Natural Birth

Baby is breech :(

Ugh, I am so disappointed.  Sometime between 36-37 weeks, baby girl turned breech and my hopes of a more natural, peaceful birth are slowly disappearing.  I wasn't hard-core into not getting an epidural or anything like that (because my experience with my son was so incredibly chaotic and unpredictable) but I really REALLY thought I'd catch a break on this birth and experience something a little more peaceful.  I've been studying hypnobirthing and relaxation and now... 

If she doesn't turn by next Wednesday, I have to meet the OBs and schedule a c-section.  I am really, REALLY disappointed.  

Sidenote:  I'm doing EVERYTHING I can to make her turn - seeing chiropractor, doing the inverse exercise and the ironing board exercise, moxibustion, walking...EVERYTHING.  Any other suggestions?  I'm worried its too late for her to turn back.  

Tell me your positive stories of baby turning at the last minute!!!  Give me hope!

Re: Baby is breech :(

  • Although this is not a personal experience, a good friend of mine had her baby girl turn on her about a week before she ended up going into labor.  She, like you, was doing everything she could to get her daughter to turn.  She had made plans to go swimming at the YMCA in hopes of turning her.  Before she could get to the pool that night, she went into labor.  The long a short of it is, the baby did end up turning on her own, last minute and she was able to avoid c-section.  Fingers crossed the same happens for you!
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  • It can happen =) My coworker's baby didn't turn until the day she gave birth. She had a c/s scheduled and did a last ditch chiro appointment that morning...by the time she left the appointment baby had flipped and she was in labor.
    Raising a threenager since 11/11
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  • i'm so sorry your baby turned breech this late in the game.

    did you take a hypnobirthing class or just study on your own? if you took a class, contact your instructor and ask for a breech session. if you didn't take a class, contact a hypnotherapist in your area (or even better, a hypnotherapist who also teaches hypnobirthing) and ask for a breech session.

    most hypnotherapists can help you with that, and hypnobirthing instructors are supposed to offer it as an additional service to their students. if you want to talk about that offline, PM me or email me at Lindsey AT sunflowershealingandwellness DOT com.

    using hypnosis to turn a breech baby has been shown in studies to produce an 80% success rate with more lasting results than with manual version (ETA: quoted study in post below shows conversion to vertex position in 48% of control group, which was comprised of women who had standard OB care including manual versions). 

    if all else fails, would you consider a breech vaginal delivery? it's actually not as risky as we are led to believe - it's more an issue of untrained providers. and it's quite unfortunate that we are pushed to surgical births simply because OBs are no longer trained in med school to attend vaginal breech births. there is only one OB in my area who does them, but MANY MWs do. perhaps that is also an option for you?

    ETA: just noticed that you are in the DC metro area! dr. tchabo at virginia hospital center often takes last minute mamas who want vaginal births with breech babies. there are also a number of midwives who may take a last minute mama for a breech homebirth (and home doesn't have to be your home, it can be a hotel next door to the hospital - these MWs don't have hospital privileges, but you can be that close if you aren't comfortable wtih being all the way at home). PM me for names. 

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  • Oh honey, I'm so sorry.  I was pretty much writing this post and then I saw yours.  I am 30w6d with twins and Baby A is breech and just won't turn head down.  I really hope baby changes her mind and turns head down! 

    Good luck to you - please keep us updated.  I will keep my fingers crossed that you get the natural birth you are preparing for. 

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  • imageLindseyJW:

    i'm so sorry your baby turned breech this late in the game.

    did you take a hypnobirthing class or just study on your own? if you took a class, contact your instructor and ask for a breech session. if you didn't take a class, contact a hypnotherapist in your area (or even better, a hypnotherapist who also teaches hypnobirthing) and ask for a breech session.

    most hypnotherapists can help you with that, and hypnobirthing instructors are supposed to offer it as an additional service to their students. if you want to talk about that offline, PM me or email me at Lindsey AT sunflowershealingandwellness DOT com.

    using hypnosis to turn a breech baby has been shown in studies to produce an 80% success rate with more lasting results that with manual version (which only yields 40% success rate). 

    if all else fails, would you consider a breech vaginal delivery? it's actually not as risky as we are led to believe - it's more an issue of untrained providers. and it's quite unfortunate that we are pushed to surgical births simply because OBs are no longer trained in med school to attend vaginal breech births. there is only one OB in my area who does them, but MANY MWs do. perhaps that is also an option for you?

