Baby Going from Head down to Breech After 36 Weeks

It seems to me that if he can flip to breech position he's still got plenty of room to move and therefore could easily go back to head down.

Check out http://www.spinningbabies.com/

and spend as much time as possible in the hands & knees position.

Blessed birth to you.

My little boy didn't flip as far as I know, but was breech until like 38 weeks or something. They were trying to get me to go in and manually have him turned, but I just didn't have peace about that. So we just prayed and trusted God and he turned. So he can definitely still turn again:)

I've had two babies, both breech. The oldest turned at 36 weeks. We went in and tried to have him flipped and he refused! He was quite violent about not wanting to be moved. The doctors were laughing about the fight he put up. I ended up having a c-section and it turned out just fine. The second baby looked like she was on her way to a perfect delivery and then yes, at 36 weeks, she flipped on me. At 38 weeks I had to have an emergency c-section and she was in the process of flipping herself back into the right position! I would have enjoyed having them naturally, but in the end, I have two beautiful healthy kids!

My 2nd baby was mistake breech. She was breech the whole time. On my c section day by schedule, I asked my doctor for one more and last ultrasound before heading to c section. She said it was still breech. During my C- section, I overheard the doctors said "The head is down." At first, I was not happy about that, but I had to move on and blessed that we were both okay. I rather to have c section than move the baby in your tummy. I heard its painful and high risk as it can hurt the baby with cords and oxgens.. Good luck..

J., is he larger than your others? It's possible (with your internal build) that he is more comfortable breech. Both of my babies were breach from about 32 weeks on. The doctors said it was most likely the way I am built. I don't get it because I have rather wide hips but I guess you never know what you are like on the inside. Obviously you had babies naturally but maybe he's bigger?? With my first, I had a version performed. I was really nervous about it, because I had read about the risks. However, in my doctor's 25 years of doing them, he had never had anything go wrong. It's performed in the hospital, just in case they need to deliver immediately. He turned my son in 20 seconds and in 3 weeks, he never flipped back. Unfortunately, after 3 hours of pushing, his head wouldn't fit through my birth canal and I had to have a c-section anyway! Darn. :) He wasn't even a big baby! Anyway, my daughter remained breech up until the day I delivered her via c-section. I do know someone who's baby flipped from head down to breech while she was IN LABOR and at the hospital! It happens. :) The child has absolutely no problems. Healthy as can be. Good luck to you! Hope you deliver naturally.

I think Jen B is referring to a procedure called an external version. My first child was discovered to be breech at 36 weeks and we gave her two weeks to turn around and we tried and sorts of things, but to no avail. We scheduled an external version at 38 weeks because by then the baby is considered full term in case we had an emergency situation. I, too, wanted as natural a birth as possible, so I opted out of the demerol with was offered to me at the beginning of the appointment. The doctors did their magic and after two attempts they were successful. I am not going to lie, it was painful, like a severe contraction, but it was my first baby so I had no idea what contractions felt like. I don't regret it a single bit. The procedure enable me to give birth naturally and forgo a scheduled caesarian that would have taken weeks to recover instead of enjoying my new baby girl. I hope everything works out for you.

Babies turn for many reasons this late. Sometimes it is a short cord, or the ligaments of the uterus aren't aligned properly. A Chiropractor trained in the Webster technique may be able to help. http://icpa4kids.com/index.php

Have you spoken with a doula? try www.cappa.net or www.dona.org for someone close to you.

I am 3 hours from you which wouldn't help much.

Best wishes!

My daughter was head down, dropped, and I was starting to dialate, then she fipped to a frank breech position at 40 weeks. The doctors believed that all 8 midwives I had appoinments with were wrong rather than a full term baby could flip like that. They told me they would teach me physical therapy exercises to do with her so she could put her legs down flat. When she was born, she layed down flat right away an the doctor said "wow, she really did just flip breech."

Hi J.,
I suppose anything can happen and your baby may turn on his own. I just wanted to let you know that I had 2 pregnancies with breech babies and they were both successfully turn with the external version method. Because I got a E.V. done I had the chance to have 2 vaginal births. Good luck:)

Its completely normal... my son was breech till i was 39 weeks.. So was his dad and he turned a few days before his mom had him...

This happened to my daughter with her 2nd pregnancy. I took her to a well seasoned and knowledgeable acupuncturist who turned the baby successfully...with accupuncture. He put little tiny magnets below the stomach so the baby would stay put.
It worked and she was able to avoid a C-section.
I would call around to inquire about the method.
Blessings to you and your new baby

My son did very similar things. He was in position at around 32 weeks then moved to breech and then moved back around 37 weeks. Then at 40 weeks he went breech again. He was delivered c-section and everyone was suprised he was breech at delievery! Good luck. Mine moved around alot!

J.,

I have 4, too. 1, 2, and 3 were all head down and born vaginally with no tearing or stitches. However, #4 decided to do something new. At 36 weeks, she was breech and the do started talking c-section which just shocked me after the experiences with the other 3. At 37 weeks, she was head down and we all breathed a sign of relief . . . that is, 'til week 38 when she was breech again. The doc told me to come back at 39 weeks and we'd schedule either a c-section or induction for the next day. Lo and behold she was head down again at 39 weeks and stayed that way. She was induced the next day. The doc was sure that she was going to be smaller than initially anticipated because of all the moving. Wrong! She was my biggest baby weighing in at 8 pounds even. She is still a monkey and has climbed out of her crib several times as early as just before her 1st birthday. She's 2 now and her nickname is "monkey." Good luck! Hope yours turns head down and stays that way :)

God bless!

