Should I let Doc turn my Baby

jenimitch · February 2012

Going in today to see if LO has flipped. (pretty sure he hasn't). The doc wants to turn him next week if he hasn't flipped, I will be at 37 weeks.

I am not comfortable with the ECV procedure but am really only interested in doing what's best for baby, and I don't think the procedure is a good idea, won't bore you with the details of why.

My appointment is in two hours, any one care to weigh in?

nattyk · February 2012

I was given the option for an ECV, and declined it because I didnt like the risks, or how many times the doc mentioned "emergency c-section" while she was talking. We decided to go with a scheduled c-section on Friday instead. Whatever you choose, be sure that you're comfortable with it. This is your body and your LO, and only you will know what is right for you. GL

treble_clef · February 2012

If you are not ready to have a baby today, I wouldn't do it. "Emergency c-section" is not really going to be like "emergency" because they have a team prepared for it, but it is a possibility that you'll have your baby today.

ILoveRunning · February 2012

Personally, if DS had been breech I would have gone for the ECV, but that is because I really wanted to avoid a c/s. However, it sounds like you have already made up your mind, since you are not comfortable with the procedure. You should do what makes YOU feel most comfortable.

MrsSarahL · February 2012

I have one friend who had a successful ECV and one that did not. You should go with what you are most comfortable with.

harmonicbabe26 · February 2012

OMG people should seriously stop freaking out about ECV's... especially those who did not even care to give one a chance.

I had it done last Friday (unfortunately did not work), and personally know 2 other people who had them done in the last 2 weeks. They are NOT A BIG DEAL! I guarantee you from personal experience it is not painful. Think more - fairly strong massage.

Complications are EXTREMELY rare - doctors are not STUPID. If they see that they baby is not budging they will not force anything. Plus they typically have a MW assisting who is monitoring the baby all the time by following him/her with the sono wand. Then they monitor the baby's heart rate for at least 2 hours and if you are having contractions or what not, they will give you meds to help.

Seriously, a version is nothing hellish and I wish more people would give it a chance.

JG362009 · February 2012

harmonicbabe26:

OMG people should seriously stop freaking out about ECV's... especially those who did not even care to give one a chance.

I had it done last Friday (unfortunately did not work), and personally know 2 other people who had them done in the last 2 weeks. They are NOT A BIG DEAL! I guarantee you from personal experience it is not painful. Think more - fairly strong massage.

Complications are EXTREMELY rare - doctors are not STUPID. If they see that they baby is not budging they will not force anything. Plus they typically have a MW assisting who is monitoring the baby all the time by following him/her with the sono wand. Then they monitor the baby's heart rate for at least 2 hours and if you are having contractions or what not, they will give you meds to help.

Seriously, a version is nothing hellish and I wish more people would give it a chance.

I KNOW!!! I had one too and it was not a big deal. One study I read said the only complications in the last 2 decades were in Zimbabwe when an ECV was done without monitoring. I'm all about people making their own medical decisions but the ECV fear on these boards is just nuts to me. Statistically, you have a much, much, higher rate of complications from having the damn c-section than the ECV. Why not give the latter a shot.

ReneeRN · February 2012

My friend had one done and she did say that it hurt. Unfortunately it didn't work and she went into labor that evening.

biblionerd · February 2012

A girl on my BM board had one that ended in an emergency c/s. You can tell people to relax all you want, but the fact that you may end up having a c/s then and there is a real possibility. It's completely ignorant to go into it acting like it's nothing more than a massage and no big deal. It is a medical procedure with risks and benefits, like any other.

harmonicbabe26 · February 2012

biblionerd:
A girl on my BM board had one that ended in an emergency c/s. You can tell people to relax all you want, but the fact that you may end up having a c/s then and there is a real possibility. It's completely ignorant to go into it acting like it's nothing more than a massage and no big deal. It is a medical procedure with risks and benefits, like any other.

Ok I am going to address this.

1. Did the girl and the baby end up all healthy afterwards or was there something wrong with them? Because if they did end up fine then THAT IS OK and ecv did not hurt anyone!!! C/s is not the end of the world and in itself is not a complication. Mother or baby dying or getting injured is a complication. And if a result of a c/s is a healthy baby and a healthy mom then THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS!

