt want to put me forward for it at all.
I have given up trying to predict what the outcome is going to be and stay open to whatever happens. They could scan you just before you are going to have your csection and if it has turned, it will all be called off! I know if I really want to, I can still have a csection - but if the bub turns, my medical reason will have gone and VB will be the best thing for me and baby and I will have to do it. I dont feel I could continue to go the cs route if it turned last minute - last week, I was weighing up the pros and cons of it all.
I am finding this whole thing exhausting!

Holly, I TOTALLY understand where you are coming from. I'm such a control freak and HATE unknowns, I also get myself psyched up for one thing and don't like not knowing what is going to happen, especially when there is the very real prospect of a c-section.

It's odd because my last 2 pregnancies, I just KNEW that they would end in normal deliveries, I didn't even consider that there might be a slim possibility that they would end in cs. Whereas this one, for quite a while now I've had a sneaking suspicion that it would end in a cs- very strange. I guess in a sense I am 'lucky' because no matter whether bub turns I am still having a cs because of other complicating factors.

I bought Mother and Baby magazine yesterday and after reading it it's put the fear of god into me , not only about the CS but about the inevitable sleepless nights! Waah, really out of sorts today, still in bed, need to get up and get myself sorted. Still got a list of thing to buy for my hospital bag. Come on woman sort it out!!!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone,
My midwife has just lent me a book called Breech Birth by a New Zeland midwife called Maggie Banks. I've found it very helpful at giving a non biased view of the evidence surrounding the safety of breech births. There's also lots of advice about turning techniques (including ECV), positions for labour and summaries of all of the major breech studies.

I'm waiting for an appointment for a presentation scan at the moment but this book has answered many of my questions. I'm still not 100% sure if I will get the type of birth I was hoping for but I now feel confident enough to go for a trial of labour (as long as the baby isn't in a footling or kneeling breech position).

It is worth a read if you feel like you are struggling to get hold of information on breech deliveries.

MrsMar- I had my breech DD 3 years ago and know exactly what you mean about not wanting it to turn in the last few weeks, now you have your head around the c-section. I was worried that DD would right herself at the last minute and I would be there in hospital in my gown being told to go home without my baby.

It sounds as if DD was in a similar position to your LO- head stuck under my ribs on the right- and although she did scrabble a fair bit she never went anywhere. My advice, if you're sure you don't want to to move, would be to do the OPPOSITE of all the usual foetal positioning stuff- i.e. sit scrunched up, loll backwards on the sofa etc! BTW my elective section was great, am going for VBAC this time because of the recovery time (more of an issue with a 3YO) but had no complaints at all about the procedure. Good luck!

Thanks for your lovely messages Hopey and Dal, and for your support. I didn't really sleep last night worrying about the scan today, but now it is only 2 hours away! will keep you posted as to what they say. Hope you are both feeling good.

x

Pendulum - thanks so much for your post! It's reassuring to know I'm not a bad mummy for thinking now I've got my head around the idea of a cs I don't really want it to change! I totally agree with the vbac second time round too, if I can avoid another cs I will. I'm totally getting ahead of myself here not having had the first, but i can really see how recovering from a cs with a small dc running around would be hard.