Breech - ECV, ginger paste, moxibustion - etc - please help

[christiana]

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Similar situation to yours - but a week further on.

1 - If you are delivering a breech baby vaginally, I would expect them to include an obstetrician in the decision making/ delivery. It is no longer second nature for midwives (or some doctors) to deliver breech.

2 - If this is your second baby you can still find it turning up to 39 weeks, it's too early to give up all hope yet.

3 - Consider a good (ie pg. related) acupuncturist - can have up to a 75% success rate with turning a breech baby.

www.sueboothacupuncture.com.au/research.html

4 - Try this website of ideas - it's got to be worth trying at least some of it if you don't want a c-section:

pregnancychildbirth.suite101.com/article.cfm/turning_a_breech_baby

5 - Although this is almost superfluous to say, I really wouldn't take it as gospel if the mw is only fairly sure. Take the scan at 37 weeks - all might have changed by then.

Good luck,

J

PS My baby is now head down and the right way round (ie not posterior), having been breech/breech transverse up til now - I've had one lot of acunpuncture, and it turned later that day.

Still turning all the time, so will see where it is when the music stops!

J

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My DD was breech at 37weeks, she just kept on turning, one day head down the next breech. Not sure how she did it with so little room, but she was head down for my induction day at 39+5.

HTH, or at least gives you a little hope.

I had normal delivery 1st time and 2nd time baby was breech, my midwife left it till i was 39 wks to send me for an ecv as she kept hoping it would turn, quite unlikely really as he'd been breech the whole time. The consultant was a bit miffed with her as was i, i wanted to be in and out as dd was only 2.5 at the time an she was very clingy.

ECV was absolutely awful, sorry if thats not what you want to hear! i wrote about it on another thread a couple of days ago. 5 of them held me down, you could feel the baby and me crunching as they tried to lift his bottom out of my pelvis. Of course it failed and i was very bruised on my tummy and emotionally actually felt really vulnerable and upset, and yes i yelped a lot! they offered me a csection for that afternoon as it had failed but as the baby was fine (he was being monitered for distress) i refused as i was booked in for one 5 days later anyway.

I had my section in Watford the day the report came out for how awful the maternity services where but i would like to say they were actually totally fabulous. I had my section on my own as dp didnt want to be there and my mum had dd. I encouraged dp not to be there as to be quite frank i wasnt all that interested in having to worry about him, so he came an hour later to ensure i was adequetly drugged, as i knew hed be good for that bit! but the staff were fab, really looked after me, held my hand and chatted to me constantly while the injection was being done, attentive and lovely as were the ladies on the wards. Im booked in for another section in 2 wks as this baby is so enormous rather than breech, and am feeling quite positive about it, though secretly i want it to come early so i can try naturally, though am scared of it ending up as an e/sec should it fail.

sorry to witter on and on! good luck btw!

I tried accupuncture, homeopathy and the moxi stick thing, none of it worked but the ECV did and I had a very quick and easy homebirth. Easy to the point of thinking I could have done it naturally had the baby been breech anyway. Don't feel you HAVE to have a c-section just because the baby is breech (If you don't manage to get the baby to turn!).

Also found out what kind of breech it is. If baby is frank breech with head down or in militqry i.e. bum first with legs tucked up, chin on chest or straight ahead I would do a vaginal breech birth even if turning methods hadn't worked.

If baby is footling breech i.e. feet first, or star gazer breech i.e. looking up then personally I would be going for a CS if all other methods for turning hadn't worked.

Here is Mary Cronk's essay 'Keep your hands off the breech'.

Ask your midwife/consultant if they know why the baby is breech. Is the cord too short to allow baby to turn easily, have you got placenta previa, or is there no known reason for the breech presentation?

DD2 was breech up until about 38 weeks. I did moxi sticks and that helped her turn BUT even the consultant thought she was still breech until they scanned me and found she'd flipped. She had such a skinny/boney bottom it felt like her head!

Go on all fours anytime you can. I watched TV on hands and knees, played games with DD1 on hands and knees, cleaned my floors (must do that more often1).

Try here for lots more info on turning babies.

Good luck.

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My 4th was breech but we didnt know til the very last minute so I had a crash section under ga. IT WAS BRILL! Most stories say how natural birth is better but I just wanted to let you know I was really happy with my experience. I can compare as my first 3 were all natural deliveries but I would struggle to say which was best. dh went back to work 2 weeks after and I coped with my other 3 kids fine. I did spend the whole 2 weeks on the sofa doing nothing to make sure I was as rested as poss. I also know mums who felt much better than me much quicker after a cs. So while I am not saying not to try to make baby turn, if it does come to a cs I wanted to say it can be a positive experience too

I didnt feel different kicks cos they were everywhere but the shape of my bump was odd, different to the other 3. I just didnt question it as I saw loads of mw and they all said everything was fine.

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Glad it helps. I have talked to plenty of mums who said they had a good cs, the thing we all had in common is that we expected a cs to be awful and were surprised it wasnt!