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what happened to breech babies back in the day?

TheJohnsTheJohns
in 3rd Trimester
before c/s were done so regularly? The baby must have come out anyway...
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Re: what happened to breech babies back in the day?

  • zivvyzivvy
    I think that was one reason the maternal and fetal mortality rate was so much higher. :(
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  • alicatt79alicatt79 member
    um, a lot of women died in childbirth "back in the day."  Indifferent
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  • MandBBewleyMandBBewley
    doctors delivered them...apparently it is now considered a "lost art"
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  • linnychanellinnychanel
    mom and baby didn't make it. maybe a small percent did
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  • Amie SchulzAmie Schulz
    They still do with some midwives. Welcome to the world of MI.
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  • mesrmesr

    Our birthing instructor told us that back then doctors were more comfortable delivering breech babies vaginally. 

    Ina May's Guide to Childbirth has a nice discussion about delivering breech babies.

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  • jenerallyjenerally member

    if you're talking about medevial times ... either the midwife reached inside and turned the baby before birth, or the mom died. Sometimes both the mom and the baby died.

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  • HarrietNJMommyHarrietNJMommy

    Breech babies were delivered vaginally. There are MANY risks to doing it this way. Probably why so many kids died at birth in the "olden" days.

    My OB told me that the body comes out fine, but most times the head gets stuck and they have to "cut" the mom to get the baby out.

    There ARE OB's in this day and age that can deliver breech babies successfully. I just haven't heard any stories of that happening recently.?

    image Mommy to Barbara 11/8/05, Elisabeth 5/13/07, Loukas 12/23/08 and Lazarus 09/25/12
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  • TheJohnsTheJohns

    imagealicatt79:
    um, a lot of women died in childbirth "back in the day."  Indifferent

    im talking like 30 years ago, when c/s were not done nearly as much as they are now. women didnt die in childbirth all the time then.

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  • HarrietNJMommyHarrietNJMommy
    imageTheJohns:

    imagealicatt79:
    um, a?lot of women died in childbirth "back in the day."? Indifferent

    im talking like 30 years ago, when c/s were not done nearly as much as they are now. women didnt die in childbirth all the time then.

    30 years ago, c-sections were performed for breech babies. I have a bunch of friends that were delivered via c-section.?

    image Mommy to Barbara 11/8/05, Elisabeth 5/13/07, Loukas 12/23/08 and Lazarus 09/25/12
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  • Amie SchulzAmie Schulz
    imagemesr:

    Ina May's Guide to Childbirth has a nice discussion about delivering breech babies.

     That was a GREAT read.

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  • rease.rease.
    just 9 & 8 years ago when I had my 2, c/s werent done like they are now. They are handed out like freaking candy these days.
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  • mesrmesr
    FWIW, not all breech babies were delivered via c-section 30 years ago.  My DH was breech and delivered via C-section in 1979.  My BFF was breech and delivered vaginally in 1981.  Some breech positions are considered more favorable than others for vaginal deliveries.
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  • Geekchick921Geekchick921 member
    Ditto all the answers here.  They can often be delivered vaginally, but why risk it?  I wouldn't want to risk it for my own health or the baby's, and I'm sure the doctor doesn't want to risk something going horribly wrong and losing a patient and/or their baby or their patient's family suing them into oblivion. 
    Wife, mom, Ob/Gyn resident
    Sarah - 12/23/2008
    Alex - 9/30/2011

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    "I say embrace the total geek in yourself and just enjoy it. Life is too short to be cool." - Shirley Manson, Garbage
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  • CelticWifeCelticWife member
    Some doctors will still deliver a breech baby. I have a friend in WA that had a breech baby vaginally. Her doc said that, since she had had a baby previously, it should be fine. The primary concern, especially for first babies, is that the head can get stuck; you don't have to be a full 10cm for the body to fit through.
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  • LittleEgyptLittleEgypt
    Wow there is a lot of misinformation in pp here. 'Most' babies do not get stuck, and 'most' babies do not die. It's a somewhat elevated risk, and modern obstetrics is all about risk avoidance. In addition, as at least one pp noted, doctors and midwives both were much more experienced in delivering breech babies. I know several people who were breech babies delivered vaginally, and my mother-in-law had some sort of internal version just 20 years ago with my sister-in-law. That's yet another thing that most OBs do not really learn or practice anymore, yet they are all very very good at performing c/s.
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  • TheJohnsTheJohns

    imagerease.:
    just 9 & 8 years ago when I had my 2, c/s werent done like they are now. They are handed out like freaking candy these days.

    dude, i sooo agree. WTH is wrong w/ ppl? I think women are getting lazy and they dont want to bother giving birth anymore.

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  • superdeejayannasuperdeejayanna

    imageLittleEgypt:
    Wow there is a lot of misinformation in pp here. 'Most' babies do not get stuck, and 'most' babies do not die. It's a somewhat elevated risk, and modern obstetrics is all about risk avoidance. In addition, as at least one pp noted, doctors and midwives both were much more experienced in delivering breech babies. I know several people who were breech babies delivered vaginally, and my mother-in-law had some sort of internal version just 20 years ago with my sister-in-law. That's yet another thing that most OBs do not really learn or practice anymore, yet they are all very very good at performing c/s.

    Exactly, because they are trained surgeons, not midwives. Most OB's don't try turning babies or delivering breech because they weren't taught to.

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  • tdc_c/o97tdc_c/o97

    TheJohns... for me, it's definitely laziness.  i would much rather be stuck all over with needles, risk being paralyzed, undergo major surgery and be cut open, face weeks more recovery time, and be in considerably more pain following delivery.  it has absolutely nothing to do with the safety and health of my children.  i also agreed to more than 2 months of bedrest because i miss daytime t.v.  ummm... yeah. 

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  • melrrrmelrrr
    imageHarrietNJMommy:
    imageTheJohns:

    imagealicatt79:
    um, a lot of women died in childbirth "back in the day."  Indifferent

    im talking like 30 years ago, when c/s were not done nearly as much as they are now. women didnt die in childbirth all the time then.

    30 years ago, c-sections were performed for breech babies. I have a bunch of friends that were delivered via c-section. 

    My 36 year old husband was breech and born via c/s

    image
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  • CWMCCWMC
    I am so glad we live in the day and age that we do!
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