    ETA: just noticed that you are in the DC metro area! dr. tchabo at virginia hospital center often takes last minute mamas who want vaginal births with breech babies. there are also a number of midwives who may take a last minute mama for a breech homebirth (and home doesn't have to be your home, it can be a hotel next door to the hospital - these MWs don't have hospital privileges, but you can be that close if you aren't comfortable wtih being all the way at home). PM me for names. 

    You can call and speak with Loudoun Community Midwives too. They have priviledges at Inova Loudoun Hospital.

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  • It is definitely not too late for LO to turn! I know how stressful it is to not know if baby will turn at the last moment, but try to relax.

    I don't know how far along you are now, but is it too late to try a version? The success rate goes up for 2nd+ pregnancies, same with successful breech vaginal delivery, if that's something you're interested in. I don't have any other suggestions that you aren't already doing =(

    Good luck mama!!

     

    Lindsey- where did you get your info that ECV is only 40% successful? I have never heard anything less than ~60%. I'm sure hypnosis is a great option, but I think it's a disservice to women to low-ball the success rate so much that women think it's not worth it. I'm sure that's not what you meant to do AT ALL, but I would hate for anyone to not try a version because they heard a too low success rate!

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  • imagehonkytonk_kid:

    It is definitely not too late for LO to turn! I know how stressful it is to not know if baby will turn at the last moment, but try to relax.

    I don't know how far along you are now, but is it too late to try a version? The success rate goes up for 2nd+ pregnancies, same with successful breech vaginal delivery, if that's something you're interested in. I don't have any other suggestions that you aren't already doing =(

    Good luck mama!!

     

    Lindsey- where did you get your info that ECV is only 40% successful? I have never heard anything less than ~60%. I'm sure hypnosis is a great option, but I think it's a disservice to women to low-ball the success rate so much that women think it's not worth it. I'm sure that's not what you meant to do AT ALL, but I would hate for anyone to not try a version because they heard a too low success rate!

    bad memory! thank you for picking that up!

    the study found 48% conversion with standard OB care, including successful versions, and now that i think about that more, that doesn't = 48% success for versions, since they are grouped together with women who did not have versions or hypnosis for the study. 

    here is a link to the abstract for the study, which was published by the Archives of Family Medicine.

    another notable finding, which I now don't see in this abstract, perhaps it was in the full article, is that babies turned with hypnosis tend to stay vertex (somewhere above 75%, not sure how much exactly) and babies turned with manual version are much more likely to turn back (don't have the exact numbers), which may be why OBs like to induce right away after a version. 

    the above study suggests psychological factors may influence breech presentation, which could be why hypnosis has a higher (and longer lasting) success rate.

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  • If she's got room to flip breech now, she's got room to flip back tomorrow!  I know you're worried; I'm only 32 weeks and I'm worried about my LO.  But my dr said she has plenty of time to turn, even during labor.  I'm counting heavily on those words!!!  I've found that the more I move the more my baby seems to move.  She lies transverse a lot now since I can get up a little more.  Maybe you can keep being active and drinking lots of water and she will turn back on her own. 
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  • I flipped while my mom was in labor with me :) GL! I would definitely check into those resources listed above. Stay positive and hold off on scheduling till 42 weeks if you can and feel comfortable doing so.
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  • Are there no doctors or midwives that have experience with vaginal breech birth?
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  • I'd just throw in, why do you have to schedule a c-section? If nothing else, can't you wait until you go into labor naturally, giving  your baby every moment possible to flip, and if she's still breech when you're in labor (and you're not comfortable going vaginal breech, which is a tough decision) you can have the c-section then so it's not an "emergency" and baby still gets the benefits of some labor! Plus you know she's "done cooking" if she triggers labor herself.

    Sorry for your situation, good luck!

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  • My baby was breech and this past Monday we decided to do the version and it was successful.  I really wanted to avoid a cs because I have always wanted to have a natural vaginal birth.  So for me this was the last thing to try.  I would look into a version as an option.  The risks, in my opinion, were less than the risks of doing a CS. 
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  • Just thought I wouldpoint out loudoun midwives does not do breech vaginal births
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  • Thank you EVERYONE for the awesome, positive responses and all of the information.  So far, I am 95% sure she's still breech, but trying to come to peace with whatever her birth is supposed to be. Maybe she will turn at the last minute - there are a lot of those stories!  They give me hope. Might try swimming today - hadn't tried that yet!

     And, maybe she won't.  And if she doesn't, there is some reason.  I just have to accept it.  

    I'm hesitant to try a vaginal breech birth because my son's birth was very traumatic (hard, fast labor, forceps, epi and 4th degree tear) and I don't want to put my husband through another experience like that. 

    It will be what it will be.  Its decision-time for baby girl this week :)

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