[NP-Clinical] Breech ideas?? what’s the Turn Around Time? Pun intended as usual! Bottom's Up!!!

[Priscilla Merrill]

Here’s a snippet from my niece.  Any suggestions to turn a breech baby that
you all could suggest?

Thanks , Priscilla

 

Hi everyone,

thought I'd let you know how things are here -- generally quite good. The
good news about the baby is that it seems quite healthy in there with its
strong heartbeat and lots of activity. The bad news, though, is its
presentation: still breech with its head up under my ribs and feet down.
I've been trying different things (acupuncture, osteotherapy, holding
various positions to disengage it from my pelvis, swimming and more) but it
remains unconvinced and has even moved its head from the right side where it
had been to up under my ribs. I went to the doctor today and we scheduled a
manual version (trying to push it around from the outside) for next Friday,
Sept 7th, when I'll be at 37 weeks --term, officially. Unfortunately the
success rate for that is only around 5% for a first pregnancy, and the
chances of it turning by itself within the next week don't look so hot
either. So I'm trying to get my head around the very probable possibility of
having to schedule a c-section next Friday after the version attempt. The
section would be sometime between week 38 and 40, and definitely a pretty
disappointing way for the birth to happen. I really put a lot of effort into
having a natural birth (finding the right hospital, getting a doula etc).
But because of the presentation with the legs down (and also its head tilted
back), it would not be the kind of breech they would allow to happen
vaginally, apparently not even in countries like France and Germany where
they regularly perform vaginal breech births. Also, after the 37th week or
so, it becomes very unlikely that the baby will turn on its own because it
gets too big and its bum engages too much with the pelvis. And that being
the case, it seems wiser to have a scheduled section for medical personel to
deal with during waking hours when they know what's coming at them rather
than wait for spontaneous labour (at god knows whatever hour), hope for a
turn, and then have to stop the labour with drugs and do an emergency
section. 

I'll still keep up the coaxing techniques for the next week and have decided
to splurge on more osteo and acupuncture since it apparently ups the success
rate of the version. I do think there's still some hope of it turning ---
after all, according to probability  alone, the baby shouldn't be in the
position it's in in the first place! But maybe it has a good reason for
being the way it is so who knows. We're trying to see the things we're doing
to turn it not as trying to force it but as offers we're making to the baby
that he/she can accept or reject. And a c-section certainly won't be the end
of the world if it comes to that. 

Anyway, hope I didn't TMI you all. Thinking of you and hoping you all are
well! Best greetings from me, Leo and our little Buddha-sitting child,




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