So, they want to do an external version. (38 weeks, breech since basically forever, yada yada.) I'm pretty much on the fence at this point (great place to be with only one day until the available appointment slot and the knowledge that the success rate drops as time marches on 
).
Pros: My options at this point for a vaginal breech delivery are basically non-existent, short of an unassisted home birth, which -- on a first pregnancy, as someone who does not always deal well with unknowns -- would just not be a good option for me. All other options for helping a baby to turn, while I wouldn't say they're exhausted so long as there's still time, have to this point been unsuccessful. I don't want the possibility of going into what amounts to a mandatory (
: ) cesarean with a sense of not having done everything I could to prevent it.
Cons: Reading up eases my mind a bit about the potential for the worst of complications, but the potential is still there, if rare. A version itself can turn into an emergency cesarean situation, and if that were the case it would be a cesarean without benefit of having at least gone to term, no matter how much my doctors may insist that 38 weeks is term (did I mention ": "). The cesarean rate after even a successful version is somewhere around the national average, but I can't know if the actually medically necessary rate is higher or not. As someone who doesn't deal well with unknowns, there are an awful lot of unknowns.
So much for my uncomplicated pregnancy.
The anti-interventionist in me is standing up pretty loud and clear about not going ahead with it and hoping for the best naturally, but the non-option of a vaginal breech delivery is definitely compromising my stronger sensibilities.
).Pros: My options at this point for a vaginal breech delivery are basically non-existent, short of an unassisted home birth, which -- on a first pregnancy, as someone who does not always deal well with unknowns -- would just not be a good option for me. All other options for helping a baby to turn, while I wouldn't say they're exhausted so long as there's still time, have to this point been unsuccessful. I don't want the possibility of going into what amounts to a mandatory (
: ) cesarean with a sense of not having done everything I could to prevent it.Cons: Reading up eases my mind a bit about the potential for the worst of complications, but the potential is still there, if rare. A version itself can turn into an emergency cesarean situation, and if that were the case it would be a cesarean without benefit of having at least gone to term, no matter how much my doctors may insist that 38 weeks is term (did I mention "
: "). The cesarean rate after even a successful version is somewhere around the national average, but I can't know if the actually medically necessary rate is higher or not. As someone who doesn't deal well with unknowns, there are an awful lot of unknowns.So much for my uncomplicated pregnancy.
The anti-interventionist in me is standing up pretty loud and clear about not going ahead with it and hoping for the best naturally, but the non-option of a vaginal breech delivery is definitely compromising my stronger sensibilities.
! I know the stress ain't fun. What I ended up thinking would be my best option is letting myself go into labor on my own and then having an unscheduled c-section. I too didn't feel like I could manage a breech birth, for the same reasons you describe.
: 
