Quick question about breech babies.

cdmassey

I was informed yesterday at my appointment that my baby is mostly likely breech. I have to have a scan Tuesday to make sure, but 2 doctors are pretty sure she is breech. Does anyone know if she is too big to turn on her own at 37 weeks or what they can do to turn her before delivery? TIA!!!

itkatydid@gmail.com

I've heard nothing is impossible!! My baby turned at 33 weeks (which I know is a lot earlier) but some of the things I had heard were swimming in a pool and acupuncture. I did swim at the Y alot, I don't know if it worked or he just figured it out.

Greyfaery

I think (but don't quote me on this) that babies can turn right up to when labor starts. So there might be a chance that she will turn in time.

nadiarl

I found out my baby was breech on Thursday. I was due today.

We tried an EC Version yesterday morning, at 39 weeks 6days. It was unsuccessful so we scheduled a csection for the afternoon. Our little girl was born yesterday!

I would definetly try a version. Docs don't even try to do it before 37 weeks because they may have to do an emergency c section, and they don't want her to flip back if it works.

It was pretty uncomfortable, but it was pretty quick. When it was clear it wasn't working I was glad we had tried.

My doc said that there was pretty much no chance that she would turn on her own since the version didn't work.

khaenlein

They talked about this at our childbirth class last Thursday and this comes from the childbirth educator, so take it for what it's worth.  Like others have said, it's not impossible, but at 37 weeks the quarters are pretty tight and flipping around on their own gets unlikely.  They might want to schedule you for a version procedure (where they have usually 2 docs manually manipulate the baby by pushing on your abdomen) to flip him around.  They do it with some anesthesia so mom isn't in pain, and they do it in the hospital in case of placental rupture or anything else that would require a quick delivery. 

They also talked about some other techniques, such as lying on your back with your hips elevated a few inches (allows baby to come back so his head is out of the pelvis and makes him more likely to flip) for 10 mins two times per day--might not hurt to give that a try.  There was actually a study published in JAMA (not sure when) that showed this had a pretty good success rate.  Good luck!

nadiarl

khaenlein:

They talked about this at our childbirth class last Thursday and this comes from the childbirth educator, so take it for what it's worth.  Like others have said, it's not impossible, but at 37 weeks the quarters are pretty tight and flipping around on their own gets unlikely.  They might want to schedule you for a version procedure (where they have usually 2 docs manually manipulate the baby by pushing on your abdomen) to flip him around.  They do it with some anesthesia so mom isn't in pain, and they do it in the hospital in case of placental rupture or anything else that would require a quick delivery. 

They also talked about some other techniques, such as lying on your back with your hips elevated a few inches (allows baby to come back so his head is out of the pelvis and makes him more likely to flip) for 10 mins two times per day--might not hurt to give that a try.  There was actually a study published in JAMA (not sure when) that showed this had a pretty good success rate.  Good luck!

Not so in my case. I was administered a muscle relaxer that targets "smooth" muscle tissue like the uterus to keep it from contracting. It definitely wasn't comfy, but I wasn't in pain.

Jen&Louie

Check out spinningbabies.com for some things to try on your own.  It's not too late for your LO to turn but, the odds do decrease the further along you are since the baby is quickly running out of space for large movements.

My LO is breech and I'm scheduled for a c-section.  If he ends up turning, we'll obviously cancel it.  I declined the external version as the odds of it working for a 1st time mom are not as good and I didn't want to take the chance of cord issues or placental abruption. I'd do some research on your options and see what feels right for you.

SLOmama

At my 35 week appointment my girl was breech.  My midwife gave me a week to try to get her to turn on her own before we would try the version at 36 weeks.  For one week I went to the chiropractor daily, had acupuncture with moxibustion 3 times, layed at an upside down incline 3-5 times a day and tried ice packs over her head and a heat pack at my groin.  I am not sure when she did it, but she flipped before the week was up.  Who knows if she would have done it anyway, but it felt good knowing I really made an effort to help her turn.  I was so thrilled to not have to have the version done.  Hopefully she will stay head down!  Good luck and remember, you have time.  Your baby can turn all the way up to delivery!

cdmassey

Thanks everyone, for the input. I suppose I should wait until after the scan to see what the doctor suggests. I really just hope to avoid a c-section, so hopefully I can somehow get her turned.