Breech baby with absent movements.

[Olivia199]

Hello lovely ladies.

I'm looking for a bit of advice really. I'm 35 weeks pregnant today and have had a super busy and active baby for the whole of the pregnancy (think dance class 24/7 will full belly movements!). A week ago yesterday I woke up with the same movements as ever and all was fine. Over the day however, they decreased some until the evening when I was only really feeling flutters. So of course I took myself down to DAU for a CTG which was totally normal. I still however wasn't feeling anything so I was booked for a growth scan the following day.
Growth scan all good but now totally absent movements for me. Baby seems to have accelerations on the CTG that suggest her wiggling but I can't feel a thing.

So, further CTG and home when all was normal and I had a community midwife appointment the following day.
Community midwife sent me back to DAU for further CTG and a plan. The plan was to return on the following day for an MCA doppler of babies brain and another CTG. So the hospital calls the next day and says that they have an appointment in 20 minutes time and that was their only available time to scan... I live a 50 minute drive away and sadly I do not posses teleportation skills (though I have tried!). They suggest a further CTG instead which I agreed to. Saw a doctor who wasn't happy to send me home without said scan and only agree to avoid an admission over the weekend by me going in twice a day for CTG until I got the scan.
Finally got scan Monday and all was well. Plan was for scan and CTG Monday and Wednesday then review.
Now, little minx is frank breech and the doctor doesn't see her moving at all from this position. She has her head, arms and legs all tucked behind my placenta so it is reasonable to assume I'm not feeling her movements due to her position and the placenta.
Consultant said to me today that he doesn't really know what to suggest and that if I am at all worried to be seen back in DAU whenever I want.
So I guess my questions are this:
What is a rational plan forward?
We know that her movements are likely not felt due to her position and they don't believer her position will change. Which gives me 4 weeks left of potentially no movements. Do I go in twice a week, twice a day? I just have no idea. I'm so acutely aware that a wiggly baby is a happy baby and I have absolutely no indication as to whether she is wiggling.
What if something goes wrong and I'm assuming all is totally fine because I've been reassured up to now? Equally I have fairly severe SPD and really struggling to drive now so getting to the hospital every day is killing me and I also don't want to do that when everything has been so perfect with her.
I'll be booked in for an elective section at 39 weeks as unfortunately the ECV procedure is not indicated in my case and they've strongly advised against a vaginal breech birth which I hasten to agree with...!
I'm so sorry for the long post. I guess I'm a bit lost and a bit frayed at the edges and having no indication that my little one is happy and healthy is driving me round the bend a bit!

Thank you anyone who got this far....!!

I'm no professional but I think four weeks like this feels untenable.

Can you go and see the highest up and best obstetrician you can find, pay for it if necessary, and get her/his opinion? Maybe better to have the baby sooner. You need to know what's the safest option.

@jozipozi31

I'm no professional but I think four weeks like this feels untenable.

Can you go and see the highest up and best obstetrician you can find, pay for it if necessary, and get her/his opinion? Maybe better to have the baby sooner. You need to know what's the safest option.

Thank you, it really does feel a bit untenable if I'm honest. I'm going to see another consultant next Wednesday when I'll be 36 weeks so hopefully they'll have a bit more of an answer. I think if baby was head down, I'd likely get induced earlier but unsure if they'll even consider an earlier section. Thank you for your reply!! X

I agree that four weeks is a long time to carry on as you are. I had similar and was booked in for monitoring every day for two weeks and it felt like the longest two weeks of my life! I only lived five minutes from the hospital, so it wasn’t as inconvenient for me as it is for you, but I don’t think I could’ve coped with the worry of not feeling movements for any longer. It’s a horrible feeling when you’re used to feeling them and then they stop. I really feel for you!

I did end up delivering early but my circumstances were slightly different to yours. My growth scan was at 34 weeks and showed that growth had tailed off (and I’d had previous complications too) so I was originally booked for a section at 35 weeks, then a different doctor changed it to 36 weeks, then baby turned head down (despite them saying he almost definitely wouldn’t, so there might be a chance) three days before so I ended up being induced at 36 weeks instead. Given that your baby is looking fine on scans they might not want you to deliver early but there’s no harm in asking.

@Rbrjc

I agree that four weeks is a long time to carry on as you are. I had similar and was booked in for monitoring every day for two weeks and it felt like the longest two weeks of my life! I only lived five minutes from the hospital, so it wasn’t as inconvenient for me as it is for you, but I don’t think I could’ve coped with the worry of not feeling movements for any longer. It’s a horrible feeling when you’re used to feeling them and then they stop. I really feel for you!

