when to worry about breech?

[doulawoman]

So I just had my 32 weeks checkup with the midwife and at first she thought baby was headdown, but turns out that was the butt and baby is till head up. She wasn't super concerned yet as she said I still have "lots of room" and their butt wasn't settled down far or anything...still a lot of my friends' babes were securely head down even at 28 and 30 weeks. I don't want to try too much to early to encourage head down and have them flip back again, and it's hard for me to tell anyway. Should I start worrying? Anything I can do?

Anyone else had head up at this point and had baby spontaneously turn? One of my big fears is a breech baby as my new midwives have little training in it and it would likely be an automatic c-section...

[engineer_mom]

don't worry!

you can go to the spinningbabies website and read up on techniques there. but you really have a lot of time and there is not useful point in worrying.

It's common for babies not to turn head down yet. But it's really rare to have a breech at the birth. Babies even during labor.

my first flip flopped till 37 weeks then finally stayed head down, but never did find a spot he liked

similar with my second except she flipped a tad earlier and then got her head stuck in one spot for the next couple of weeks. poor thing had a ring around her head when she was born. so cute!

[doulawoman]

ok, that is good to know, thanks for sharing your experiences. The mw said to mention it to the naturopath at my appt. today anyway.

[hapersmion]

Don't worry, but do watch your posture and such. Like the PP said, spinningbabies.com is a good resource. It will make you feel like you're doing something if you work on how you sit and that kind of thing. I personally wouldn't want to start in with the more heavy-duty exercises like the breech tilt yet, I HATED those. You could try the fun things, like playing music down low and having people talk to the bottom of your belly to lure the baby down.

I think I started exercises at about 34 weeks, with a two-week break in there somewhere when one of my midwives thought he was head-down (but he wasn't). Mine never did turn. *shrug* However, even if your midwives can't handle a breech, there are midwives out there who can! It's a scramble to switch providers at the very end of pregnancy, but I can tell you it's worth it! We ended up finding the Farm, in mid-Tennessee. We made it down for a visit once, then three days later had to make the 5-hour drive again because I was in labor! It was great, and he was born bottom-first with no problems. Don't let an automatic c-section be your only option, you have the right to make your own decision.

Good luck!

[DeChRi]

I had a breech baby at 33 weeks, head down at 34 week, breech at 36 weeks, and a big turn at 38 week to head down (although boy did I feel that turn...). I did spinningbabies.com and say a chiro for the webster technique. Not sure what did it, but she was head down when the day came.

Good luck!

[caro113]

Originally Posted by hapersmion

Mine never did turn. *shrug* However, even if your midwives can't handle a breech, there are midwives out there who can! It's a scramble to switch providers at the very end of pregnancy, but I can tell you it's worth it! We ended up finding the Farm, in mid-Tennessee. We made it down for a visit once, then three days later had to make the 5-hour drive again because I was in labor! It was great, and he was born bottom-first with no problems. Don't let an automatic c-section be your only option, you have the right to make your own decision.

I've always been curious about this. Can't the MW turn him? Like, can't she put her hand up there and physically turn him? I don't know why, but I seem to remember hearing that they do that.

Babies are generally born head first so that everything can open gradually, with the smaller part coming out first. At least, I think. So does delivering a breech "hurt" any more than a head first baby? Not trying to pry too much, I've just always been curious and I've never known anyone to do it. But I've also never known anyone else who refuses to birth in hospitals.

[jillmamma]

At my 32 week appt, my DD too was breech. I THINK she has turned back head down now as far as I can tell by palpating my uterus, and feeling hiccups down low. I go Wed for my next checkup, so will let the mw feel and see then for sure. She suggested I lay with my butt up and head down a few times a day to encourage her to turn, and I think it worked.

[nikirj]

I wonder at 34 weeks and would start doing things at 35 (positional things, acupuncture, and moxabustion).

DD1 was breech at 37w and my OB at the time just said "oh baby is breech" without offering any options (didn't even talk about c-s?!), but she turned on her own. Most babies do.

[nikirj]

Originally Posted by caro113

I've always been curious about this. Can't the MW turn him? Like, can't she put her hand up there and physically turn him? I don't know why, but I seem to remember hearing that they do that.

Internally? No, there's an internal procedure called podalic version, but the intention is to turn a transverse/oblique baby into a footling breech.

Externally, some midwives do perform ECV (external cephalic version) but I'd be more comfortable with an OB, since it is kind of forcing baby around (versus acupuncture, position, moxa, which all just encourage baby to turn on his/her own) and I'd want emergency help available. That's usually done around 37w.

