moxibustion, Any one tried it?

[sarah698]

Hi
Im 32 weeks pregnant with a breech baby my last was the same and i really wanted to have a vbac this time round. My first was a vaginal delivery.
I have been doing moxibustion for 4 days now to try and make him turn, i was wondering if anyone had tried it and it had worked for them?
I feel i may have a problem as my last was breech and now this one is too. I want to stay positive that he will turn but i cant help thinking he wont. How long before moxibustion worked for you? I really am against having a c section this time so i am considering giving birth if he is still breech have any of you done this? I would like some advice as to weather you think i should give birth to a breech baby or not. My first baby was a normal vaginal delivery with no complications. I wish i had tryed to give birth with my second as i now know that he was in the best breech position to give birth and already have given birth to a healthy baby previous i wish i had tryed. I was only 19 at the time and got talked into a c section and was told it was my only option. I now now different but i dont want to put my babys life at risk but the thought of another c section scares me to death.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks:o

[stayathomecristi]

I'm sorry, but I have no idea what moxibustion is. Sometimes kids choose to be born breech. Lots of mamas can give birth to a breech baby. The trick is finding a provider who is willing to work with you. Most of them have never seen a breech birth and are afraid of them, so they find it easier to schedule for a section.

My suggestion would be to do a bunch of reading on the subject and hopefully another mama or two will come along who has had a breech VBAC to give you some encouragement.

I wish you well. Hope your baby turns soon and if he/she doesn't that you can still have the birth you want.

[momnmidwife]

HI Sarah, I think you still have plenty of time for the baby to turn, but since you've have a breech babe before I would look into breech birth vaginally, if that is what you want:

http://www.breechbabies.com/
http://www.spinningbabies.com/
http://gentlebirth.org/Midwife/breechtn.html

This is the latest on vaginal breeches in the news:
Mandatory section for breech thrown out!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Five years to the term breech trial: The rise and fall of a randomized controlled trial.
American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. 194(1):20-25, January 2006.
Glezerman, Marek MD

Abstract:
Objective: On the basis of the end points of neonatal morbidity and death, the authors of the term breech trial concluded unequivocally that cesarean delivery was safer for breech babies.

Study design: Analysis of the original and new data gives rise to serious concerns as far as study design, methods, and conclusions are concerned. In a substantial number of cases, there was a lack of adherence to the inclusion criteria. There was a large interinstitutional variation of standard of care; inadequate methods of antepartum and intrapartum fetal assessment were used, and a large proportion of women were recruited during active labor. In many instances of planned vaginal delivery, there was no attendance of a clinician with adequate expertise.

Results: Most cases of neonatal death and morbidity in the term breech trial cannot be attributed to the mode of delivery. Moreover, analysis of outcome after 2 years has shown no difference between vaginal and abdominal deliveries of breech babies.

Conclusion: The original term breech trial recommendations should be withdrawn.

(C) Mosby-Year Book Inc. 2006. All Rights Reserved.


Eighty four clinical observations of the use of moxibustion in the rectification of breech positioned fetuses.

Liao Qiao Xia, Ling River hospital, Fujian province, Yan City People’s hospital.

Translation by Cedar Learner



Breech positioned pregnancy is a commonly seen birth abnormality. Linked to infant mortality rates, it has notably higher rates of surgery than cephalic positioned natural births. Correction and reduction of breech presenting fetuses can reduce both infant mortality and surgery. In 1997 our hospital performed Moxabustion to correct breech positioned pregnancies and our methods and results appear below.

1 Data

Ultrasound was performed in order to ensure that there were no other diseases present and that breech presentation was the only complication. All pregnancies were between 28 and 36 weeks, of which there were 84 cases.

