breach birth?

[jbobys]

I may be jumping the gun, but Im rather nervous (my first 2 were head down by like 26 weeks)~ Im 33-35 weeks along now and this little guy is still swimming around~ jumping between breach and transverse. Obviously he's got some room to play, so Im still optimistic, and Ive got a bunch of tricks up my sleeve for getting him head down, BUT what if he doesnt get into position?

My midwife is comfortable with a breach hb, but it's left up to me to decide. I havent had the chance to discuss it with her yet~ i will next week at my visit. Ive had 2 pretty uneventful births, so theres no reason to fear a problem, BUT. BUt BUT BUT......

What are your thoughts, opinions?

[mothragirl]

i would have a vaginal breech birth over c-section anyday (not that i've had either). breech is a variation on normal, not an emergency.

[eminencejae]

I'm just curious to know how one would tell the differance? I sometimes worry, but I know he's been head down most of the time from both ultrasounds I had at about 12 and 20 weeks. Plus I'm just used to thinking of the lump at the top as his bottom. How do you differentiate top from bottom? For Me, Sometimes when he lays sideways it really hurts and I just had to get him to turn a little bit ago because of that. (I got into the shower and leaned forward and swayed my hips, after trying cold water on either side of my belly The leaning forward and swaying really worked to get him vertical again) Anyway about the sideways thing, it seems that one side is rounder and plumper and sticks out more than the other just like while up and down and the round protruding shape is the same, so that also makes me assume that it's his behind because I think his legs tucked would make it stick out farther? I want to know what other people think as to how they can tell the diff? I hope what I said makes sense.

I agree with PP that I'd rather vaginally birth a breach than c section! Even though I've never experienced either. I just so do not want any interventions or interfearance with my birth.

[alegna]

Yep. I'd homebirth breech. No question.

-Angela

[MsBlack]

I'd homebirth breech if all conditions were right.
But mainly, it is WAY too early to worry!

talk to your baby about assuming the correct position, visualize baby in optimal position...neither of you need be entirely a tool of fate.

[wwisdomskr]

I'd much rather birth a breech baby at home...and I'd like my attendant to be experienced with breech babies.

[hapersmion]

It's great that your midwife is comfortable attending a breech birth! Mine (at a birth center) weren't allowed to, and I had to scramble to find someone who didn't say "automatic c-section, we don't want to get sued". : But I found the Farm, and it was a wonderful, relatively easy birth. (My story, if you're interested: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=589894)

As long as your midwife won't drop you for having a breech baby, I'd say there's no reason to worry at all. You can still do all the things to encourage the baby to turn, but you can do them stress-free, since things will be okay either way.

(I don't guess you're anywhere near the Knoxville, TN, area? In a few years I'm going to be looking for a midwife in this area who's okay with breech, just in case... )

hapersmion

[tammyswanson]

I asked the FNP at the doctors office (she's the only one who seem friendly there) about how mine is transverse (I'm about 28 weeks now), and she claims that sometimes they stay like that until 2 weeks before they deliver. I'm going to worry later if he doesn't turn. I don't know how to get him to turn either, though!

[aylaanne]

I'd do it vaginally at home if I could. My MWs said that they won't do breech, but if I do have to go to the hospital because of that I'm going to give EVERYONE experience with vaginal breech because I refuse to let them cut me open just for that. If your MW is cool with staying home and letting you do it vaginally, I'd say go for it.

I saw a video of Ina May delivering a Breech baby and it was amazing.

[eminencejae]

Originally Posted by aylaanne

I'd do it vaginally at home if I could. My MWs said that they won't do breech, but if I do have to go to the hospital because of that I'm going to give EVERYONE experience with vaginal breech because I refuse to let them cut me open just for that. If your MW is cool with staying home and letting you do it vaginally, I'd say go for it.

I saw a video of Ina May delivering a Breech baby and it was amazing.

Any woman who was able to accomplish that would be a very brave and strong hero for all!!!

