33wk appointment...transverse breech!

[nova22]

On the plus side, my birth plan went over great. The OB looked over it and agreed with every single thing. She said she wasn't sure what the hospital policy was as far as DH catching the baby, but other than that she was completely supportive of my wishes. I love her - I have never had a doctor so enthusiastic about my pregnancy and birth.

On the not-so-plus side, she felt around and said Baby feels like s/he is transverse breech. She had a more experienced doctor come in and feel around, and the other doctor said there was no doubt in her mind that the baby is indeed transverse. They scheduled me to come in 2 weeks from now, when I'm 35 weeks along, to check again (externally) and see if the baby is breech. If s/he still feels breech, they'll do an ultrasound and see where we go from there.

I don't really know how to describe how I feel right now. I know it's not the end of the world, but I'm upset because I am already worried about DH not being here for the birth (a definite possibility) and now I'm even more worried about having to get a c-section. I just hope this baby will turn...I don't want anything else to worry about.

[bc1995]

My first ds was transverse until almost 38 weeks. I hope baby turns for you, but try not to worry about it too much yet.

[KBinSATX]

I had my 33 week appointment today and baby is ROP (head down) which is great but I am not holding my breath for him to stay there. He is still so busy...
If he was transverse breech I probably wouldn't be terribly worried yet. We are all still early in the game!

[ozzyemm]

Go to spinningbabies.com . Try those techniques out. My son was a breech baby until the day BEFORE I went into labor . I got several U/S to confirm he was breech, and many very HARD kicks low down, so I KNOW he was breech.

We did alot of walking, hoping to turn him, or keep him down, if I thought he was head down. He was born (emergency c-section for diff. issue) at 39 weeks.

Please don't be discouraged. Your little one can flip at any time! Oh, and DS was 7 lb. 11oz, so not teeny, and he flipped quite easily on his own.

[mimid]

Good news about your birthplan! As for the babe, there is still time to turn. I'm 31 weeks and all 3 of mine turn fairly often and yours probably has a bit more room. I've also seen a lot of "turning baby" threads on the main pregnancy page so you might want to search there. Good luck!

[Vanessa]

Don't worry yet. My baby's in a bad position right now, but I asked the OB at the last appt, and he said not to worry until I was actually in labor.

Great news on your birthplan. Glad to hear you like your OB.

[Mamatoto2]

I'm right there with you. Had my 34 wk. apt. yesterday and baby is breech-whatever it's called when s/he's on a diagonal with head at the top. MW encouraged me to allow a brief u/s just to confirm. It took about 5 sec. for "yea. that's a head" and an official diagnosis...Anyway, she has me doing exercises for 15 min. every 2 hours (except for when I'm asleep). One of the exercises is pictured on the spinning baby site (on the "labor" page right under special circumstances along the left side of the page) The other pose is like doing bridge pose in yoga, except I prop my hips up with pillows (which MW suggested), because I can't hold that pose for 15 min.

I have to say that it's really uncomfortable doing them becasue you have gravity and baby squashing your internal organs and it gets tricky to breathe. My back/knee is also in a lot of pain brcause they are needing to support my body weight a lot more due to these poses. Also, I'm supposed to stop doing the poses if baby turns so that s/he doesn't turn back, but I can never really tell which hard lumps are head or back or bottom, so I'm worried that I won't know when to stop anyway.

I too am very concerned about a c-sect. It is not at ALL what I had planned. It is major surgery with major recup. time, and I am having a really tough time tryig to schedule the oral defense for my dissertation (committee members with busy schedules) and I'm so fearful that we'll keep needing to push back the defense date, baby won't turn, and I'll have to cancel the defense for a c-sect (and than have the pressure to defend as a post-surgical mom with a newborn, or postpone graduation -and continue to pay tuition for months).

I'm searching threads too, but if you happen to find anything, lmk I'm open to ideas....I'll send good turning baby vibes your way if you can throw some back at me Good luck!

[RosieTook]

Spinning Babies is very helpful, I hope your little one turns for you.

My dd was breech till 36 weeks then turned but was posterior, and never dropped because she was oblique... half transverse, half vertex, very diagonal. The weiner. I ended with a c/s after 18 hours of labor. She must have moved while I was in labor or right before, at my appt the day before she was still vertex.

My point is, your babe can move at anytime, go to spinning babies and try their techniques, they are very helpful.

[lacysmommy]

My DD is currently breech, and I'm praying she will turn otherwise I won't have my homebirth.

I have visited spinningbabies.com like many here have suggested, and I've tried out some of their techniques. I won't get really worried about this baby staying breech unless she is still breech at my next appointment, on Wednesday.

I do occasionally raise my hips above my head in hopes that gravity will help her to flip. They need to be about 12" above your head. Uncomfortable, but from what I understand it is quite effective.

I sit on a birth ball and try not to slouch when I'm in a chair or on the couch (putting a pillow behind my back helps).

I have looked up accupuncturists that accept my insurance and will be taking the list in to my midwife on Wednesday, and we will discuss who to go to if baby is breech still.