My middle one did that- she turned herself one night about 35 weeks. I was up ALL night cuz she kept wiggling and squirming and the next morning I could see what I thought was the baby's behind sticking out. I kept rubbing that baby bottom until I realized there were no legs coming off of it! It was the head. She stayed that way until 38 weeks and the doctor turned her-external version. I tried all the tricks: rocking, sitting in a warm tub with a bag of ice on her head- had not heard of the flashlight one! She was an 8 lb 9oz baby when she was born-5 days past her due date. But I have also heard of babies turning during labor- so I think there is a chance he can turn himself back- or the doctor coudl turn him. Good luck! (Oh! And that child who was always so active when she was inside me came out even more active. She was mobile at 4mos. You could put her in one room and she would roll to another room to get a toy. She never crawled. She walked at 8mos. She ran at 8mos and 1 week. We had to nail her dresser to the wall because she would pull it over on herself. She would come up to a set of drawers, look at them and then pull them out to make stairsteps before she was even walking. She is now a vicious soccer player, she surfs, jumps horses, and even made an unassisted triple play in softball when she was 6. You may have an athlete on the way! )

One of mine did that too. Doc did external version at week 37. Night before he was born, he tried to turn back (breech) again and got stuck sideways. I am not very big and it hurt. My neighbor, an OB nurse, came over and helped me. She nudged his little head end back down.

I felt terribly uncomfortable for hours afterwards...little did I know that at week 38, he was ready to rock our worlds and was starting to make his announcement.

This boy never stays still---and I guess while in the womb he was showing me that. He moved then constantly, and still does. He even spins like a mixer when he sleeps and just about strips the bed linens every night. But he is strong (!) and very fit, and the healthiest of all my boys.

Oh, you'd be amazed at what the little blighters can do! I was pregnant with twins four years ago and at 36 weeks twin b moved to a footling breech. I wondered how she found the room, but she did.

Is your doctor going to try an external version? Those can be successful, but you can try some things on your own that have worked for friends of mine (I am a gestational surrogate and have many friends who are pregnant!) One woman said she put an ice bag where the baby's head was and the baby moved because it didn't like the ice pack. Another woman opened her legs and placed a flashlight shining up between them. Apparently the baby can see the light (not sure about that one). If the baby is a footling breech (in other words has done a complete flip) you can try getting a plank, or use your ironing board. Place at an angle and lie head down on it for a few minutes. This might work at getting the baby to turn.

Praying the baby turns, or the OB can do a version so you can have a natural birth.

All 3 of mine didn't turn until during delivery or right before.

8 years ago, my son decided to turn breech-bottom down-at 37 weeks, too. A successful pregnancy after 4 miscarriages, I had every crazy thing happen that you don't want to happen...like questionable gestational diabetes, placenta previa until about week 33, among other things, but he was head-down and the placenta was out of the way enough to have a vaginal birth. Then one night 18 days before his due date, he was flipping around, doing somersaults all night long, until my water broke at 5:30am, and we headed to the hospital. The sonogram showed he was breech, just 2 days after being head-down at my office visit! So they walked me down the hall to have a C-section, and I was mad and sad. It was quickly discovered that my son, in all his flipping and turning, had tied not one, but TWO full knots in his umbilical cord, and it was wrapped around his neck, which is hardly every seen without some complications. They came around and showed me the knots in the cord, and we then realized what a blessing it was that my little boy had caused all that commotion, turned breech, and made my water break so he could get out quickly. If we had tried a vaginal breech birth, or if he had been turned, the pushing would have likely cut off his oxygen and been very dangerous for us both. My little boy was only 5'15"at birth, but he's been a bundle of healthy energy, and God's blessing to us for 8 years. And our 2nd blessing, a little girl 2 years later, was a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section), so I got to have my normal, painful (until the epidural) labor, and pushed her out in 22 minutes. Good luck with your breech baby boy, and even if a C-section is necessary, it might be for a good reason.

Mine were c-sections for breech. I do wish I'd known that you can flip them. I did for my last and he was head down until delivery (but another c-section for other reasons.)

If you are planning to have more children I would strongly recommend working on turning your baby. Drs are typically very fast and it is painful and can break your water. But there are some chiros and midwives who have a near 100% turn rate and are much more gentle. If there aren't any in your area, it's worth traveling. chris Duffy in Houston is one of the highly successful midwives.

S., 30 YO mom to 4 girls on Earth ages 2-6 and many blessings in Heaven, pregnant (?if not miscarried) and due in May

Even if your Dr is willing to do a vaginal delivery of a breech baby (most don't) having a vertex (head down) baby is easier to deliver with fewer risks.

I had the same thing happen to me at 37 weeks and my baby was breech sideways. I was not sure how this was possibly so late in pregnancy either. The dr discussed the possibility of a c-section. But at 38 weeks... he was back to normal and all was well. He's been on the move every since!! He is now 3!