When does head down matter?

roxyttandme · June 2012

At what point does it matter or do they check to see if the baby is head down? I saw one post in 3rd tri saying past 24 weeks the baby remained breach and she had a c/s. I can't imagine a baby not being able to turn at that point.... Seems like there would still be a bunch of room to flip and flop around.

wallacewife06 · June 2012

I'm interested to see the answer to this. I just know my son it still breech right now and I'm 27 weeks. Getting nervous.

LadyLiberty2011 · June 2012

I'm not really certain but I wouldn't think it would matter until delivery. Babies move around a lot. I've known doctors to try an move the baby close to the due date or while the mother is in labor to prevent a c/s. If the baby doesn't move or if they can't move it when it matters, then a c/s must be performed.

White0rchid · June 2012

You have plenty of time. They don't usually worry about position until closer to the middle to end of third tri.

I only know 2 women who ended up having to schedule c/s because the baby wouldn't turn.

FrickandFrack · June 2012

I would have thought later in 3rd tri.

queenie521 · June 2012

They don't typically start being concerned about this until maybe 36-38 weeks. Baby still has plenty of time to turn plus many doctors can manipulate a turn externally to avoid csection

Kadyra · June 2012

If the baby is consistently breech in the third tri, we sit up and take notice. If the patient is amenable we'll schedule an external cephalic version followed by an induction the same day. I did have one lady come in for her version who'd flipped on her own. Everyone was happy then. About 4% of babies end up breech. And a version has a higher likelihood of success the more fluid there is around the baby.

HeyJune · June 2012

They can turn up until the day of delivery, but it becomes more difficult for the baby to turn after about 36-37 weeks. Your dr will likely check for presentation beginning at about 36 weeks. They'll tell you what position your baby is in, and if the baby is not head down, they will likely check you again in 2 weeks. If still not head down, they may offer an external version to try to manually turn the baby from the outside.

pawstech09 · June 2012

My twins were breech from day 1, they never turned or made any attempt to flip head down (I had biweekly ultrasounds), except Vanessa who ended up transverse (nice try baby!)

This baby has been head down from the beginning, but since I've scheduled a csection I guess it won't really matter!

They usually can flip and move for awhile even into the 3rd trimester, just depends on the baby!

ktshafra · June 2012

My daughter flipped to breech at 23 weeks (I still remember the exact sensation) and she never flipped back. I have two uteruses so they're both smaller than a normal size and DD just didn't have room to flip. This is extremely rare, though. Usually doctors aren't concerned until 37 weeks. Even with my anatomy and knowing DD wouldn't flip to vertex, my OB wouldn't schedule my c/s until I was 37 weeks and she was still breech. I've heard of babies who were breech at 37 weeks and flipped before the scheduled c/s. I've also heard of babies who were vertex and flipped to breech during labor. So you just never know.

Starfish17 · June 2012

DS didn't turn head down until 35 weeks, so there is still plenty of time. I had a growth ultrasound which showed he wasbreech around 34 weeks. You can also tell just by feeling when the baby is that big whether its head down - the butt felt squishier than the head and I felt like I could breathe better because the head wasn't in my ribs. I think they can flip all the way up to the time of delivery. If not, the doctor may suggest trying external version to flip the baby also.

KrissyMiss · June 2012

An u/s showed that my LO was breech at 24 weeks. By 34 weeks he had moved to head down.

The later in the pregnancy you are the less room there is for LO to turn, but they have been known to do so right up until labor. I wouldn't worry until about 36-38 weeks about it.

JulesDiane · June 2012

Kadyra:
If the baby is consistently breech in the third tri, we sit up and take notice. If the patient is amenable we'll schedule an external cephalic version followed by an induction the same day. I did have one lady come in for her version who'd flipped on her own. Everyone was happy then. About 4% of babies end up breech. And a version has a higher likelihood of success the more fluid there is around the baby.

We tried version at 38 weeks. It was unsuccessful. I went in for a schedule c-section the next week. Even before the c-section they checked to see if maybe DD flipped on her own. No such luck.

JLSmith124 · June 2012

One of my best friends just had her baby. He was breech until the day of induction. She was induced a week after her due date. They did an ultrasound the night before and he was still breech. She said she felt him turn the next morning and she was able to deliver vaginally, so you never know!

monica92603 · June 2012

This baby was head down at the a/s @ 21 weeks. Not that it matters b/c I''m having a repeat c/s. A friend of mine was pg w/ her third and had a c/s scheduled around like 37ish weeks since baby was breach. Little sucker turned head down about 4-5 days before the c/s so they waited it out and she went on to have a vaginal birth like 2 weeks later. Knowing that, I don't think it's ever truly too late but it's unlikely that late in the game that baby will turn.

pixieprincss · June 2012

At 36 weeks, it is worth really thinking about. But, babies can even more during labor. Contractions can motivate them to get into the proper position. That said, it is never to early to focus on proper fetal positioning (check out spinningbabies.com). DS was transverse at 24w and stayed that way (as far as we could tell) until 37 weeks when we elected a version when lower-tech tricks weren't working. Occasionally--as with me--mom's pelvic shape encourages baby to settle in and stay.

This PG I was very concerned about baby staying transverse again and I started doing ligament/positioning work with my chiro this week. So far, so good! As of Thursday, baby had moved from transverse to head-down.

bluestarbaby · June 2012

At 37 weeks, my friend was carrying twins and was told she would have to have a c/s because both babies were breach. The day before she delivered, both babies moved to a head-down position and she had a vaginal birth.

cmumama · June 2012

I don't know an exact time frame, but we definitely have plenty of time. I had an u/s on Friday at 25 weeks and he was all over the place - tons of room to move around.

amydawn09 · June 2012

Babies can turn right up until delivery, quite frankly.

I think it's sad that it's even an issue, though. It's sad that most care providers refuse to allow a mom to have a natural breech birth. There is no reason not to. Yes, birth does move along 'easier' and is less painful when they are head-down, but other than that, if the birth attendant knows what they are doing and how to properly support a mom in labor with a breech baby, in nearly all cases it will be fine. The problem is that most who attend births these days aren't taught how to do this; they are simply taught to go for the "easier" (and, unfortunately, more dangerous) route by scheduling a c-section or rushing in for a so-called emergency c-section.

There are lots of tips on the website Spinning Babies that was mentioned in another post. But one things that really stuck with me from my first midwife was that getting on all fours helps to encourage the baby to move head-down. Cleaning the floor in this position, or just treating it like an exercise, or doing anything else in this position, is good for you. This time around, I'm doing a lot of weeding our garden right now on all fours, although it doesn't really matter at this point in the pregnancy (I'm only 16 weeks). But hopefully the weeks will continue to grow so that I'll have a reason to get down like that throughout the summer and fall (we're planning to do another planting later this year), LOL.

emaddock · June 2012

My OB told me not to worry until 36 weeks. But of course I am!!

misspunky · June 2012

I've heard that it doesn't really matter much until around 35 weeks. They'll be doing so much moving up until then that even if they are breech, they may be head down the next day and breech again the day after.

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