Have You Had Your OB Turn Breech Baby During Pregnancy?

Your options...

1. Wait and see, some babies turn even during labor and delivery but you would NOT want to be induced and you would under no circumstances want your water broken. Labor would need to happen naturally and NO EPIDURAL you need to be up and moving around to help baby move into position.

2. Look into all of the more natural ways to turn a baby. Find a Chiropractor that works on pregnant women and knows the Webster technique. Look into acupuncture. Visit www.spinningbabies.com , it's a website that shows you how to help turn your baby yourself, both before and during labor.

3. Do #1 & #2 & find an OB that does breech delivery just in case.

4. Try the version.

5. Just settle for the c-section and know that if you plan on having any more children they will have to be via c-section unless you are willing to fight like heck for a VBAC or are willing to have a home birth.

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My sister just delivered her daughter breech. They tried to turn her, and it didn't work. They gave my sister an epidural and tried the external inversion. She was at a special hospital in PA that, luckily, has doctors that specialize in breech delivery. You may want to ask your doctor if there is an OB in your area that does breech deliveries. She had to deliver in the operating room, just in case there were complications. Luckily, there weren't any. The baby came out foot first and about 5 pushes later, she was out! :) It is possible to deliver breech, but I would suggest a specialist.

Dr. Stephen Guy (OB in Vandalia, who catches babies at Miami Valley and possibly other places) was there (and incredibly supportive) when I had my wonderful breech baby girl in Dec. 2007. She was in frank breech position. I had tried chiropractic (with a wonderful chiropractor, April Dunnington, in Centerville) and massage, and all kinds of things (spinningbabies.com, etc.) and the babe did not turn. Dr. Guy tried a casual external version but she was not turning. He knew I wanted to do a natural birth. I also had a wonderful doula, Amy Chavez, through the whole thing.

I had a long labor at home, and went to the hospital pretty far along, and it was a long labor there, but I had the baby without medication and without surgery. It was really really wonderful. I had a great support team. I recommend talking to Dr. Guy.

Good luck!

My little peanut turned at 26 weeks but I was worried and did a lot of research because my hubby was breach and I did not want a c-section. Babies can flip at any time so just because your ob flips him/her doesn't mean they will stay. My chiropractor can acctually do it also. Mine fliped at 26 with out me even trying I was laying down in bed with my hips up on two pillows to help releave some of the pain in my back and she fliped soon after. I've heard you can put an ironing board on an angle between the couch and floor and lay on that which is easier than hanging off of the couch or bed with your legs in bed and you supporting all your weight on your arms. The books say to do this 2 times a day for 15 min or as long as you can stand it.

My youngest daughter was breech until she turned on her own at 38 weeks. My OB told me she was hesitant to try turning the baby and that most OB's "just don't do that anymore" because of the risks. They'd just rather do a C-section. I think you should let the baby turn on it's own if it's going to. Good luck in whatever you choose! :)

My youngest was head up until 4 days before he was born, and he was born 5 days after the due date. The doc kept bringing up turning him, but I kept putting off making a decision. my mom is a doc and she told me that it is very stressful on mom and baby, quite painful, and often results in an emergency c-section anyway. When she was pregnant with me, they tried turning me and she said it was one of the most painful experiences in her life,didn't work and they had to section her anyway, so I don't know how much of her advice was based on personal experience and how much on actual medical knowledge. I was just glad my son decided to turn at the last minute!

I have heard having the baby turned hurts really bad!! I am 36 pregnant now and my baby just turned so I would wait and see!!

Hi J., I am a L & D nurse, not sure of percentage, but I have seen babies flip in the week before delivery. It is definitely possible. It is totally a very reasonable thing to wait and see. Many times versions are successful and there are different exercises and positions that are helpful in changing baby's position! Good luck!

A.

Hi J. -- My little guy was head down the week before I delivered, but then turned around and was breech until about an hour or so before he emerged. While I was in labor the doctor checked and said he was breech. So I walked around a lot, did a ton of the cat/cow yoga position and by the time I was ready to push, he had moved around and was head down (he was in a posterior position though, so I experienced back labor, but as long as I was sitting on a birthing ball it was easily manageable). Good luck!

J.,

My first was breech and they tried to turn her at 36 weeks. It was pretty painful, and it didn't work. I ended up having a c-section at 39 weeks and it really isn't that bad :) I've had two other c-sections since. If I had it all to do over again, I would absolutely not try the version again. Good luck to you and baby!

I personally have not had a baby turned. My dear friend had her little girl breech this past January.
She discussed turning the baby with her OB. He said he learned early in the game that babies usually know what they are doing, there is a reason they haven't turned usually having to do with the position of the cord, or some other unknown reason.
It made sense to me, trust the baby.
They monitored the baby to make sure she wasn't a footling and with the support of her OB she delivered the baby at home, breech - with a midwife. She has a happy healthy and beautiful baby girl. I cannot remember what the reason was but when the baby was born they did a - "oh - that is why she wasn't turning" kind of thing.

I wish you much luck and hope your baby turns on her own with no worries on your part : )

C.

I was a nurse in L&D and here is my opinion....some docs really push about this and you know what you don't have to do it. For one, if you decide to do it I would wait until later..no there isn't as much room to do, but alot of times it ends up in an emergency c-section (very stressful on baby) and you don't want to deliver a premature baby. No matter what the doc says that everything would be fine, well that's him being impatient and you are never guarenteed that everything will be fine with a premie. My twins were born at 27 weeks, had there fair share of complications in hospital but are fine now, however I have seen others born at 34-36 weeks and have problems, not worth it to me. Also, it is painful, they try to tell you it's "uncomfortable" but all the ladies I watched to it said it hurt.

