When Your Baby is in a Breech Position

Although vaginal breech birth is possible and generally safer than Cesarean section, it is preferable for safety reasons that the baby be born headfirst. Here are some things to try to encourage your baby to assume a vertex (head-down) position.

Burning mugwort-moxa sticks-outside of the little toe. Keep close enough to the skin to feel hot but not close enough to burn yourself.

Homeopathy-Use Pulsatilla 30c or 200c, one dose twice daily until your baby turns.

Have your partner or a friend speak to the baby through a toilet paper tube placed down by the cervix. Be relaxed, friendly and gently encouraging. A warm voice and loving words might make the baby want to hear more and get closer to the sound.

Breech tilt exercises-Lay on a board, one end on the floor and the other on a couch, or propped up by loots of pillows, head down and with your pelvis up at a 45 degree angle, for 10 to 15 minutes twice a day (or more often if you can) until the baby turns head down.

Visualization-See in your mind's eye your baby's heavy head slowly and gently surrendering to gravity and sinking down towards your cervix. Imagine that your baby has already changed position and is head down, ready to be born.

Talk to your baby-Tell her or him all about your situation and request that she/he change position. You could say how much more comfortable it might be to have his head cradled by your pelvis and going with gravity, how much safer you would feel with her head down, or anything else that comes to mind.

Talk to yourself! Sometimes a mother holds her baby close to her heart due to fears of birth or parenthood, feelings about safety of the world the baby will be born into, or other emotional reasons. Explore why you might feel a need for your baby to be breech.

Chiropractic adjustment-Some chiropractors are familiar with the Webster maneuver, which can encourage a breech baby to turn. Find one who knows this technique.

External version-If the above methods don't work, you may wish to try having your birth practitioner turn the baby manually to a cephalic presentation. This is accomplished by feeling or using ultrasound to determine the way it would be easiest for the baby to turn, then applying gentle pressure hand-over-hand. The relaxation of the mother is the key to the safety and efficacy of this method, so practice deep breathing and any relaxation techniques you know before, during, and after the procedure. Most practitioners will administer terbutaline-a drug that relaxes uterine muscle-to the mother, and this has its own set of risks. Version is more successful if performed before 37 weeks, but babies frequently return to the breech position. If done after this time, there is greater chance that the baby will not turn, but if he or she does, then is more likely to stay head-down. Unlike the above methods, there are some slight statistical risks associated with this procedure: placental abruption, where the placenta detaches from the uterine wall, cord accidents, maternal/fetal transfusion of blood, which is a problem if the woman is Rh negative. If you are Rh negative you may receive a shot of RhoGam after the procedure.

All of the above methods may be used together. When the baby turns, do lots of walking to help her/his head settle in your pelvis. Posture is important, so sit upright in straight-backed chairs or on a birth ball whenever possible until the birth.

If None of the Breech-Turning Methods Works

Vaginal breech birth is not only possible, it is desirable and statistically safer in many ways than cesarean birth. It can be difficult to find a doctor or certified nurse-midwife who will attend a vaginal breech, but they are out there! Some homebirth midwives, known as traditional, empirical or direct-entry midwives, are experienced with vaginal breech births and will attend them. Oftentimes medical personnel or family members scare women with stories or threats of harm. They don't mean to do this; their own fear or lack of experience gets in the way. Surround yourself with people who believe in the natural process of birth. Hire a doula if you can, and don't be afraid to change caregivers or hospitals at any time during pregnancy. Resist lying on your back for the birth. For safety reasons a standing position is best. Try a supported squat with your partner standing behind you, or kneeling with one knee up and one on the floor.

Some women become too frightened or feel too unsupported to attempt vaginal breech birth and opt for a cesarean, which most caregivers are willing to provide. Should this be the case for you, it is strongly advised that you go into labor on your own before surgery. Induced labor is often unsuccessful with an unripe cervix and an early baby. Natural labor is good for babies! It prepares the baby to be born and helps him or her withstand the stress of birth, and prevents prematurity. Some babies even turn head-down during labor.

Whatever you choose to do and whatever the results of your choices, remember that you did the best you could at the time. Your baby and your body have wisdom of their own, and thought it isn't always possible to know the reasons why some things happen, there are always reasons. Only you know what is best for you and your baby. If a particular choice just feels right or wrong, it may be-let your intuition be a guide. The best choices are made from love, not fear. So make yours from an open heart, and best wishes!