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Natural Birth
sbevmc09
member
Breech baby - would you get a 2nd opinion
sbevmc09
member
I just found out at my 40w appointment that baby has flipped to a breech presentation (I posted in more detail about it on my BMB).
I'm with a practice that I really trust (and trust me, I'm very skeptical about care providers. I had a bad experience last time, this is a new practice, it's a small practice with 3 CNMs and an OB who practice more of a traditional midwifery model of care, but do attend births in the hospital) and they have recommended we go to a c-section at this point.
I'm not comfortable doing that at this time and want to give baby time to flip back (they're fine with my decision. I'm headed back for another appointment at 41 weeks on Monday to check positioning again as long as I still have an inside baby). I asked them about doing a version at this point and they said it's not an option for me. They said that the OB isn't a fan of them to begin with, but that considering I'm 40+ weeks pregnant and have had a previous C/S there's no way he will consider doing it, he feels it's too risky.
If you were in my situation, would you get a 2nd opinion about the version? The MW I spoke with also mentioned that she doesn't even know of any OBs in the area to refer me to for one considering my circumstances so I wouldn't really know where to start with trying to find a 2nd opinion. Anyone know if it's really so risky under the circumstances? I honestly don't know a lot about it (I mean, I know the basics of the procedure, the possible risks, etc., but not specific statistics under my circumstances) because this was never something I worried about considering baby has been head down since 31 weeks 
Any thoughts or advice?
ETA: I should also mention I'm doing other things to encourage baby to flip (i.e. exercises, multiple visits with my Webster's trained chiro, lots of hands and knees, etc.) and that I don't know of any local provider who will attend a breech birth in my situation. Even the local homebirth midwives will only attend breech births if there has been a previous vaginal delivery, I checked 
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Re: Breech baby - would you get a 2nd opinion
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I think this is probably what we're going to do. Like I said, definitely no plans to go with a scheduled C/S before my 41 week appointment and they were totally fine with that. I suspect that they'll probably encourage me a little harder to get one scheduled if I hit 41 weeks, but they're pretty good about respecting your wishes there so even though that's what they prefer, as long as everything looks good with baby I think they'll be fine with letting me push it at least until 42 weeks from there. I'm sure they'll want to do additional monitoring though which will be a PITA, but preferable.
Any suggestions on where to look for a provider who will deliver a breech baby? I'm already with the most natural-birth friendly practice in my area (and the most supportive of VBACs as well). I feel like even if they/their OB won't attend breech births they would probably be the ones to know if there was another option in the area. My next thought was the local homebirth practice, but like I said, they can't attend breech deliveries unless there has been a previous vaginal birth.
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I'd email any local doulas or Bradley instructors or LLL leaders in your area to ask them if they know anyone.
I'm not sure if anyone will do it because of the lack of a previous vaginal birth, though. You may also just want to work on your mental framing to know that you can only do so much, and sometimes you just get an outcome you weren't aiming for. And that's okay, in the long run.
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Thanks, and you're right. TBH I'm incredibly disappointed that this is happening right now. It's very frustrating considering all that we've done to try to ensure a successful vaginal delivery (including specific things to help with baby's positioning! DS was posterior last time and that's likely what caused a lot of our problems. I've been so contentious of ensuring good positioning. I have no idea how this happened!), but I also realize that it's not really something I can control. All I can do is try to give baby the best chance of turning back head down, but I can't MAKE it happen so if this is what she chooses I guess it just is what it is.
It's frustrating, but maybe there's a reason this is happening. Maybe it's her way of saying it's not a good idea to go for the vaginal delivery for whatever reason. I won't be very happy to have to go straight to a C/S, but my options are limited here unless she wants to cooperate and turn back!
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This! Good luck.
Have you tried an inversion table? I've had luck in the past with that.
Hi again. Since I just had a version last Friday, here's what my OB and I talked about. 90% of versions are safe, as in baby and mom are fine afterwards. That doesn't mean that they are successful (I think only about half are??) just that nothing major happens that would lead to trauma to mom or baby/emergency CS. Somethings that can happen are: placenta abruption, baby gets stuck in cord (cuts off blood/oxygen to baby), rupture of sac/ puts mother into labor right then.