Also, he probably won't do a breech delivery (alot of OB's won't) which would mean having a c/s. Well, I know others who had them and said they hated it, but I had one as well as numerous friends and it's not that bad. Goodluck

My baby still was transverse (sideways) at week 34 and he ended up turning just in time. From around week 32 my chiropractor did adjustments on my hips that helped "encourage" the baby to turn, and it worked. It's a lot safer and less painful than trying to push the baby into place. Good luck!

My second child turned to transverse breech a few days before she was due. I was scheduled for a c-section a week later. No other options were offered. The night before the surgery she turned to a true breech. When discussed with my family physician and a new OB/GYN, I'd discovered there were other options available that I could've tried to turn a breech baby. One option was accupuncture and another was to see a chiropractor for an adjustment. Discuss any procedure with your OB/GYN before doing anything but at least you know there are other options out there! I never had need to use either with my third pregnancy but I would've if it had been necessary. Good luck!

chiropractic and accupuncture both have less painful methods of turning babies, with more success than the medical procedure.

also, it's easier for baby to turn NOW, when there is much more room in there, rather than wait till 18 weeks and it's so cramped... i don't understand why the docs wait so long... the external version is painful and doesn't work most of the time because the baby is just too big. so they just wheel you straight to the operating room...

spend time every day on your hands and knees, or leaning over a yoga ball. it can help the baby turn.

good luck, and i hope the baby turns for you!

I very adamantly say no for three reasons.

1. I have a very sad personal (family) story that i will share with you if you want where a traverse was attempted with catastrophic circumstances. I will send you a personal email if you are interested.

2. My husband, a physician, says they are painful and don't always work. Seems like a big chance.

2. Your baby may turn by itself. So many babies are breech until 36-38 weeks, like your first, so why not wait and see.

Hope this helps.

I agree with Michelle S. I am an RN, Student Nurse Midwife, and momma to 4 - # 2 was breech and we tried all kinds of 'home remedy' stuff to no avail - she was a C/section. #3&4 were homebirth vbacs.
I had chiropractic with #3 & #4. #4 changed positions 10 times (recorded/confirmed between Chiro, OB & Midwife) at different stages from 32-38 weeks...he finally stayed head down ~38 weeks.
Webster Technique is what you are looking for, I also had acupuncture (needles in the outer corners of my pinky toes :-)...did this 1-3 times a week whenever he was head up until he stayed head down.
Choice is yours, and it's your decision: to find a chiro on your own (32-36 weeks is the best timing for that), waiting to 36-38 weeks for external version - work on relaxation and self hypnosis...it is uncomfortable, you've had a baby before so you could try for a vaginal breech birth (if you can find an OB with experience in this that is willing to let you try) or plan for a cesarean. Many women prefer the 'wait and see' if a cesarean is not a big problem for them. For moms that really prefer to deliver vaginally, it's a good idea to try all your options.
As a mom, I like to browse through www.gentlebirth.org for ideas, then google them to look for more information. You can go to you OB or childbirth educator for more information and attempt to find evidence. The problem that many moms run into is rather than evidence, you get their personal opinions..."Can you show me that?" or "Where would I find that information" tends to be non-confrontational ways to get where that is coming from rather than "Why?" :-).
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I don't know if I'd do it. I've heard it hurts and there is a risk of getting a knot in the cord. Have you looked in to a chiropractor? Call around for someone who has experience with breech turns. There is no risk and it doesn't hurt, they just adjust you in ways that give the baby room to turn and manipulate your abdomen to encourage the baby to turn. Go to spinningbabies.com and do what it says on there. I don't know why women are so afraid of birthing breech babies. OBs make it seem like it's a huge risk and it isn't. Midwives do it all the time without fatalities. It's at least worth a try before scheduling a section. Also, keep in mind that babies can turn at any point, even in labor, so if you wait until you are in labor and give the contractions a chance to turn the baby, then if you get to a point where you've been in labor for a while and the baby hasn't turned and you don't trust your body, then you could always go for the section at that point.
PM me if you'd like more info on the safety or breech birth.

***Edit for more info...I just saw that you are in Carmel, so I thought I'd add a couple things.
First, I know of only one OB in the area who has been trained to attend breech birth, Dr. Soper. She's Amazing.
Second, there are quite a few homebirth midwives who will attend breech births.
Third, ask around, I know there are chiros who can help, if you PM me, I might be able to come up with some names for you. Are you on www.indymoms.com? There are lots of helpful women on there who can answer your questions about turning the baby and breech birth.
Fourth, if you schedule a section, there are only a handful of OBs who will "let you" VBAC next time. It's a fight with most and there are only a couple who will do EVERYTHING possible to help you be successful, the rest just say "yeah, we can try" and then after you've been in labor for 12 hours they will claim you are a "failure to progress" and cut you open. It's really something you have to be aware of because so many women say "it's fine, I'll have the section this time and just VBAC the next one" and in Indianapolis, it just isn't that easy. For such a big town, we have very few birth options.
Fifth, there are 2 birth centers you could switch to that will help you birth a breech if you don't want to do it at home and can't find a doctor who will do it.

Good Luck!

I didn't have mine turned, but I remember having to lean on the counter and let my belly hang while swaying my hips. I don't remember how often I was supposed to do it, but it really helped with back pain and the baby did turn. Google turning baby in womb for great advice on positions to try. I would wait a few more weeks before considering external version.