Anyone given birth to a breech naturally? Post Reply

[EmmaVictoriaID]

I'm 34 weeks and my baby is in a breech position. My midwife says in two weeks time they will check and if baby has not moved to head down they'll scan and potentially ECV. If I go into labour and the baby is still breech they'd want to give me a c-section. And if the baby doesn't turn through ECV etc they'd want to give me a c-section.
I know there's still time for baby to turn but I want to start thinking about my decision if he doesn't.

I really don't want a c-section if it can be avoided and wondered if there were any of you out there who had delivered their breech babies naturally?

I've read the risks of cord prolapse and the head getting trapped so am aware but still wondered if everyone just goes right ahead with the c-section or if it's possible to deliver naturally and safely. I'll be at St Georges.

Thanks

x

[townieatheart]

Hi. I don't have any experience of delivering a breech baby but my son was transverse and the plan was to admit me to hospital at 37 weeks so that I could have emergency c-sec if my waters went.
I really didn't want a c-sec, or to lie in hospital for 3 weeks, so I did lots of research into turning babies yourself.
Firstly I had a number of acupuncture sessions where as well as needles they burnt moxibustion in a clockwise motion around my little toes. Sounds hocus pocus but it has an enormously high success rate for turning babies! Secondly I focused all the time on my physical positions; I religiously slept on my left, I never sat back in the sofa but instead sat up on extra cushions always ensuring my hips were higher than my knees and I also got on all fours regularly, letting my belly and baby hang freely.
Thirdly I referred to the website http://www.spinningbabies.com for other really useful info.
It may all sound mad but it's worth a try. It worked for me and my transverse baby moved into the optimum position, infact it was so optimal that my total labour was under 3 hours!!
Really good luck. X

Good luck

[philippa]

Ooh poor you! I was in the same position with my 2nd baby, and did not want a section. I know exactly how you feel.

I tried MOXA (acupuncture, above) too but was not so fortunate. I ended up having ECV and it was successful Hurrah!!!

Many of my friends are doctors and they did convince me that c-section was the right thing to do, but I never let on to the hospital . This meant that when they did the ECV, and it failed the first time, I was able to convince them to try again - with success....

If you do have an ECV, remember to smile and breathe and relax (apparently I am the only person that ever did that according to the team that did me!) and it you won't notice the discomfort (I did feel that I'd been in a rugby international the next day!)

As the post above says though, there is a lot of chance that the baby will turn, A friend of mine's did the day before ECV day, and she thought it was labour (she delivered 4 weeks later!)

If you would like to have a chat, do drop me an email, Good Luck!

[fundraiser]

As someone who has experienced cord prolapse following ECV I would urge you to not get too hung up about having a c-section.. I resisted an elective and ended up having an emergency c-section. I was very lucky that I had a very experienced midwife who recognised the prolapse and acted quickly, otherwise things could have turned out very badly.

[sparkletiger]

Both my babies were breech. First undiagnosed which led to an emergency Csection (i'd been very keen for natural birth and did lots of prep for it). The section was surprisingly Fine. The other thing that had been missed was my daughter was almost 10lbs. Discovered second one (now 14 weeks) was breech after I requested a scan evenn tho my consultant thought head was engaged. After having an emergency c section I wanted to avoid going through attempts at natural delivery ending in another emergency. I also thought that since this was the second one perhaps there was good reason she was in that position and should I mess with it. So after much reflection opted for planned c section. Knowing when she was coming was liberating especially when organising the care of my 3 year old. Mum came down, booked a pedicure, hair cut and then full day spa with massage at the Landmark hotel the day before. It was great and I felt totally ready when the day came to meet my baby girl. As someone who was very keen to do it all naturally having a section (twice) was actually fine. The main thing was getting the baby at the end of it all. Recovery is ok. I could lift my 10 pounder! And was driving within 3 weeks.

You don't say if this is your first.... It seemed that midwives and
consultants don't really have the expertise required to embark on natural breech delivery anymore so I thought section was safer.

Good luck with it

Both were at St Thomas

[EmmaVictoriaID]

Thank you for the feedback guys. It is my first baby.. apparently there is a doctor who is experienced at natural breech birth at St Georges but obv no guarantee he'll be there. My midwife made a fuss of telling me all the midwives and doctors are all trained in breech delivery - but trained and experienced are very different!

Obviously a planned c-section has great advantages - hence why so may women actually pay for one and it kind of suits me as I like to be organised (!) but it's the recovery and the knock-on effect for my next births, scars, clinical atmosphere of the delivery etc. also are there any chances of getting a flat tummy again afterwards?? Many women I know who've had c-sections all have a permanent pot belly because their muscles can't pull tight anymore due to being cut.

