Turning a Breech Baby

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Permalink Reply by Sara on April 15, 2010 at 9:48pm

First remember that it is normal for a baby to be breech until about 34-36 weeks so don't worry just yet--baby may still turn on its own. But do go to spinningbabies.com, they have great info on positions and things you can do at home to encourage a baby to turn. I recommend Craniosacral Massage, done by a licensed massage therapist, along with Moxibustion. I had this done for a breech and he actually turned while she was working on me.

Good Luck.

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Permalink Reply by Rachel Hiser on April 16, 2010 at 3:28pm

Thanks Sara! Though I was tempted to be stressed about a breech baby, I decided to just relax. Any time I'm tempted to worry, I just remind myself that this is NORMAL! :)

I love the spinningbabies site! I started a couple of the positions last night and will keep those up.

I'll check into the massage and moxibustion. I'm always willing to try something to do with massage! lol.

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Permalink Reply by Eileen Colegrove on April 16, 2010 at 7:06am

I agree with Sara, I have turned as late as 37 weeks. I am 35 weeks now and she is still breech this time. Although I plan on a vaginal delivery even if breech I still hope she turns. Today I am picking up moxa sticks to do moxibustion at home. I have also heard that the Webster technique is quite successful. With me I have found that removing stress helps the baby turn. Another fun thing I have done is having my kids talk to the baby, we have a wombsong device that I place low near the pubic bone and the kids talk through a microphone to the baby. Of course you don't have to have a special device or kids, I have seen people use paper towel tubes to direct their voice or just rest their head down low on mom's belly and talk to the baby. I also just trust that the baby will do what she needs and turn when ready. Good luck, let us know what you try and how it works!

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Permalink Reply by Rachel Hiser on April 16, 2010 at 3:33pm

Thanks Eileen! It's good to hear first hand what has worked for other women. We plan on a vaginal home delivery too, even if she doesn't turn. I'll be meeting with our home birth midwife on Tuesday to discuss that in more detail.

Also, I've got an appointment with the chiropractor on Monday; we'll see how that goes! I suspect that it will really help. A couple nights ago I felt the baby moving in a weird way and I think she was trying to turn at that point. But, the tension in my lower back and abdomen may be keeping her from doing what she needs to do. The Webster technique should solve that problem.

Having the kids talk to the baby sounds like a lot of fun! Our 1st child isn't quite 3 yet, so I don't think he would "get it" if we encouraged him to talk to the baby. But, my husband talks to her all the time. :) We'll keep that up and have him talk to her lower near the pelvis.

Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Eileen Colegrove on April 27, 2010 at 6:48am

I just had to share this. I got my kids to start talking to the baby, my son who is almost 4 comes up now and kisses my belly and says baby (he is the one who is autistic and it is so neat). But now my 2 year old is copying him. Even though they may not understand it is still so cute and I get all teary everytime.

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Permalink Reply by Jeannine Fisk on April 19, 2010 at 1:52pm

That's so cute what your daughter said! I had one of my husband's grandkids over today and the four year old keeps telling me the he wish our son would just come out so he can see him. He also said that our baby is taking too long and needs to come out right now to play. I thought it was so cute!

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Permalink Reply by Cherylyn on April 16, 2010 at 5:31pm

There has been lots of good advice given already. I had a breech baby at home last year, and we didn't know he was breech until I was pushing. In that case there was no turning back. My midwife let me stay in the birth tub and just told me to push as much as I could and not to stop pushing. It helped that it was my 5th baby and I knew how to push really effectively, and he was out within about 10 minutes. He was perfectly healthy, but he did have a dislocated hip that resolved itself as he grew. The pediatrician had me bring him in for an extra checkup to watch his hip, and everything healed properly without any intervention.

It's interesting because we don't know when or how long he was breech. At my last prenatal checkup the midwife felt that the baby was resting in front of the cervix instead of above it, so she had me do the knees-chest position and alternate with walking. I did that a lot for a few days before he was born, and I was using imagery to "see" him getting into the right position in the right place. He was still breech, and I have no idea why. I just feel that things worked out just right for us, and a breech position doesn't automatically mean it's a complication.

If you want to read my breech birth story, it's here: http://mamasandbabies.blogspot.com/2009/07/home-water-birth-breech-...

It sounds like you're in good hands. I hope it all goes smoothly for you, whether your baby turns or not :)

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Permalink Reply by Cherylyn on April 16, 2010 at 6:22pm

My 4th child also had a dislocated hip, and she wasn't breech. I'm not sure why her hip was out, except that I pushed her out as fast as I could because I was impatient to be done. It was the experience with her hip healing on its own that put my mind at ease when my breech baby had the same problem. Neither of them needed to wear extra diapers or a brace, but I followed the pediatrician's recommendations for following up with extra checkups to make sure it got better. My husband is a massage therapist, and he did some craniosacral therapy on each of them to encourage the joint to go back into the proper position.

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Permalink Reply by Rachel Hiser on April 20, 2010 at 3:14pm

Cherylyn, I love your birth story! Thank you for taking the time to share your story. It is powerful and encouraging.

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Permalink Reply by Christella Williams on April 17, 2010 at 4:25am

Yes, I agree, there is still time for your baby to turn spontaneously. Here in London, UK we recommend alternative therapies such as Moxibustion and reflexology as well as the positioning techniques other members have advised. If these fail ECV by your obstetrician should be offered to you and performed between 36 and 37 weeks.
Good luck :)

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Permalink Reply by ATorrone on April 19, 2010 at 9:49am

Spinningbabies.com is great, and my acupuncturist said that there are techniques she uses to help flip them. She told me ahead of time in case I ended up needing her to do stuff, but my daughter turned on time. I would also say prenatal yoga is great for what you need; all of the poses are great for that! I really liked the Gaiam Baby Ready Yoga DVD. We have breeches running our family (my theory is that it's our short torsos) so I made sure to do the yoga at least three times a week and do the recommendations on spinningbabies. Good luck! Congrats!

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Permalink Reply by Rachel Hiser on April 20, 2010 at 3:15pm

I really like prenatal yoga. I'll have to check out the DVD you mentioned!

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