5 Ways to (Maybe) Turn a Breech Baby
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5 Ways to (Maybe) Turn a Breech Baby
by Sara Skiles
In the last trimester of pregnancy, babies make lots of new developments. They start to put on weight, learn how to open their eyes, and descend into a head-down position in your uterus...
except when they don't!
Approximately 3-5% of babies remain breech, or head-up, at full term.
Since it can be hard to find a doctor or midwife who is both skilled and willing to help you deliver a breech baby vaginally, for most parents this means that a planned vaginal birth may end up being a planned Cesarean birth.
If this sounds like something you may wish to avoid,
there are some easy ways to turn a breech baby that you can try.
Of course these are not guaranteed to magically work right away, but they just may encourage your baby to turn head-down (vertex). Some babies like to get really comfy in their head-up position and are resistant to turning, but it can't hurt to try out these five tips for turning breech babies!
1. Chiropractic care
A good chiropractor specializing in pregnancy would be able to use
which helps the pelvis function at its best and is known have high success rates of allowing malpositioned babies to turn. Watch this short
video of the Webster Technique
!
2. Moxibustion
What is moxibustion? It's a simple regimen from Traditional Chinese Medicine practices where heat is applied near acupressure points which may stimulate the baby to turn on his or her own. There have even been some
studies showing that moxibustion helps turn breech babies.
It is best done around the 35 week mark for the highest chance of success.
3. Visualization
Talking to your baby, visualizing them in the ideal position, and using hypnotherapy may sound funny, but there is actually some research on
visualization to turn a breech baby.
If nothing else, you know it's totally harmless and you can enjoy the
quality time connecting with your baby!
4. Stimulation
Now, these are just some fun things to do based on anecdotes and traditional lore,
but you might enjoy playing with your baby in utero!
You can try using the following to stimulate the baby to move around:
- Light - shining a flashlight on your lower abdomen
- Music - playing music for your baby in the direction you want him/her to turn toward
- Heat/Cold - using a warm or cool pack to encourage baby to turn away from the cold and toward the warm
5. Breech tilts
The Breech Tilt is a simple position for you to do, in which your legs are elevated “to get into the position you want for your baby – head down!” It may help encourage your baby to turn. Here are the full instructions for how to do the breech tilt.
Bonus #6: This one you'll need your doctor or midwife for!
ECV (External Cephalic Version)
How does an external cephalic version work? It is a procedure performed by your doctor or midwife, in which they place their hands on your abdomen and try to manually move the baby into the correct position. You should talk to your care provider about the benefits and risks of external cephalic version to turn a breech baby and see if it is a good choice for you.
Good luck and remember to:
- stay relaxed,
- keep open communication between you and your care provider about the steps you're taking,
- take care of yourself,
- not overly stress out over the baby's position, especially before 34 weeks of pregnancy!
Source: New feed