Some factors that made me a good candidate were: I previously delivered a baby vaginally with no problems, the baby recently flipped from head down to transverse to breech with in the last couple days so there was obviously room, I had a high (but still in the normal range) amount of AF, the baby was still very high and had not engaged, and baby's heart rate was looking great during monitoring before hand.
My MW said most Drs do not do versions bc of the slight but very serious risks, but those who do really know what they're doing. I also just looked it up and there is a fear that the CS scar can rupture, but there is no known data on this subject...
How about calling up the L&D floor at your nearest hospital and asking the nurses if they know of any Drs who would either 1. Consider performing a version, 2. Consider a breech VBAC delivery? But keep up the faith, even if you can't find a Dr who would do either, you still have time. You and your baby are still connected, have faith your baby will find the exit
have you tried flash lights on your lower belly?
What will this do?
It's so hard to know the real risks since so few providers do any breech deliveries and ECVs. My personal comfort level would be to try to find a doc to do the version, but I wouldn't attempt delivery without a prior vaginal birth. And that is my opinion after opting for a breech birth over cesarean myself. I was only comfortable doing it because I had no risk factors at all.
Do you mind me asking why your first labor ended in cesarean? I guess if it was because baby was in distress I might consider breech delivery. But if you had trouble pushing, I'd be worried about pushing a breech baby fast enough.
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It was failure to progress. I went into labor on my own, but got an epidural, which was followed by AROM and then a cascade of interventions. Baby didn't tolerate Pitocin induced contractions well AND was stuck in a posterior position, but they would only let me labor while laying on my left side because his heart rate started dropping after every contraction. I stalled out at 8cm for several hours before we finally went to a C/S. It was just a big mess and my problems were likely related to all the interventions (and baby's position) rather than something physical, but I guess there's no real way of knowing without having had a successful vaginal delivery.
I'm sure I do. I'll have to look into this, thanks!
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It's just an old wives tale I've heard. The idea that the baby will "turn towards the light" or some such nonsense. But it doesn't hurt to try
Oh man, that really sucks! I think that most OBs won't do a version with a c/s mom, but it's worth calling around to see. I'm really sorry it's looking like another c/s for you. Can you wait to start labor before you have it?
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)
i frequently work with women with breech babies and recently spoke at the 3rd international breech birth conference (https://conference.breechbirth.ca/) on turning babies with hypnotherapy. the results of hypnotherapy to turn the breech are impressive - i think it's 81% (and they largely stay vertex after that, unlike with versions where there is a much higher chance that they will flip breech again). are there any hypnotherapists in your area who specialize in pregnancy? if not, i can do phone sessions. not ideal, but better than nothing. my website is www.sunflowershealingandwellness.com
check out some of the links on the site for resources, you may be able to find someone who knows someone in your area.
would you consider leaving the area? maybe in a bigger metropolitan area you might find a provider who is willing to take you on.
would you consider laboring at home until baby is ready to come out and then going to the hospital?
Thanks for the suggestions
I have been planning a Hypnobabies birth, so I've been using their hypnosis track for breech babies in addition to their fear clearing track to try to encourage baby to turn.
I actually live in Columbus, OH so you would think with all the providers around here I would be able to find someone, but it seems like my options are very limited. I haven't been able to find anyone who would be willing to attempt a version on me or attend a breech delivery. I even contacted my local ICAN chapter leaders and they said they didn't know of anyone to refer me to either. *sigh*
I think what complicates things is I had a C/S with my first baby. This is why women need to understand just how important it is to avoid unnecessary C/S! It really limits your options in the future. (Not that every C/S is unnecessary, I just think not everyone takes the issue as seriously as it should be taken and not everyone really understands the long term implications of having had a C/S.)
With that said, I'm totally confident in my body's abilities and not scared to move forward with a VBAC, but I don't know... the idea of laboring totally on my own the whole time and arriving at the hospital with a breech baby and a scar on my uterus ready to push... I don't know if I'm cut out for that. Not to mention, if it's not perfectly timed I know they'd move forward with a C/S and then all my work would have been for nothing
If I had already had a vaginal delivery I would feel differently, but if that was the case I also wouldn't have trouble finding someone to attend the breech delivery for me 
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Thanks, I really appreciate it! As well as all of your suggestions
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