Ecv's are done after 36-37 weeks which is when baby is considered FULL TERM from a medical standpoint, so a c/s at that point is not a tragedy. Baby could come on their own anyway and be fine.

Also, since the baby did not flip (I am assuming it did not) what were her other options? A breech birth (which in most cases ends up in a c/s anyway) OR a scheduled c/s. So WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE???? It's not like she would have had a med free natural birth anyway.

Again - is she and the baby ok and healthy? Then that's ALL THAT MATTERS.

2. As far as it being a "medical procedure" the only true "medical" or invasive part of it is that they may give you an IV with a relaxing medicine or draw your blood for testing.

It involves absolutely NO cutting, NO probing inside or anything like that.

Yes I totally think people should get over this and relax!

And I HAD ONE so I feel fully qualified to say it!

honkytonk_kid · February 2012

JG362009:
harmonicbabe26:

OMG people should seriously stop freaking out about ECV's... especially those who did not even care to give one a chance.

I had it done last Friday (unfortunately did not work), and personally know 2 other people who had them done in the last 2 weeks. They are NOT A BIG DEAL! I guarantee you from personal experience it is not painful. Think more - fairly strong massage.

Complications are EXTREMELY rare - doctors are not STUPID. If they see that they baby is not budging they will not force anything. Plus they typically have a MW assisting who is monitoring the baby all the time by following him/her with the sono wand. Then they monitor the baby's heart rate for at least 2 hours and if you are having contractions or what not, they will give you meds to help.

Seriously, a version is nothing hellish and I wish more people would give it a chance.

I KNOW!!! I had one too and it was not a big deal. One study I read said the only complications in the last 2 decades were in Zimbabwe when an ECV was done without monitoring. I'm all about people making their own medical decisions but the ECV fear on these boards is just nuts to me. Statistically, you have a much, much, higher rate of complications from having the damn c-section than the ECV. Why not give the latter a shot.

+1

It makes me crazy to see "Well my doctor said..." Read some studies. Chances are your doctor HASN'T.

OP, I would do it.

shaindelr · February 2012

biblionerd:
A girl on my BM board had one that ended in an emergency c/s. You can tell people to relax all you want, but the fact that you may end up having a c/s then and there is a real possibility. It's completely ignorant to go into it acting like it's nothing more than a massage and no big deal. It is a medical procedure with risks and benefits, like any other.

I think biblionerd is talking about me. I posted this on the update, but I'll paste it here, too:

I came on this board to post another question, but I saw your post. I had an ECV that ended up being an emergency c-section. As soon as he flipped, the cord went around his neck, and his vitals plummetted. I had no idea what had happened. I was even joking with my doctors while I was on the table.

All at once, they were yelling for the nurses to scrub up, and they put an oxygen mask on me and said, "You're having your baby now."

He was out about four minutes later. At my hospital, they do an epidural with the ECV in case this happens. It was the scariest moment of my life, but we both came out okay. My little guy turned 10 months old just this last Saturday.

I live in a rural area where there is no such thing as VBACs, so at least I know I'll be going in for a scheduled C-section if I have another LO. That seems less scary than the emergency C I went through the first time.

I'll be thinking of you!

---

The person who asked if my baby was healthy, yes, but he came out a little blue. At least blue enough that they wouldn't let me see him until he had oxygen, and he was 4 lbs, 13 ounces when we took him home. It was a little scary having a baby that little. Maybe if I hadn't had the ECV that day, he would have had a few weeks to grow and could have been a little more "hearty." And it is really scary having the doctors yelling at the nurses to scrub up and putting an oxygen mask on you with no warning.

I feel very lucky that he was out four minutes later, considering he was blue when he came out. I hate to think what could have happened if it had taken longer. I would take it very seriously that this could happen if you have an ECV and not treat it like it's "nothing more than a massage."

biblionerd · February 2012

harmonicbabe26:
Ok I am going to address this.
1. Did the girl and the baby end up all healthy afterwards or was there something wrong with them? Because if they did end up fine then THAT IS OK and ecv did not hurt anyone!!! C/s is not the end of the world and in itself is not a complication. Mother or baby dying or getting injured is a complication. And if a result of a c/s is a healthy baby and a healthy mom then THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS!

