What it is
Breech means the baby is sitting bottom or feet first instead of head down. Many mothers hear it at a 32 to 36 week visit and go straight to searching ECV and Spinning Babies. At 28 weeks, about 1 in 4 babies are breech. At term it is 3 to 4 in 100. Most simply turn.
What's typical
If the baby is still breech at 36 weeks, the usual offer is an external cephalic version, ECV. A provider presses on the belly to turn the baby, in a hospital, with monitoring. It works about half the time. If the baby stays breech, most US hospitals plan a cesarean at 39 weeks. Vaginal breech birth needs a trained provider.
What's known
ACOG supports offering ECV to most mothers with a breech baby at term. Spinning Babies teaches positions such as the forward-leaning inversion; trials have not shown clear effect. Moxibustion, burning an herb near the little toe, is traditional Chinese medicine for breech, and a Cochrane review found it may help.
What helps
- Ask how the baby is lying at every visit from 32 weeks.
- Spend time on hands and knees, leaning over a ball, or in the breech tilt with hips raised. Low risk, and it is something to do.
- Swim, or float belly down in a pool. Mothers often report flips in water.
When to call someone
- Nowyour water breaks with a known breech baby. Get on hands and knees with hips up and call 911.
- Todayregular contractions with a known breech before your planned date.
- At your next visitquestions about ECV, vaginal breech, or where to find a provider who attends them.
Who helps
Tools: Birth Plan Generator · Birthworker Directory
Related
- Planning a cesareanGetting Ready for Birth
- Back labor and baby's positionGetting Ready for Birth
- When your water breaksGetting Ready for Birth
- Placenta previa and other placenta findingsPregnancy: Your Body
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Sources
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — Committee opinion on mode of term singleton breech delivery
- Spinning Babies — Breech baby parent information
- Cochrane — Cephalic version by moxibustion for breech presentation
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