by Siné Stabosz, Birth Center Mama
“What if I risk out?” has always been a question in the back of my mind during each of my pregnancies. During 3 of my pregnancies, it has become a legitimate question as my babies have a lovely habit of hanging out breech in utero—a situation that is either a running joke or a sob story given my frame of mind at any given moment. When I have found myself in the situation the midwives at The Birth Center have been excellent at providing me with the information I have needed to make decisions as to how to go about getting the baby to flip to a vertex (head down) position. They understand that a C-section is not what I would desire for a birth experience if at all avoidable. With breech babies, in many cases, you can try things to help to get the baby moving.
So what are some of my options for getting this baby to flip? (Always check with your healthcare provider first!)
- Head over to spinningbabies.com and start on some of the exercises and positions listed there. The two that I have found most helpful for me are the forward leaning inversions and lying upside down on an ironing board.
- Seek out chiropractic care. The Birth Center has several chiropractors that they can recommend who have training in working with pregnant women and turning breech babies. Dr. Tim Ciolkosz and Dr. Andrea Moses over at Spinal Health and Wellness have successfully helped me to get all 3 of my breech babies to turn head down. Bonus: they are a TBC family!
- Put a cold pack or a bag of frozen veggies at the top of your uterus. Babies, unsurprisingly, do not like the cold on their heads so this practice encourages them to move away from the cold and hopefully flip.
- Bicycling your legs while lying on your back. This was an exercise given to me by a certified professional midwife that I am acquainted with. I have never read about it or heard it elsewhere, but she advised that it can help open up the pelvis. Every time I have tried this with one of my breech babies it has definitely encouraged movement so I do think it is worth a try even if the evidence for it is only anecdotal.
- External Cephalic Version: This is a procedure in which the baby is manually turned from the outside. A version is not a procedure that the midwives at The Birth Center do, but they do have OBs that they can set you up with who will do a version for TBC clients who are good candidates for the procedure.
Please note: The above list is not an exhaustive one. If your baby is breech, the midwives at The Birth Center will be able to provide you with more extensive resources than provided here.