[doulawoman]

Well, it's funny, I had this inkling of this happening...I ended up asking a lot of questions about breech for no real reason a few months ago. I agree about other options and there would be a small window for having an attended breech birth with a doctor here but it is all new. I'm in BC, Canada and the midwives are not allowed to do planned breech homebirths (or hospital, I think they need a willing ob), if baby is unexpectedly breech and you're crowning they won't leave you but otherwise they can loose their liscenses...one of the downfalls of liscensing, and the other midwives I could go to are bound by the same policies. Also, most of them have attended none or one breech delivery... Anyway, I am holding out that baby will turn. The naturopath is going to do acupuncture and moxybustion if baby is still head up in two weeks. I also got a hypnobabies track on turning breech.

I will check out spinning babies. I do spend time nearly everyday on hands and knees, hanging off and sitting on the birth ball.

I've been pretty stressed too and read that this can make the lower uterus tense and difficult for baby to turn.

The mw said at first that baby was head down then said, "no, wait, that's the head, the other was the butt" I feel a bulge poking out the side and middle of my belly a lot, quite forcefully and I'm not sure if it's the heading trying to go down or butt moving up? But I also feel kicks under my ribs and have felt what feels like a foot pressing up at the top of my belly, so I am not sure if it's actually moving all around or what?

[hapersmion]

Originally Posted by caro113

I've always been curious about this. Can't the MW turn him? Like, can't she put her hand up there and physically turn him? I don't know why, but I seem to remember hearing that they do that.

Babies are generally born head first so that everything can open gradually, with the smaller part coming out first. At least, I think. So does delivering a breech "hurt" any more than a head first baby? Not trying to pry too much, I've just always been curious and I've never known anyone to do it. But I've also never known anyone else who refuses to birth in hospitals.

We did try an external version (a very painful one with an OB and about 8 things hooked up to me for monitoring :P), but it didn't work. Sometimes the baby just won't turn, we couldn't tell why. They couldn't tell me any particular reason for him to be breech, either, with the ultrasound, but I don't think they looked very hard. Maybe he just had a big head. If you have a version done by a midwife, they should be much more gentle (this OB probably should have been too, of course), so that they don't cause problems.

As to whether breech babies hurt more or less, I don't know yet! I'm hoping to find out in February or so, but I've only had the one baby so far. I will say that the breech birth didn't seem very painful, compared to how some people talk about birth - it was definitely less painful than a migraine, and I'd say I felt about as bad in transition as I have with some stomach viruses. *shrug* It was hard work and it did hurt, but it wasn't unbearable.

This is a good place to find people who prefer not to birth in hospitals, I probably won't be the only one for long!

To doulawoman, good luck! I hope the baby turns soon so you don't have to worry about it.

[doulawoman]

anyone had luck with something specific? I am using hypnobabies breech turning hypnosis, doing a few inversions I saw on spinning babies, hanging out on Hand and knees and knee chest a lot and will be seeing the naturopath for acupuncture and moxybustion for other things and she'll add breech points if baby is still breech. The mw didn't seem entuirely sure though. I think so some reason I am nto easy for them to palpate...if I can just get through this and the beta strep screen I'll be sailing! Fingers crossed! Did anyone who had a breech for a while or even up to birth feel it was linked to extra stress/tension or emotional stuff? I have seen that suggested several times.

[nikirj]

Moxa is scientifically proven to work, although the reasons don't make sense to me.

My DD turned all by herself, it was a super crazy feeling. I got on H&K to give her more space to do it, but she started the turn without me in that position. It was like she walked up my spine to get herself flipped, very uncomfortable for a few minutes.

[doulawoman]

I've been listening to the hypnobabies breech turning hypnosis track and I feel the baby moving a rolling each time but I'm not really sure if it's turned. I can't really tell the head from the butt...at the moment it almost feels transverse...

[hapersmion]

I don't think my breech son was due to stress. I had a wonderful pregnancy, hardly the least bit of stress at all, until I found out he was breech. After that I stressed a bit, but I think I kept it under control fairly well.

I had a lot of trouble telling whether he was breech or not, too. My midwives even told me he was head down for several weeks, and I quit doing the breech exercises, only to find out he was really still breech the whole time. I could, however, always feel a big hard lump up by my ribs. Even when I was trying very hard to convince myself that it might be a bony bottom or knees, like the midwives were telling me it was, it really did feel like a head. There was even a dent in my skin in the last few weeks, where his head had been stretching my belly for so long.

[doulawoman]

I *think* the baby has mostly turned!?

An update...I've been listening to hypnobabies "turn your breech baby" and doing a lot of hands and knees and yesterday, after chirstmas dinner and after what felt like a little round head pushing hard outwardly under my ribs, I was walking into the living room and felt what I *think* was the head slide down my belly a good 4-6 inches. I am pretty sure it's stayed that way....at least it's closer to a good position, Will keep doing h and k and hopefully it'll settle into my pelvis

[nikirj]

If you can confirm that your baby is head-down, I'd stop doing inversions or h/k, and do squats and lunges instead. That will encourage settling more deeply into the pelvis and prevent baby from flipping back over.

[doulawoman]

good thought, I've got another midwife appointment in a few days so I'll see what she says then. Fingers crossed, thansk for the support!