2 Methodology

Before rotating the fetus, the pregnant woman was instructed to empty her bladder then lay on her right side, relax her whole body and loosen her trousers and belt. With both of her legs bent we put a moxa cone more or less the size of a peanut on the little toe of her left foot at acupuncture point UB-67 (zhi yin xue), ignited and burned the moxa. The moxa was not allowed to burn all the way down thereby causing the woman any pain. Immediately the moxa was replaced using a total of three cones. After burning the moxa, we rotated the woman onto her left side and burned another 3 cones on her right foot at UB-67. One treatment consisted of three cones on each foot, once per day. Without precisely duplicating the point, this procedure can be carried out continuously (for several days) The fetus is rotated from front to back and at this time it is important to monitor the fetal heart beat. After rectifying the breech position the pregnant woman should be treated at regular intervals with visits and observation until delivery.

3 Results


There is no obvious difference of success rates among varying gestational weeks, the table clearly shows fetal rotation among varying gestational weeks obtaining equal results.

4 Discussion

Upon examining the results of fetal rotation, the success rate between treatment frequencies of one to three times is relatively high. Among successful treatments after one time the success rate was 30%, success after two treatments was 58.3%, and success after three treatments was 10%, while more than 3 times had a success rate of 1.7%. There was one example of a successful fetal rotation which returned to breech position after two weeks. Upon performing moxa twice more, the fetus was successfully rotated to normal position comprising a total of 1.1%. The success rate was higher for relaxed abdominal walls than for abdominal walls that were tight. At present there is no determined standard to measure the degree of abdominal wall elasticity, but one way is palpation of the e space between the fetus and the woman and to distinguish whether the fetus is notably free to move around, in which case this is a relaxed abdominal wall. If there is no obvious sense of free movement then this is a tight abdominal wall. In this article there are 84 cases of which 44 cases had relaxed abdominal walls while 40 cases had tight abdominal walls. The former had a success rate of 95.4% while the latter had a success rate of 65.0%. Within these two exists a striking difference indicating that a breech positioned fetus within relaxed abdominal walls is relatively easy to correct and this probably has something to do with the relative ease with which the fetus moves within the uterine cavity. Success rates were higher among those women with larger amounts of amniotic fluid compared to those with les amniotic fluid.

Women who used moxa had no side effects, no discomfort and no negative reactions. Turning the fetus in no case caused fetal death.



The Acupuncture point commonly used to turn a breech baby is Urinary Bladder
67. It is located on the little toe at the outside corner of the toenail. It
is usually treated with Moxa but a cigarette will do the same.

You hold a lit cigarette approx: 4-5mm away from the skin and hold it there
until the patient says it's hot. Back it off, let it cool then do it again.
Do at least 5 minutes of this. It can be done 3 times daily, and it can be
done by the mother herself.

This usually turns the baby within 24-48 hours. The baby turns by itself.

Hope this helps!:wink

[stayathomecristi]

Momnmidwife--Thanks for the study and the explanation!

I still don't know what a moxa is :lol , but at least I understand how it works now :thumb

[lrlittle]

Hi Sarah!

I tried moxibustion, among other things, and it didn't work for me. However, everyone was skeptical about my baby turning using ANY technique because I didn't know until almost 38 weeks that babe was breech.

After doing positioning, Webster's technique, moxibustion, acupuncture, and a failed version, I was on the HUNT for someone that would give me a vaginal breech delivery. My midwives would not. I did find a skilled doctor that would do it and I felt extremely comfortable with him.

My advice to you is to do your research and then go with who you trust and makes you the most comfortable. Don't give up!! I had a great experience with my vaginal breech birth and am so happy with the outcome :)

BTW- Moxibustion is a Chinese method usually done by an acupuncturist and in my case in conjunction with acupuncture. The moxa stick is what they use to do it...it looks like an herb cigar that they light and hold in a certain point on the outside of your pinky toes....supposed to make breech babies flip. Many people swear by it!!

[pinky]

My dd was breech at 36 weeks and turned using moxabustion.

My understanding is that around 36 wks is the ideal time b/c they are still small enough to turn but it's late enough that they are not likely to turn back.

Good luck!

[momnmidwife]

:yeah:

[sarah698]

Hi
Thanks for all the replys. I am still trying the moxibustion and hope it will work. I am strongly considering a vaginal birth but i feel i need to do more research and find someone who is comftable doing it.
Thanks to everyone.:shy