Breech Birth – Be Cautious

I am so happy to be able to lend a helping hand and some encouraging information to ladies who now find themselves in the same situation that I once found myself in – pregnant with a baby in a breech presentation!  I want to come alongside you and help you and cheer you on the best I can!  I hope that, by visiting this site, you have found some information that is valuable to you on this journey.

But, (you knew that was coming, didn’t you!) I would be horribly remiss if I did not kindly and lovingly tell you to be cautious as you travel down this road of breech birth.

There are far too many people from all walks of life that try to absolutely scare a woman half out of her mind with horror stories that they heard from this friend’s uncle’s cousin’s next-door-neighbor’s dog’s previous owner who delivered a breech baby naturally and it was awful.

I do not want to scare you or freak you out in any way.  There are risks in everything we do every day of our lives, from driving our car down the road to crossing the street.  We can’t live our lives in fear for the “just in case”.

Keep in mind, some of the horror stories are out there for a reason – they actually happened.  For some women, their breech birth did not go the way they planned and awful things happened.  I feel terrible for those women and I feel very thankful that I don’t have to call myself one of them.  Just remember, there are more risks involved with a breech birth than with a normal, vertex birth.

Are you having a hard time trying to make the right choice?

Do you yearn, even for just one split second, to be able to tell the future?

I experienced quite a lot of inner turmoil when I was pregnant with my breech baby.  I had opinions coming from every side and all I really wanted to do was make the right choice.  If I had an absolute promise from the doctor that a c-section would have guaranteed the best possible outcome for my baby – I would have had the c-section, regardless of what the cost was for me physically and emotionally.  That is just part of being a mom - you set aside yourself and make decisions based on the well-being of your children.  But, no one could give me that absolute promise, so I had to set up a framework within which to work or I would have driven myself, and my poor sweet husband, totally bonkers!

Here are the three guidelines that we followed and stuck to when the going got tough and the waters got murky:  (it has to be this simple when you are going through so many emotions!)

• Only Frank Breech Presentation. My baby was frank breech.  In our opinion, it seemed that this was the best possible breech position because it was the closest to the optimal delivery position.  If she indeed came out bottom first, her bottom was big enough to open up the birth canal in much the same way the head would have done, leaving enough room for her head to come out easily.  If she ever moved into a footling or transverse position, we were ready to proceed with the c-section.
• Natural Starting Point. I wanted this baby to come when she was good and ready.  I did not feel comfortable scheduling a c-section for a date that coincided best with the doctor’s schedule.  I wanted the delivery to coincide with my baby’s schedule!  If we did end up needing a c-section, I wanted contractions to start naturally and labor for a little while at the hospital before going in to the c-section.  It seemed that at least some of the hormones that a woman’s body produces would be transmitted to the baby and I would know that she was ready to be born.
• One Step At A Time. We knew that we couldn’t possibly know what every turn in the road would bring before this thing was over.  We made a commitment to proceed slowly and make each decision purposefully and fully informed.  If we didn’t have all the information, we took some time to research and put together the best choice given what we found.  Don’t make any fast decisions.  A birth plan will help you with that goal.

Beyond that, we worked as a team night and day to get this baby to turn.  We tried absolutely every technique in the book (outside of external version) and we tried those techniques day in and day out.  You must be consistent even if you’ve never been consistent with anything else in your life.

There were several times that I gave up hope and began to resign myself to a c-section.  My husband was my unfailing encouragement!  If he saw that I was losing heart, he gave me a pep talk and set up my homemade inversion table for me.  If you don’t have a husband, find a close friend or family member who will understand your guidelines and help you stick to them.

You must be comfortable with the choices that are being made.  Do not let someone bully you into a choice - and there are bullies on both sides of the issue.  In the end, you have to live with the consequences, be they good or bad.  If someone is really putting pressure on you, take a step back, ask to end the discussion for another day after you have had time to think a little more.  More than almost any other time in your life, you have to take care of yourself, physically and emotionally.

So, I say all that just to say, “Please be careful.”  Set up some rules or guidelines for yourself and proceed slowly and purposefully.  Then, you’ll know for sure that you did the best you possibly could for your little one!

Related Posts:

• Breech Baby Turning Techniques – Flower Essences
• Breech Baby Turning Techniques – Yoga
• Breech Baby Turning Techniques – Acupuncture and Moxa
• Welcome To Natural Health Tutoring!
• Breech Baby Turning Techniques – Cold, Light, or Music
• Breech Baby Turning Techniques – Swimming Pool

Tagged as: Breech Baby, caution