I have found a chiorpractor in my area who does the Webster technique. This is very effective in getting the baby to turn. I probably won't try that until 36 weeks and it is confirmed that my baby is breech. It's $45 a pop and my insurance doesn't cover this chiropractor unfortunately.

Last resort would be an external version. My midwife would schedule that for sometime after 37 weeks. I believe those are generally done in the hospital in case of cord problems leading to the need of an emergency c-section

If all else fails, here's my plan for birthing a breech babe:

I'm looking for a breech-friendly hospital and doctor that will take my insurance. My options are unfortunately limited because I have an HMO.

I will not schedule a c-section for a breech baby, no matter what. I would consent to a c-section if necessary, but only in emergent situations.

I will make my decision on the birth AFTER my water has broken. I will at that point request an ultrasound. If baby is in a good position for birth (meaning, the cord is out of the way and baby can desend into the birth canal without difficulty) I will insist on a vaginal birth. If baby is not in a good position at that point, I will know that I did everything I could to have the birth I wanted and at that point consent to a c-section. Unfortunately if this happens I will probably not be able to have a homebirth with my midwife again, even though I would be a good canadate for HBAC.

Good luck, and I hope that baby turns for you!

[mamacatsbaby]

I'm glad to hear the birth plan went over well with your OB Amanda! I'm sending you, Carolyn and Mama T lots of vibes. mamas.

[Mamatoto2]

Just checking in....Had my 36 week appointment today and babe is STILL transverse breech. I've been to the chiropractor and had the Webster technique attempted 5 times in the past 2 weeks (she said it has to be done 8X within a 3-wk. period). I have a call into an accupuncturist to schedule an appointment for next week, and I've been taking homeopathic pulsatilla for the past 3 days to encourage baby to turn. I'm quite sad that nothing has helped so far. I had to stop the "yoga" positions after 3 ays because they caused such horrible back/shoulder/neck pain that I could barely move when lying down (literally couldn't get up out of bed) and was in constant awful pain. I may have to try resuming them or find some alternative-although it seems to me that they make sense if the baby is engaged in the pelvis the wrong way (to essentially "wash" him/her out and allow them to try again) but I don't really get why having my hips in the air would help with a transverse breech (wouldn't s/he have to fight gravity to engage properly?)

MW started discussing external version with me today. I'm REALLY frightened by the risks...reasonable chance of rupturing the mambranes/causing labor and therefore an emergency c-section. I said I wouldn't attempt anything like that until AFTER I had my dissertation defense (12 days prior to my EDD) but I'm really not sure at what point I should try that vs.give baby every possible chance to turn on his/her own naturally.

I hope that your news is better than mine....

[KBinSATX]

Oh what a bummer. Seems like some babies have a reason to be breech so if I was in your position I really wouldn't know what to do.
Do you know where your placenta is located (posterior, etc.)?

[mamacatsbaby]

Oh man Mama T, that's no good. I'm still : hoping that baby will get head down.

[nova22]

I'm so sorry MamaT! I'll be thinking about you...turn baby, turn! I don't understand that position, either. My SIL had a breech baby and she would lay on her back with pillows boosting her hips way up. She said it sort of forced the baby to go head up or head down rather than sideways, because the length of her uterus was so much greater than the width in that position. Fortunately her baby chose head-down after only a few tries. Have you tried that position at all or is it too painful for you, too?

I have my next OB appt tomorrow morning to find out if this one is behaving him/herself yet.

[Peppamint]

mamatoto2. Turn baby turn!

[De-lovely]

Oh mama! Praying for a turnin' babe! HUgs to you! Let us know!

[Rowenta]

I was told that they dont' get tooo *worried* until you are 37 weeks! Good news, peanut still has time to turn!!

[NYCVeg]

Make sure your acupunturist does moxibustion! 2 people in my Bradley class turned breech babies with that (one in combination with the other stuff). I've heard really good things about it.

Are you trying ironing-board lying? Same effect as the yoga poses, but less stress on you and your joints.

BTW, I can't believe that you are doing your defense 12 days before your EDD! I haven't even been able to draft a chapter in months. You must be

[Think of Winter]

My baby went from breach a couple of weeks ago (32 wks), to transverse breech last week, to head down today. You have time for her to move! I did lots of inversions, and took pulsatilla for a day and a half, but who knows, maybe she'd have moved on her own. There are two schools of thought on this, give it a while before you worry, or try to get baby to turn while there's still room. I figured lying with my hips above my shoulders a few times a day couldn't hurt (although it was uncomfortable). If you want some links for helping baby move, let me know. Or check spinningbabies.com. Good luck to you.

[hkjg]

My first baby was breech and I had an external version. It wasn't as bad as everyone said it would be- my doctor was very gentle, and I was not sore after it at all. The drug they give you to relax your uterus (so you don't go into labor) made me really jittery- that was the worse part of it for me. My Dr. tried for 20 minutes to get baby to turn and then said she wasn't going to force it, but she said sometimes there is a good reason, they won't turn.

After my c-section, she said his cord was short, and it was wrapped around his wrist.

I have a friend who just had her TB baby turn at 36.5 weeks, so don't stress too much- if you try everything you can, and the baby doesn't turn, there may be a good reason why it is positioned like that. Thinking good thoughts for you. :-)