Ecv's are done after 36-37 weeks which is when baby is considered FULL TERM from a medical standpoint, so a c/s at that point is not a tragedy. Baby could come on their own anyway and be fine.

Also, since the baby did not flip (I am assuming it did not) what were her other options? A breech birth (which in most cases ends up in a c/s anyway) OR a scheduled c/s. So WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE???? It's not like she would have had a med free natural birth anyway.

Again - is she and the baby ok and healthy? Then that's ALL THAT MATTERS.

2. As far as it being a "medical procedure" the only true "medical" or invasive part of it is that they may give you an IV with a relaxing medicine or draw your blood for testing.

It involves absolutely NO cutting, NO probing inside or anything like that.

Yes I totally think people should get over this and relax!

And I HAD ONE so I feel fully qualified to say it!

You are completely absurd. Just because 37 weeks is full term does not mean someone should want their child born then. There is much more development that still occurs in those last 2-3 weeks. That alone should justify why one may not want an ECV. If you need more logic than that... your "what's going to happen to a breech baby anyway" is also wrong. A baby still could possibly turn on their own, and even if they didn't you are still giving them possibly 2-3 weeks longer to cook, which again... is important time. Death or injury are not the only complications. I can hardly follow your logic to be honest. You seem to think that as long as a baby comes out alive everyone should be hunky dory. BTW... the fact that you're "qualified" to tell people to relax because you had an ecv is flipping hilarious. You obviously are so educated on the subject of medical procedures. I mean, since NO cutting and NO probing is involved it's obvs not a medical procedure, right?!!?! I mean, you had one so it must be perfectly safe for everyone....

shaindelr · February 2012

biblionerd:
harmonicbabe26:
Ok I am going to address this.
1. Did the girl and the baby end up all healthy afterwards or was there something wrong with them? Because if they did end up fine then THAT IS OK and ecv did not hurt anyone!!! C/s is not the end of the world and in itself is not a complication. Mother or baby dying or getting injured is a complication. And if a result of a c/s is a healthy baby and a healthy mom then THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS!

Ecv's are done after 36-37 weeks which is when baby is considered FULL TERM from a medical standpoint, so a c/s at that point is not a tragedy. Baby could come on their own anyway and be fine.

Also, since the baby did not flip (I am assuming it did not) what were her other options? A breech birth (which in most cases ends up in a c/s anyway) OR a scheduled c/s. So WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE???? It's not like she would have had a med free natural birth anyway.

Again - is she and the baby ok and healthy? Then that's ALL THAT MATTERS.

2. As far as it being a "medical procedure" the only true "medical" or invasive part of it is that they may give you an IV with a relaxing medicine or draw your blood for testing.

It involves absolutely NO cutting, NO probing inside or anything like that.

Yes I totally think people should get over this and relax!

And I HAD ONE so I feel fully qualified to say it!

You are completely absurd. Just because 37 weeks is full term does not mean someone should want their child born then. There is much more development that still occurs in those last 2-3 weeks. That alone should justify why one may not want an ECV. If you need more logic than that... your "what's going to happen to a breech baby anyway" is also wrong. A baby still could possibly turn on their own, and even if they didn't you are still giving them possibly 2-3 weeks longer to cook, which again... is important time. Death or injury are not the only complications. I can hardly follow your logic to be honest. You seem to think that as long as a baby comes out alive everyone should be hunky dory. BTW... the fact that you're "qualified" to tell people to relax because you had an ecv is flipping hilarious. You obviously are so educated on the subject of medical procedures. I mean, since NO cutting and NO probing is involved it's obvs not a medical procedure, right?!!?! I mean, you had one so it must be perfectly safe for everyone....

The reason her logic is hard to follow is pretty easy to infer:

Fallacies of Logos

Pars Pro Toto [Latin for "a part (taken) for the whole] -- Mistaking the part for the whole or (assuming that what is true for a part will be true for the whole)

If I redo my Logical Fallacies quiz, I might have to use this as an example. Thanks! I love when I can pull bad logic examples from real life to use in the classroom.

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