Breech Birth

Is a breech birth something common? Are you diagnosed as having a baby in a breech position. Probably, it is too early to worry, if you are in the 28 week's gestation.

A friend of mine was panicked when the doctor said she is going to have a breech birth. It turned out that 25% of babies are like this by the 29 week's gestation. However, there are still 10 weeks to go. At that time there is plenty room in the uterus for the baby to move and it is stretching in all directions. Only 1 to 3 % of babies remain in breech position at term and will born in a breech birth.

If you now know that you expect to have a breech birth, that is your baby's head is at the top of the uterus, you can do a lot - external manipulation, use of gravity, acupuncture, shiatsu, homeopathy, herbs, visualization, and hypnotherapy.

If you your baby is in a breech position, search deep in yourself and try to find out why the baby is in this position. Listen to your body and baby; investigate your fears and habits. Try to understand how you unconsciously picture your birth. Make you informed about the childbirth options. Discuss your fears and hopes with a friend, your midwife or doctor and try to figure out inside what feels best. Often a breech birthis a sign of strangled unexpressed fear and confusion, a feeling of frustration and helplessness, which are illusions, because you truly are in control. You alone are the most important factor and fortuneteller of your birth. But even a breech birth can be natural. A frend of mine had a breech birth without any medication.

Still if the baby seems to like this position, you may suggest to it, that it is a good idea to turn, because it will help it a lot during the delivery. Babies normally turn themselves head down by 32 week's gestation. They have a stepping reflex which makes them walk inside of the uterus when the bottom of their foot is against a hard surface, such as contracted uterus. The Braxton-Hicks contractions provide such a surface to trigger baby's stepping reflex. One mom said that she experimented to put a hand against baby's foot to trigger the stepping reflex while she is trying various positions which enhance turning the baby. Do not be afraid of breech birth. It was considered perfectly normal for hundreds of time. Now, that birth is controlled mainly by the medical profession, a breech birth does not fit in the routine. This should not be a reason to consider it so unussual. Breech birth is natural for twins. There was a Russian couple which gave birth to twins at home and the second on was in a breech birth.

Positions to Prevent Breech Birth

What positions did she try? I will tell you in a while. Here are some precautions. The postures are best done on an empty stomach and when the baby is most active.

Slant Board Exercise

Raise the pelvis 9-12 inches (20-30 centimeter) above the head. If done 10 minutes twice a day for 2-3 weeks after 30 week's gestation, there is about 90- 96% success.

Gravity pushes the baby head into the top of the uterus, tucks it, and baby can then do a somersault to a vertex position. This is best done while you also visualize it and get in contact with the baby.

Other positions for preventing a breech birth are the knee-chest position, the all fours position, crawling, and lying down with several pillows under your buttocks to raise the pelvis.

Swimming is also a nice way to avoid breech birth.

Yoga postures for turning the baby

Half Shoulderstand -- Ardha Sarvangasana

Take a yoga mat, a good wall-to-wall carpet, and avoid slippery rugs.

1. Lie down on your back. 2. Place the arms at your side with the palms down. Optionally you can place your hands on your lower back for support. 3. Rest your elbows and lower arms on the floor. 4. Rock your knees up over your head while you raise your hips as far off the floor as possible.

Now your chest can be against your chin.

Your weight should be on your lower shoulders and back, not on your neck.

Tip: If a partner is with you, let him help you by bracing your hips and help maintain your balance while straightening your legs.

A helper should never exert force to change your position.

5. If you feel comfortable, bend your arms at the elbows and place your hands against the pelvic bones at the waist. In this way you can hold your weight.

6. To come down, slowly lower your legs

Timing: Breathe deeply and hold for at the posture for at least 5-10 breaths. You can remain in this position for up to five minutes. Doing this position twice a day for five minutes will help the baby turn.

Other benefits: promotes thyroid function, strengthens abdomen, improves blood circulation, induces relaxation

Tailor sitting
Cross-Legged or
Indian Style position

Sit cross-legged on the floor by bringing your feet close to your body while crossing the ankles.

Try to spend 10-15 minutes or as long as you are comfortable in this position 2-3 times a day. You may read, meditate, or relax.