But, Realisticly, How would a person possibly accomplish anything like that in a hospital when the probability of them actually letting mom get up and move like she'd need to is very slim, and they'd most probably drug her so she wouldn't even be able to? If a labor was that difficult it would be very difficult not to turn down pain meds. Then there's the stress factor of the arguements a vulnerable laboring woman would have that could actually cause stall in labor. How could a mom actually labor peacefully with people telling her she's killing her child? I just don't see the point of even attempting to do something like that in a hospital setting, other than having some vague feeling of safety but don't know how that could be possible. Maybe in the parking lot?
I'm not saying it's a bad choice I just don't see it as being much of a possibility. If it was probable for that to actually happen in a healthy manner... almost every Home VBAC that was denied a vaginal birth would happen in the hospital anyway - unless there were other reasons mom wanted to stay out of the hospital. It just doesn't sound condusive to me.
Breach is a main excuse I hear that alot of women end up with the C section in the first place, that and 'failure to progress' & supposedly bad readings on the monitors, etc. ... So, some VBAC women choose home birth or go UC. where in this country is it a realistic possibility of accomplishing a vaginal breach birth? I'm still hoping to hear opinions on how people think they can tell what position the baby is in without an ultrasound.--- Which I guess unless a breach position was on record the hospital wouldn't know that the mom came in breach if they weren't told, but then what if the labor was extreemly long??? What's the guess on what would happen then?
I'm not trying to offend anyone but these are just thoughts and opinions I've formed. Because of all these open ended questions and birth stories I've read and reasons why women prefure to home birth or feel that they have to... Even those that go UC, I've decided to not let anyone touch me or give me any excuse that anything is wrong to begin with. My take on it is: Why go to a doctor/hospital when it seems to be such a fight/guilt trip just for a woman to give birth the way she chooses?

[aylaanne]

woah, that's quite a vociferous rant you have there. I want to be clear on something. If I have a breech baby and I end up in the hospital, they will be hard pressed to get me to do anything I don't want to do. I have worked in L&D units and I am not an easy patient. If they tie me to the monitor, I'll take it off. If they ask me to sit in the bed, I'll sit in the chair or I'll walk around. If they're talking after I've told them to be quiet, I'll ignore them or have my husband physically escort them out of the room. And if they want to do a c-section, I'm not signing any consent forms, and neither is my husband. They'll have to assault me outright for it to happen.

In this country, we need to start asserting ourselves as CONSUMERS of health care. Good nursing/health care should equal good customer service, and if it doesn't, then we should be demanding it. With how much we're paying in health care it's our right.

Now, not every woman is as assertive as I am, and not every woman is as unconcerned with how rude they're being as I am. I don't give a **** what some doctor thinks is best for me. Unless they have proof that MY BIRTH is likely to cause me or my baby harm, I'm not listening and I'm doing whatever I want.

If I go in for an emergency, that's a whole different ball of wax. But breech? Normal. Don't touch me.

sorry if this was, itself, pretty vociferous.

[eminencejae]

Originally Posted by aylaanne

woah, that's quite a vociferous rant you have there. I want to be clear on something. If I have a breech baby and I end up in the hospital, they will be hard pressed to get me to do anything I don't want to do. I have worked in L&D units and I am not an easy patient. If they tie me to the monitor, I'll take it off. If they ask me to sit in the bed, I'll sit in the chair or I'll walk around. If they're talking after I've told them to be quiet, I'll ignore them or have my husband physically escort them out of the room. And if they want to do a c-section, I'm not signing any consent forms, and neither is my husband. They'll have to assault me outright for it to happen.

In this country, we need to start asserting ourselves as CONSUMERS of health care. Good nursing/health care should equal good customer service, and if it doesn't, then we should be demanding it. With how much we're paying in health care it's our right.

Now, not every woman is as assertive as I am, and not every woman is as unconcerned with how rude they're being as I am. I don't give a **** what some doctor thinks is best for me. Unless they have proof that MY BIRTH is likely to cause me or my baby harm, I'm not listening and I'm doing whatever I want.

If I go in for an emergency, that's a whole different ball of wax. But breech? Normal. Don't touch me.

sorry if this was, itself, pretty vociferous.

To the OP, I hope you've gotten the answer you were looking for in this thread. I hope you feel better about your potential situation, and I also hope that this little thread hi jacking maybe even empowers you to do what feels best and safest for you. I still wish someone would come along and explain self palpitation or even someone else doing it and how they can be confident that it works. I'm still curious to know why/how you got the origional concern that your baby is 'malpositioned'? It's often a concern I have had myself, so I do feel for what you're saying. I also stick to what I said earlier - I'd stay away from the hospital if I thought for one minute that they'd even tell me something like that needed an intervention, and I do think they would! Even having one person say that it's normal can make a worried mom feel so much better!