I did end up delivering early but my circumstances were slightly different to yours. My growth scan was at 34 weeks and showed that growth had tailed off (and I’d had previous complications too) so I was originally booked for a section at 35 weeks, then a different doctor changed it to 36 weeks, then baby turned head down (despite them saying he almost definitely wouldn’t, so there might be a chance) three days before so I ended up being induced at 36 weeks instead. Given that your baby is looking fine on scans they might not want you to deliver early but there’s no harm in asking.

It's definitely starting to take it's toll. I think where I'm struggling is that I know they've checked her and think she is absolutely fine and I am beyond thankful for that but I don't know if that has changed. Should I be up there every day for monitoring? She may have been fine yesterday but I have no idea how she is doing today which I think I'm finding more stressful. She honestly used to be such a busy little bean and I hate not feeling her. It's causing all sorts of worry, not to mention I miss her! That's very true, I haven't been having growth scans so I had my first one a week and a half ago and have another one one Wednesday to see how she is doing. I should see the consultant after that too to see if she is still breech. (Though the feeling of her head taking up most of my thoracic region tells me that she is!) Definitely got some hope she will turn! I think if they offered me 38 weeks that'll make such a difference. 2.5 weeks feels manageable. 3.5-4 feels too much.
Thank you so much for sharing and messaging. I feel completely worn out and lost and almost wish they'd just tell me what to do with regards to when I need to have her checked out etc!

It’s a horrible feeling isn’t it? Like you, I had a really busy baby until he suddenly wasn’t. And I know what you mean about feeling worn out by the whole thing. I think I pretty much went through the last few weeks of my pregnancy in a daze. Luckily I was given a plan so I just went where I was told when I was told and plodded through it.

I definitely think having a solid plan would help you, just to take some of the worry away! They might tell you what to do on Wednesday once they’ve seen your scan, but if they don’t, ask them what they think you should be doing. Until then I would just go in whenever you feel worried, although I know it was easier for me living so close to the hospital. There’s no point worrying and working yourself up.

Good luck with everything! It’s hard but you’re getting closer and closer to the end!

My baby was brech and a bit like you I noticed her movements got less frequent and less strong, probably around 35 weeks or so. Unlike you though I started to get high blood pressure and my bump measured small at the same time. Anyway growth scans were normal (i had two two weeks apart) and CTGs which were normal. I went in a few times for monitoring of my BP/Movements.

Anyway my baby had stopped growing as she was supposed to (growth scans were wrong). Luckily my waters broke the day after my second growth scan so I ended up having my c section early anyway. But baby was between 0.4th and 2nd centile. The whole time I had had a nagging feeling something was wrong. Was this just anxiety and a coincidence? Probably. Or perhaps the reduced movements was telling me something. I will never know.

So my advice would be to listen to your instincts as well as the doctors/midwives. My daughter is 4 months old and completely healthy by the way.

Tickledtiger that sounds like such a stressful time! So glad to hear that both you and little one are safe and sound.

So I saw the consultant yesterday after another growth scan at 36 weeks and he said that although all things look fine, he isn't happy to explain away the lack of movement based on position/placenta and that placenta shouldn't even come into it after 28 weeks.
So he has arranged daily monitoring until next Wednesday when I will be 37 weeks and have another scan and review. At that appointment we will discuss steroid cover and expediting delivery (unsure whether this means earlier than the normal 39 week breech delivery!)
Though I was a bit concerned as the midwife said my CTG was abnormal with some brief decelerations in her heart rate. Doctor had a look and said no, all fine but of course it still gives you a bit of a worry. Glad I'm being seen every day (even if I am exhausted). They really are being wonderful!
Hopefully little one will be here safe and sound in the next couple of weeks!
He has asked me to consider an ECV though initially I had declined after my friend had a really bad experience. My worry would also be that if they try that and I still can't feel her after then I've got nothing to say that she isn't in distress. I also had a large bleed and mass detected across first and second trimesters so not overly comfortable with any sort of risk on the placental front. But of course if she was head down then early induction is much easier than early C-Section so it's also basing those risks.
All such a whirlwind. Excited that soon enough she will be here!!
Thank you all for your input and support ladies. X

