32 weeks pregnant and breech...will i be able to tell if it moves into the right position?

[mabel1973]

I am 32 weeks pregnant with DC3, my midwife told me at 30 weeks that the baby was breech, but nothing to worry about just yet, as there was still plenty of room for it to move.
two weeks on nothing seems to have moved, my bump is very high and I am still getting kicks in the same place, so am assuming the baby is still in the same position.
My previous 2 babies were head down from quite early on, so i've no experience of this. Will it just happen one day and I will know? (if it's going to move in to the right position at all that is?)
I am concerned as i tend to have big babies (ds2 was 10lb), so thinking space may be running out!!!

I felt ds2 lurch violently round at 38 weeks, I swear I felt a clunk as his head bashed downwards! But then he was over 9 and a half lbs so I guess thats normal. This baby turned earlier and I didn't feel it, but I suspected because I started getting kicks to one upper side rather than down in the bladder area.

If you push gently on either side of the lump at the top you should get some clues - if its a bum you should see the whole baby move but if its a head then it should be ballotable and the "swing" will stop at the neck (which is why you do it gently ) so the head swings "like the basket of a balloon".

I'm in two minds about the whole "don't worry if baby is breech at 30 weeks" thing - for most women its fine and their child will turn before birth, but if you're one of the few where it doesnt (as I was) then one day you get "don't worry" and the next its "hmm - lets book you in for an ECV next week and if that doesn't work its a CS the week after", by which time you're already about 37 weeks and its all a bit of a shock.

If you want to be proactive, "Breech Birth" by Benna Waites has a chapter on complementery ways to encourage breech babies to turn. Both "Breech Birth" and "Breech Birth: What are my options?" by Jane Evans are very approachable and informative if you can find a copy. www.spinningbabies.com is also worth a look.

Good luck

thanks

I have considered booking myself in for reflexology, as i had heard it can help. but just concious that i need to find someone who knows what they are doing.
Tangle I will have a little bit of a poke to see what I can feel!

Accupuncture / moxibustion is another one reputed to work for some women.

Another possibility is that if your spine/pelvis is asymetric it could be setting up a torsion in your womb, restricting the space baby has to turn - the Webster Technique is used by some chiros to help release the asymetry, which should make more space...

As you say, though, best to find someone trained to work with pregnant women and preferably pregnant women carrying breech babies. The reflexologist I talked to said any pregnant woman she touched tended to go into labour within a day or two! - think that was just her, though

It's early days yet (about 37 weeks is the usual time for them to turn). Can try hypnobirthing or osteopathy later on if you are still concerned.

I think the figures for babies being breech at birth is less than 4%.

accupuncture...hmmm not sure if i could face that. Never heard of moxibustion??? sounds like something to do with car engines!!!!

I have got a MW appointment on monday, so hopefully she can shed some light on what position it is in and when i need to start worrying!

moxibustion is burning herb sticks near an accupuncture/pressure point - somewhere on the outside of your little toe. No oil involved, but can get a bit smelly and probably best done outdoors! here you go, in fact

Good luck for monday - hope DC has turned

I have seen my midwife this morning and the baby still hasn't turned. I see her again in 2 weeks. She said if it still hadn't turned by then she would refer me for accupuncture and moxibustion at the hospital. So wait and see I guess.
I did feel some movements low down in my pelvis over the weekend, but then they just moved back to where they had been before, so it's just too early to keep still i suppose.