Turning breech first baby - help please!!

[laurajo]

Hello everyone

I'm 34 weeks and new to mumsnet but would love some advice.
My LO has been in the same breech position for last 2 months. Been told if she's not budged by 36 wk appointment i can opt for an ecv or think about c section.
Just wondered if anyone's got any bright ideas about what to do to make her turn? Bit scared of ecv idea to be honest.

Thanks x

Hi Laurajo. DD was breech from about 28 weeks and never did decide to turn. The NHS do like to turn it into a drama, don't they?
For ideas you can have a look on www.spinningbabies.com. Some women have also found accupuncture to be successful (either with needles or moxibustion, which you burn near the appropriate accupressure point), or you could look for a chiropractor with suitable experience (one school of thought says if you solve any postural problems with the mother the baby often turns). If you want to try moxibustion, the sooner you start the more likely it is to be effective. Other things I've seen mentioned include doing handstands in the swimmingpool!

If you really don't like the idea of an ECV or CS you could look for a supportive, experienced midwife that sees breech as unusual rather than abnormal. We found a lovely IM to support us and DD was born at home as a footling breech after a very straightforward 7 hour labour. If you want to know more about why we decided not to toe the NHS line, give me a shout.

Good luck getting your LO to turn

Thanks tangle - glad it worked out for you. Going to spend the next couple of weeks on all fours i think

Laurajo - my dd was breech and never turned despite all my best efforts, including ECV. If you do end up having an elective cs, it is really fine. Get as prepared as you can about what will happen, so you know what is going on. Make a birth plan just like you would if it was a natural birth - eg ask for skin-to-skin contact as soon as possible, who is going to tell you the sex of the baby etc. And make sure you have plenty of support for the recovery period afterwards. I can give you lots more tips if you need them!

I've no experience of breech myself, but thought you might like to know there is an article in the Times today which says there is new research saying getting into all fours positions, wiggling bottoms, etc has no effect on whether a breech baby turns. Some people swear by acupuncture but I know plenty of women it hasn't worked for.

You might have just saved me from bum waggling shame in front of the neighbours tutti as we've currently got no curtains in the living room

claraq - thanks for advice, do you mind me asking what ecv was like? i know it doesn't have great success for first timers anyway...

I'm convinced my little one is going to be breech - he has been on and off (I'm now 35 wks) and is currently back to back. Things I tried: sitting a lot on birthing ball (something about knees being higher than hips is supposed to help), not slumping back into chair/sofa, kneeling on all fours, kneeling over birthing ball, shining a torch 'down there' and putting a radio between your legs (the ideas being that baby turns down to investigate the sound or noise - I didn't try this, BTW, but did warn DP in case he came home from work one day to find me sitting with a torch between my legs!!), scrubbing floors (yeah, right) and, if you sit at a desk, leaning forwards slightly. And they recommend the all fours thing when the baby is awake, to encourage them to move.

No idea if any of this works, so good luck! Really hope you have a good birth, whatever happens

I am watching this thread with hope, as i too am 35 weeks and breech !! doing the bum in air thing to, will book acupuncture soon...... so hoping for it to turn, as i allergic to anasthetic's ( of any sort)...

Hi laurajo - I found the ECV quite a painful procedure, but I know others have found it ok. I think it probably depends on how determined your baby is to stay head up (my DD is now 2-years-old and extremely strong-willed so it doesn't suprise me that she refused to turn!). They will give you something to relax your tummy muscles to make the procedure easier, which is very wierd as suddenly you will see even more movement than usual. You will be monitored throughout to make sure the baby is not in distress - they say be prepared for an emergency c/s just in case. The consultant will try and manipulate the baby through your stomach, which is what I found painful. My doctor tried both ways and stopped quite soon after the second time as she could tell I was in pain and it looked unlikely the baby would turn (she got it half way a couple of times but then dd slipped underneath her hands). You could always give it a go but ask to stop if it is too painful or distressing. Another friend of mine had a breech baby who turned quite easily. Although I don't think it was a "pleasant" procedure, I don't think she found it painful like me.
Good luck. I have a horrible feeling this baby (I am 34 weeks) is also breech - will find out for sure next week as I have another appointment with the consultant.

At MW appt on Thursday at 36+4 LO was breech so MW wanted to see me agin yesterday to confirm it with scan and make plans from there. Yesterday LO had only gone and turned around so don't worry, there's still time (and I didn't clean a single floor!)

Thanks for all the info - fingers crossed they'll all get their heads down in the next couple of weeks.

Btw i did scrub a floor on a house move cleaning blitz a couple of weeks back - surprise surprise v tiring and did absolutely nothing to help

LJ x

A friend of mine swears by using something called moxa - a slow-burning herb burned near the outer edge of each little toe, beside the nail, so that it warms but doesn't burn the skin.

Apparantly very high success rate so you might want to look into that?

Hi there
Am sidling into the breech section as have just been told I have a bicornuate uterus - ie slightly heart shaped, which has a high risk of breech.
Anyone have any experience of this?
China

I was reading somwhere that at 34 weeks 15% of babies are breech but by 38-42 weeks only 3-4% are still breech. So plenty of time for your baby to turn yet.

You could have a look at the AIMS website to see exactly what your rights are if they baby stays breech and you don't want a c/s.

www.aims.org.uk/

HTH,

Kath

Tangle - why did you choose not to toe the NHS line? and did you have to have an episiotomy?

In 2 scans (btwn 21-23 wks) and latest check up my LO has been in breech. i'm not due for a while yet, but thought i'd look into it just in case.

I had a look at spinningbabies.com earlier this week and can't get to grips with the mapping and feeling for different shapes.
but 90% of the time i get kicked in the same places (left hip, left lower front and at the bottom).
Would love to be able to tell/feel how baby is positioned over coming weeks.