Thanks aylaanne!

I think that's all really awesome and I agree that it is the way it should be. More women and people in general should be in control of their own bodies and thier own care. But there are so many other horror stories about husbands being removed, even doulas or midwifes not being listened to while trying to prevent an intervention; med professionals doing things without consent, etc. What if that happened or they thought they were able to call an outside agency to get control before/after? How would you handle that? Would it still be worth it? Can we move this aspect of the discussion to a different thread? Geez I hope I don't get in trouble for opening my mouth and asking real questions about things I hear concern about all the time anyway. I'm not trying to slander any specific medical entity but I have heard horrible things that have happened without or even against consent, I've seen several threads about it. But, I've never heard anyone say anything about how they actually won the battle against medical assault like that - other than, 'oh, I would write/wrote a letter'. Yes, vociferous is what it is and I love that you said that. It's a beautiful word!

[lyttlewon]

I would do it. My sister had a vaginal breech in the hospital so I figure I could do it at home. My neice was frank and I don't know if that makes a difference over a footling.

[aylaanne]

Originally Posted by eminencejae

To the OP, I hope you've gotten the answer you were looking for in this thread. I hope you feel better about your potential situation, and I also hope that this little thread hi jacking maybe even empowers you to do what feels best and safest for you. I still wish someone would come along and explain self palpitation or even someone else doing it and how they can be confident that it works. I'm still curious to know why/how you got the origional concern that your baby is 'malpositioned'? It's often a concern I have had myself, so I do feel for what you're saying. I also stick to what I said earlier - I'd stay away from the hospital if I thought for one minute that they'd even tell me something like that needed an intervention, and I do think they would! Even having one person say that it's normal can make a worried mom feel so much better!

I agree, and I'm sorry if I hijacked the thread from you! I'm so happy that your MW is agreeable to a home breech birth and I hope that you'll get the support and care you need from her.

Originally Posted by eminencejae

Thanks aylaanne!

Can we move this aspect of the discussion to a different thread?

Yep, here it is:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...26#post8137226

[ani'smommy]

Yep, I'll homebirth a breech baby, no question. My midwife didn't blink an eye when I asked her about it, either.

[hapersmion]

As to the question of how you tell whether the baby is breech by feeling the outside of your belly, I think it's probably easier for some people than others, depending on your body type. I could tell he was breech for the last six weeks or so, though I tried to deny it to myself. There was a big, round, hard ball right up against my ribs, and there it stayed. Even when one midwife told me he was head-down, I didn't think she was right, even though I wanted to believe her. I think a bottom would be softer and less round. Research said that the head should be more "ballotable", meaning that it will bounce back when you push on it, but I never really could feel that with my ds. People also say you can tell by where the kicking is - it should be up high mostly if he's head-down, and the more tickly-finger-feelings should be lower. But that didn't help me a whole lot either - same with trying to tell where the hiccups were coming from, since they seemed to affect his whole body. *shrug*

It's a bit subjective, I'm sure, but I was right - he was head up the whole time. He just liked it better that way. But he never even tried to move - hopefully since yours is still swimming around in there, jbobys, he'll have plenty of room and turn around any day. Good luck!

hapersmion

[mimiharshe]

My first was breech and stuck (found out by ultrasound at 36 weeks after 4 midwives had told me she was head down). In that situation, with what I knew and after turning to the Lord, we had a c/s. (BTW we tried everything to turn her, but her head was just stuck...) My second child was head down, but that's another story...home birth transfer to c/s after 3 days in active labor. Now, this time if baby were breech, unless I KNEW w/o a shadow of a doubt that something was wrong, I would have a breech home birth for sure!

[jbobys]

sounds pretty unanimous for homebirth!

its hard for me because mainstream birthing keeps telling how dangerous it is, etc. Ive also done reading and it all says how usually a breach ends up with HUGE episiotomies, etc. I think id rather a c section then being sliced up down below. ugh! im looking forward to discussing it my mw...id like her advice, opinions and sats.

When i mentioned breach to both assistants, on different days, neither of them blinked twice, so im pretty sure its rather common for them...and evelyn is comfortable with it. just said it was up to me and i had to be comfortable with it.

i still have several weeks before im due...although im quiet certain a limb poked through today! : ill let you know what she says next week.

in the meantime, id love to hear breach stories from anyone who has them!