Breech at 35 weeks - reassurance/advice please!

[Pinchypants]

Hello ladies,

I didn't sleep last night and am not feeling terribly positive this morning - any tips/reassurance/experiences/stats about turning breech babies wd be very warmly welcomed.

Had bog standard appt with midwife yesterday who casually mentioned during examination that baby who she said was head down thre weeks ago now appears to be breech. She wasn't at all sure and put a question mark in my notes, and just said if it's still looking dodgy in two weeks she'll book me in for a late scan. She said she wasn't too worried at this stage and I was equally casual at the time but actually this has totally thrown me.

She didn't give me any advice but having done my own research I know I've got to watch my posture, spend a lot of time with my bottom in the air, and could also try homeopathy (pulsatilla?) and acupuncture/moxibustion. I also realise that because this is my second baby and there's still plenty of room in there as I no longer have tummy muscles (ha!), it's likely to sort itself out a little later than first babies and will probably just get head down in the next week or so by itself.

I really want to avoid ECV and c-section. I've been quite blase after a relatively easy and normal delivery last time that I don't mind how this one is born cos I've had the natural birth I desperately wanted first time around, but actually now the possibility that this might not be the case has made me realise that I really do want it to be along the same lines this time.

One homebirth site I looked at yesterday said the father 'commanding' the baby to get its head down often worked, which is, um, interesting. I mentioned this to DH and he just laughed, understandably. I don't want to get desperate cos I know being relaxed at this stage is really important. Anyway, am waffling. Please help me calm down...

Pinchypants Get on the Aug antenatal thread (unless you've been lurking recently) as there has been lots of investigation as lots of the others have been in same situation. I will find out today if I'm in the same position as you (34 weeks). I wanted a homebirth so will be very peed off if ds2 is breech - it will mean he hasn't moved in the last 6 weeks...

I had my DD last August and discovered she was breech at the 32w growth scan. She resolutely refused to move, I turned down an ECV and was booked in for a CS at 39 weeks.

Pre op appointment all fine and DD still breech, but on the day of my op on the operating table a last minute scan revealed she had turned overnight to head down little minx. Ended up having a CS anyway 8 days later but moral of the story is that they can turn of their own accord very late in the day. My consultant said it was highly unlikely she would turn on her own as they thought she'd be too big to do so but she obviously found a way.

Don't panic- I was also told my little boy was breech and by the time I had gone for a scan to check he had moved. 2nd babies as you rightly said have more room to spin around.

Pinchypants Update on earlier message is that mw couldn't tell if ds2 is breech or not (which personally I suspect means he is as she was clearly very experienced). The upshot is I am going to be booked into the ECV clinic for a scan at week 37 and an attempt at turning him if necessary. She was amazingly confident that I could still have him at home whichever way he was coming out! I have to be prepared to go into labour though as apparently sometimes being manipulated can provoke it so have now warned dh - so not much certainty but I feel ok. The midwives round here seem to know what they are doing. Hope you are feeling better about it.

Try and get hold of "Breech Birth" by Benna Waites and/or "Breech Birth: What are my options" by Jane Evans. The former in particular has a good chapter on complementary ways to encourage baby to turn (and stats on how %age babies breech varies with gestation). From memory, you can add a trip to the chiropractor (look for someone skilled in the Webster technique) and doing handstands in a swimming pool. Sitting in a warm bath with a bag of frozen peas on top of your bump might help, as might shinning a torch and playing a radio to "attract the head" .

DD was my first and stayed stubbornly breech from 28 weeks. She was born at home as a breech baby with IMs, and it was a pretty easy normal delivery. Breech presentation doesn't exclude a straightforward vaginal birth. Google Mary Cronk for lots more info.

Petifilou - you're CMWs sound fantastic . Mine were dubious about homebirth before we even started on the whole breech side of things...

Thanks ladies - that is all reassuring and I am feeling a lot calmer today. Am just banking on nature taking its course and doing my bit to make it easy for the baby to get head down. If we're still breech in two weeks at my next antenatal, then I'll just have to take it as it comes. Good luck Petifilou, by the way!