Breech at 36 weeks

Becci - posted on 01/16/2010

Hi,

Just to reassure you. My son was breech at the 36 week appointment. They booked me in for an ECV at 38 weeks. When I turned up for the ECV he was scanned and had turned.

We went on to have a normal 55 min vaginal birth with no complications.

Don't panic, there is time.

Kristine - posted on 01/10/2010

Check out www.spinningbabies.com they have some great excercises on turning breach and posterior babies. Also, keep in mind that many babies have been delivered (naturally) in a breech position. It is more uncomfortable for mom, but as long as your caregiver is experience, does not pose a threat to baby. If your caregiver is not experienced in breech deliveries, and is already pushing for C-section at only 36 weeks (many babies flip on their own before 40 weeks) you may want to look into other options. Talk to your local midwives and family practicioners and see who has delivered breech babies. (OB-GYN's are training in surgery and therefore want to be able to use there "skills", they are also untrustworthy of a womans ability to birth normally and without interference). Hope this helps, but remember there are lots of excercises you can do in the next few weeks to get the baby to flip (I speak from personal experience).

Myra - posted on 01/10/2010

I am having a tricky baby that keeps turning. I'll be 36 weeks Tuesday (going to the maternal-fetal specialist weekly for the last month now...going again tomorrow). Today, she seems to be laying across (which is just great...). With my first pregnancy with twins, one was head-down, one was breech; they were pre-term @ 22 weeks. With my daughter, she was head-down (a perfect delivery), and with this one, she just turns every few days. It is becoming very painful for her to turn.

Yours can turn still...some babies keep everyone guessing until right before they are born. Don't commit yourself to either a breech birth or c-section as there is still time, but do know all your possibilities. I asked the maternal-fetal specialist last week if there was anything I could do to maybe help the baby turn, and turns out, there isn't anything effective enough to really tell women to do. The way my doc talked, pressure points or acupressure work the best, but doesn't work all the time, so don't count on it working...but it is definitely worth a try.

I had an epidural and catheter with my daughter and from my experience, if you have to have them, don't look when they come in to do it. I didn't see any of the stuff...turned my head and closed my eyes. They didn't hurt. They numbed my back before even putting in the epidural. When they put the epidural in, it triggered a contraction, so I felt that, and not the epidural being placed. With the catheter, the epidural had already been done, so there was no pain with it, either.

I know how you feel...the prospect of delivering a baby breech or having to have a c-section scares me, too. If you know the baby has not turned, and you even *think* you may be in labor, get to the hospital ASAP. Breech babies in the Frank position can be delivered before you are fully dilated because the two largest body parts aren't coming first. That means you may not have to push to deliver (especially if you are standing or sitting and gravity is able to assist the baby). I'm not saying that to scare you (when I read it, I had a sudden feeling of terror come over me because I haven't had a labor longer than 3 hours...leaving little time to think things over)...just so you know it could be a situation where time is not on your side.

Hard as it is, when you get there, if you can't have the labor and birth you want, put your trust in the doctor that they know what will work best given your circumstances.

Tara - posted on 01/09/2010

I'm almost 36 weeks in a few more days and my next appt is monday, i'm not sure if my baby is breech or not, i'm also concerned. Lately I have been having horrible pains in my ribs and I swore it was his head or butt. Is there any way you can tell if the baby is breech? I did some reading on breech babies and all, but I got different results, go to ask.com, I find alot of information on there. A friend of mine said her baby was breech one day and the next day the baby was head down, it continued to do circles in her belly so it is possible the baby may turn head down before time, hers eventually stayed head down. She said it lasted a few weeks..of it turning.

Molly - posted on 01/08/2010

No problem, I wanted to share this with others in the same position as well, so I'm glad you found it :) I agree; I keep telling myself that the baby is healthy and that's all that matters, but it is so hard to not let in those other bad feelings.

Bre - posted on 01/08/2010

I'm in the same position and terrified out of my mind. I'm sorry that I don't have any answers to offer you but I am really appreciative of you asking this question. If I get any answers or suggestions, I will definitely share them with you. Until then, try not to stress and remember that in the end whatever you have to go through is for your child and worth it (that's what I'm trying to do).

Bre - posted on 01/08/2010

I'm in the same position and terrified out of my mind. I'm sorry that I don't have any answers to offer you but I am really appreciative of you asking this question. If I get any answers or suggestions, I will definitely share them with you. Until then, try not to stress and remember that in the end whatever you have to go through is for your child and worth it (that's what I'm trying to do).