So having seen my consultant on Wednesday last week, he agreed that safest option was monitoring every other day until today (37 weeks) and then another scan and review. If scan normal then we would go for steroids and a 38 week section as she is still breech.
I literally crawled to this appointment. The worry, the driving, the constant visits... it's killing me. But I just thought to get here and then I get my date and all is well.
Except not!
I was seen by the reg today who totally and completely disregarded everything said by the consultant and said that we should aim for a 39 week section, booked me for one at 39+1 and then told me basically to come back if concerned about movements.... which I'm still not feeling?
Todays appointment was meant to just be confirming the plan based on her position on the scan. And yet he had decided against the consultants plan. Has written in my notes that the reason I wanted a 38 week section was due to anxiety about the drive to and from the hospital for monitoring?! I am in no way anxious about the driving. It's my commute to work!!! I'm just finding it increasingly more painful and difficult and finding it harder to really concentrate. What I am anxious about is that I'm not feeling my baby move. You hear all these stories of women who wake up with reduced movements, pop in to be seen and they find something wrong and have to rush to deliver. But if I don't feel movements at all I have absolutely no indication that she is safe. Hence why the consultant had decided 38.
I've called the midwives who have booked me in to see the consultant on Friday and have a CTG so hopefully I'll get more of an idea then but I feel totally and completely floored by todays appointment.
Felt like I was literally crawling to the end after all the stress and constant visits and he has just totally moved the goal posts.
He also suggested that we waited and made the decision next week and that we could always do the section the next day if I wanted... but when I questioned how that would work when I'd need two doses of steroids, 24 hours apart and 48 hours before section plus a covid swab and an anaesthetic review he just sort of laughed and said "whoops, caught". As if it was hilarious that he had tried and failed to fool me into an illusion that I had a choice.
Just feeling totally and completely fed up. Started the day so positive that I'd get my plan booked in, know what was happening and just have to survive another week only for that to not be the case anymore.
He also made me feel like a terrible mother for even THINKING about risking a 38 week section with steroid cover just so I don't have to keep driving for the monitoring..?! He just wouldn't comprehend that it isn't about that. Grr.

Oh I'm so sorry your having this. I had a breech and an EMC following loss of amniotic fluid but didn't have loss of movement and was term (had decided on a breach birth, stupid stupid me!).

Put your foot down, insist on delivery at 38 weeks, there really is little if any difference between that and term and at least in my trust if you are booked in for an elective you are offered dates from 38 weeks.

@supersuds

Oh I'm so sorry your having this. I had a breech and an EMC following loss of amniotic fluid but didn't have loss of movement and was term (had decided on a breach birth, stupid stupid me!).

Put your foot down, insist on delivery at 38 weeks, there really is little if any difference between that and term and at least in my trust if you are booked in for an elective you are offered dates from 38 weeks.

Thank you! Oh bless you, little one had decided now was the time...! I will definitely be asking the consultant to revert to his initial plan, I just feel so so concerned that something just isn't right. The reg didn't even suggest monitoring between now and 39 weeks despite no fetal movements! I am really hoping that the consultant just waltzes in like he did last time and puts the plan in place without much to do. I think I went in today just expecting to follow a plan so it totally blindsided me and felt I couldn't fight my corner rationally at all because I just felt overwhelmed and tearful! I'm glad my mum pushed me to call the midwives who have, bless them, been outraged on my behalf and booked this consultant visit. Fingers cross for Friday! Thank you for making me feel like I'm not terrible for wanting 38 weeks!!

@Olivia199 sounds horrendous 😩 bless you! I'd definitely put my foot down and tell the Consultant on Friday you want to move forward with his plan. No way I'd want to wait another few weeks, especially feeling as anxious as you are already.
I thought aswell, if you'd been in for reduced movements more than x amount of times in a week, they induce you anyway... Why aren't they following that?

Sorry your going through this really hope for a positive outcome on friday

I missed your updates. I hope you’re alright.

I hate it when medical professionals contradict each other and change plans. I overheard mine disagreeing with each other about my scan (I’m a HCP so I knew what they were saying) and it didn’t make me feel any better, ha. Especially documenting that you want an earlier CS so you can avoid driving (wtf?) my head would be spinning too. They told you to look out for reduced movements and that’s what you’re doing!

I think it’s fair to tell them you want to stick to the original plan. If they’re chopping and changing they should explain why and it doesn’t sound like he did that.

I had one steroid injection 12 hours before my CS.

It’s tough isn’t it. Good luck for tomorrow op!

Thank you so much for all of your support. It has been totally invaluable!! Happy to announce that having seen the lovely consultant today, everything was cleared up and I've got my section booked a week today (38+2) and regular monitoring between now and then. Feeling much better and now just counting down the days!

Im glad! Not long now!