To enhance the position, you can stretch further. 1. Put your soles together in front of you. 2. Try to touch your knees to the floor or keep them as close as possible to the floor. Do not force yourself in this position.

If you feel comfortable in this position, you can stretch a little more.

3. Grab your toes with both hands and pull them toward your chest as you lean forward.

This posture is really good to keep the baby in the optimal position for birth. You can continue doing it everyday until the baby is born.

Pelvic Tilt and Dromedary Droop

1. Kneel on all fours. Your head is under your shoulders. The knees are directly under your hips. The spine is neutral.

2. Inhale as you stick your head down and arch the back as high as possible like a cat. Gently tilt the pelvis forward as you arch and drop the hips towards the floor.

3. Exhale and slowly rock back in the other direction. Sway your back down as if you want to touch the ground with your stomach. Throw your head up and look at the ceiling. Pull in your abs and tilt your pelvis backward and up towards the ceiling.

This is one repetition which is at least 1-2 seconds. Repeat 20-25 times or as much as you feel comfortable at least 2 or 3 times a day.

You can safely continue this posture until the day the baby is born.

Knee-chest Exercise

Take caution doing this exercise 1. Kneel with your knees apart. 2. Place elbows and head on the floor. 3. Keep your back straight higher than the head

Stay in that position for a few minutes a 2-3 times a day.

Moxibustion

Moxibustion to encourage the baby to turn by itself

Moxibustion is a proven "do-it-yourself" technique with about 70% success rate.

Heat from moxa sticks applied to your little toe makes the baby turn by itself. These sticks are available from herbal or Chinese medicine vendors or acupuncturists. The moxa sticks are tightly rolled dried leaves of the mugwort plant. You will need only two of them, because they can be used multiple times. Besides, they are very cheap.

Sit on a chair and place each foot on a book with the little toe hanging over the edge. Place the sticks on two other books on your left and right next to the out side of your feet. The sticks should point just above the nails of your little toes. Light the sticks. They burn without flame with a pungent smell. The heat should be as strong as you can tolerate.

After a while the baby begins to move. It will need several hours to turn, so it is better to lie down after this procedure. If the baby does not turn, try several times.

This technique is best done between the 34 and 36 week of gestation.

External Cephalic Version

If the baby has not turned by the 39 week. Another option is the external cephalic version. It is practiced by doctors and best done in hospitals. The success of this technique depends on the experience and skill of the practitioner. There is a slight risk of cord entanglement or placenta separation from the baby. That’s why this procedure is applied in hospitals, where emergency cesarean can be performed.

Breech Birth Options

For breech position in the time of birth, Caesarean is considered the standard practice of delivery today, but this was not so 5 years ago. Before 2000 approximately 50% of breech birth was vaginal.

Until 1959 vaginal breech birth deliveries were the norm. In 1970, the vaginal deliveries of breech position babies were 86%. In 1986, they were 14% and in 2003 the vaginal delivery dropped to 12.7%. The decrease of vaginal delivery of breech babies is due to the lack of experienced obstetricians who can perform vaginal breech delivery. There will be even fewer in the future as there will be no one to teach the future generations of obstetricians.

One of the greatest reasons for the increase of cesarean is that doctors feel more comfortable and experienced with it. Research, based on the multicenter trail in 2004 on 923 children shows that there is no difference in infant death rates or neurodevelopment delay by age 2 years or maternal outcome.

The other reason for risks in vaginal delivery of breech babies is that the process of extraction starts before full dilation which may cause overt cord prolapse. If oxytocin is induced, the short periods between of non-physiological forceful contractions can result also in incompletely dilated cervix and cause entrapped head.

If you choose a vaginal birth of your breech baby, be sure that you are in tune with your body and baby within. You need an environment where you can relax and allow full dilation of the cervix. You need to trust the people present and yourself and follow the natural process. A vaginal delivery of breech babies will be safer if you labor without an epidural or an induction and you remain upright and mobile during labor and birth.

If you choose a cesarean, be informed about the whole process, risks and preventions. Cesarean requires more time to recover from the surgery afterwards, but this may be your option. Even for cesarean delivery it is best to wait until labor begins to before the surgery is performed. This eliminates the risks of prematurely and gives the baby the benefits of the labor contractions. Labor contractions are important for the final maturation of the baby's lungs in readiness for breathing on its own.

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