Interesting no one has delivered breech naturally, spose it doesn't really happen anymore then.. ho hum... will just have to see what happens I guess and do what's best for the baby.

[schoolgatesmum]

My friend's sister-in-law had a natural breech birth at home! They didn't realise the baby was breech until she was in labour. My friend's a doula and I'm sure she'd be happy to talk to you about it.

[fundraiser]

They don't cut your muscles when they do a c-section!

[sparkletiger]

If it needs to be a section it's honestly not that bad. Being in hospital is a bit clinical whatever. There was an iPod doc in the delivery room which was nice. If it's planned there are no contractions (mine were mental with first - barely any gaps for about 7 hours before I went in to hospital and they discovered she was breech) or pain and afterwards the recovery was better than I expected. A few of my friends have had to have various levels of reconstructive surgery after 2nd natural birth. Never had much of flat tum to start with but then your body changes however you give birth.

It's good that breech position has been spotted though. A friend successfully had her baby turned and she said she wouldn't do it again if she had another breech baby.

Good luck whatever you decide. Let us know! It all pales into insignificance when you have your baby in your arms

x

[cassie]

My first son was breech and all attempts at turning him failed (I tried everything). I chose to give birth to him naturally and my doctor was very supportive. This was, however, 15 years ago. I'm not sure that many doctors have much experience with this anymore (you would have to deliver with a doctor in an operating theatre, not a midwife in a lovely, cosy room).

There has subsequently been some (unconclusive) research into increased incidences of developmental or learning disabilities associated with vaginal breech births. Again, there is no consensus on this - but it might be something you want to look into.

For the record, my son has dyspraxia and dysgraphia which has caused him some considerable trouble in school. He is very intelligent, but has enormous problems writing and organising his thoughts so gets fairly dismal marks in subjects that rely heavily on writing essays. He loves sport, but is, frankly, terrible at it.

If I had to do it all again, I'd go for an elective caesarean if it meant that a 'bit of hassle' for me for a couple months reduced the chance of him having to struggle so much in school and life.

[EmmaVictoriaID]

Wow, thanks for being so open Cassie, that's certainly helped to concentrate the mind... from what I've read those are some of the risks associated with natural breech birth but it's hard to gauge sometimes what risks are actually likely and what are just being mentioned to cover the practioners in case of worst case. I would always er on what's right for the baby rather than me when it came to it I think, but wanted to see what the concensus was these days - my doctor friends have all said just go with a c-section too. All your comments have really helped get my head around it - obviously there's still time for him to turn anyway but I think I'm more comfortable with the idea of the section now, thank you all very much! x

[mrs_pavlova]

Hello SmaB

I've been reading this thread with great interest over the last week and would also like to thank all the contributors for the interesting and honest information. This site really is fabulous for this sort of thing.

But I just thought that I would add than my previously breech baby (at 34 weeks) has now turned (I'm 38 weeks) and is head down as of today. Just back from the doctor who confirmed it.

No idea how it happened, other than trying to do lots of wriggling on all fours, avoiding slouching on the sofa and weekly pregnancy yoga - but good news nonetheless!

Whether s/he will remain that way until delivery day I have no idea - but there is a chance that your baby will turn and you'll be spared the difficult decisions - Very Good Luck.

x

[sparkletiger]

Make sure a scan is done to confirm position. I saw 4 midwives and 2 consultants first time when a midwife thought baby might be breech and they all said head was engaged. Don't know why scan not done and didn't think I needed it. Second time round said I wanted a scan at 36 weeks tho consultant thought head down. They have been wrong 100% of the time!

Good luck x

[Kat]

My daughter was breeched and by the time the midwives realised that it wasn't a head they could see crowning, it was too late for c-section (or pain relief for that matter...). This was at St Thomas's and I was rushed from the Home from Home birth centre to the hospital birth centre where she was born 30 minutes later. It was quite scary, but only because I was completely unprepared and because of the dramatic rush to a different ward, the 10 different people around my bed, the resuscitation cart on standby and the deathly pallor of my husband's face...

I'm not sure if I would have been brave enough to choose natural birth had I known that my baby was breeched, but in hindsight, I'm very pleased that I didn't have to have a c-section or worry about possible implications of ECV.

[reCentre-health]

Richard Jackson at reCentre health is an acupuncturist who specialises in fertility and pregnancy. One of his clients said:

"I had heard that acupuncture could turn my baby..needless to say I was very sceptical when Richard started heating my little toes! However it worked and at my next hospital visit I was told all was well." Laura

For booking and more information contact 020 8672 4455 or to speak to Richard directly call him directly on 07715409547.