Guest Post - "A Breech Birth at Home"

I remember the first time I even heard about breach births. It was in one of my high school textbooks and it sounded scary. A couple years later I watched a documentary about “freebirthing.” One woman gave birth to her baby in the bath tub completely on her own, and the baby was breach. The baby was fine though. I remember thinking, “Is she crazy?! Her baby could have died!” Fast forward many years later... I’m already a mama of one precious boy, born in a hospital but with no drugs whatsoever. I’m pregnant with a baby girl and have decided that since I had such an easy time with my first labor that I’m going to go for a home birth. It’s funny how time and research can change your mind about anything. I never imagined as a teenager that I would be one of those women giving birth at home.

 As the time to give birth came closer and closer I was just excited as can be. All my midwife appointments were great, the pregnancy was progressing normally, and I was confident that everything would turn out just fine. Well, it did turn out fine, but not without one big surprise.

 My contractions started on a Monday morning and two hours later I was already in the birthing tub getting ready to push. I was in intense pain. With all my might I pushed that baby out and felt some relief. I looked down into the water and all I saw was legs and a body. Her head was still inside of me. I didn’t know what to think. There had never been any indication throughout my pregnancy that she was breach. “Is she stuck?!” were the only words I could manage to spit out. “No, push,” my midwife told me. So I did. And out she popped. I held my baby girl in my arms. She was perfect. I couldn’t believe she was breach. I couldn’t believe she had come out with such ease. I couldn’t believe this was our story and how blessed we were.

 I used to be afraid of breech birth, but through my own personal experience I learned that it doesn’t have to be scary. Thankfully my midwife knew what she was doing (she had recently completed some training on breach birthing) and didn’t panic. My home birth was the most amazing experience and it taught me that women are incredible and capable of so much.

Kristel is a stay-at-home wife (to Alex) and mom (to Liam and Isabel). She lives in Miami, FL and blogs about faith, family, and fun over at Glowing Light. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Check out more information on breech babies in this post, and read about Felicia's cesarean due to breech here. I hope this series has helped provide some insight into breech presentation and shown that the right environment and a supportive care provider can make the difference in getting the birth you want and deserve!

Guest Post - "Cesarean SOLELY Due to Breech"

 In 2009, I was pregnant with my first daughter. It was a very uneventful pregnancy even though I gained about 50lbs during the 9 months making me 300lbs at the time of birth. She was head down from somewhere around 35 weeks till 42 and I was starting to dilate and efface. I went in to my 42 week OB appointment at which they did a U/S to check on the baby. Turned out she was had flipped to breech at 42 weeks.

It all happened so fast in the office, after they found out she was breech they wouldn't check me at all because suddenly now my only option was a c-section. The OB brought us into his office to talk about it and told me I was going to have a c-section because I was 42 weeks and she was breech, if she hadn't been breech they would have let me be. I started crying right there, I hadn't ever thought I would be having a c-section... I had a textbook perfect pregnancy and she had been head down!

I asked if there was anything we could do and I was told no. He told me to stop crying because I was crying for no reason at all but that didn't help, I knew this was a major surgery. I remember my husband commenting after we got out of there that he wanted to punch the OB because of how he was acting. He was very rude and made me feel stupid for crying when they told me I had to have a major abdominal surgery I had not been expecting. I cried off and on for the next two days, I was scared because I'd never had a surgery in my life and now I had to have this one. I had been looking forward to going into labor so I could meet my sweet little girl but now I was dreading giving birth.

When I showed up for the c-section they put me on monitors, checked that she was still breech and told me I was having contractions I just couldn't feel them yet. I was crying a little bit when she was born, I hadn't wanted it this way but she was healthy and I was going to be ok so I thought maybe that was all that mattered right then. I didn't find out about ECV (external cephalic version), spinningbabies.com or that I could have just not gone to the c-section because they can not do anything without your consent until after my surgery. I was so angry when I found out there had indeed been stuff I could have tried to turn her back to breech and avoided that surgery. I was angry that I never got to experience labor, I was angry at myself for having not switched OBs like I had thought about earlier in the pregnancy and vowed to never let myself be talked into another c-section.

I had learned that I couldn't just rely on the word of the people I was seeing, I had to research for myself these things and stand up for what I wanted so in 2013 I gave birth again this time vaginally because I had this previous experience my next one went exactly how I wanted. I didn't let anyone stand in my way, even went so far as not having a OB from 26weeks to 34weeks because the first OB tried to schedule me for a c-section at 40+3 days and I knew because of my older daughter that I likely wouldn't be going into labor till 42 weeks. I did what I had to to find someone who would support me properly so now I try to help other women out there by giving them the knowledge I didn't have during my first pregnancy to prevent them from having unnecessary c-sections.

Felicia is a mother of two little girls living in the Midwest.

Breech Presentation...What? Why? How?

A baby in "breech" position is basically considered an automatic cesarean, at least in the United States. Many doctors are no longer trained in breech deliveries, and so the immediate conclusion that they come to is that mom will need major abdominal surgery due to their lack of training. It is what it is, right?

Wrong.


What is Breech?

• Frank Breech, which tends to be the most favorable. This is when baby’s bottom presents first and feet are by the head.
• Footling Breech is when baby has one or both feet presenting first.
• Complete Breech is when your baby is comfy sitting cross legged.

Why won’t my doctor do a vaginal breech birth?
This could be due to a variety of reasons:

• They may not have a lot of experience attending vaginal breech births.
• May not feel comfortable attending vaginal breech births.
  
• May have had a bad experience in the past.
  
• There may not be suitable back-up at the hospital where they practice (on call anesthetists, pediatricians, experienced midwives, 24 hour operating room staff).
  
• They may not believe in vaginal breech birth.
  
• Defensive practice in current childbirth culture means that doctors are more likely to err on the side of intervention (cesarean section) rather than non-intervention (vaginal birth).
  
• It is easier for a doctor to perform a cesarean section than a skilled vaginal breech birth.
  
• Cesarean is an accepted birth method in today’s culture.

How should I approach my child's breech position?
*Do nothing.
Depending how many weeks pregnant you are, you may decide just to wait for your baby to turn. The majority of babies turn spontaneously pre-term.

*Non-medical turning
Alternatively, there are various non-medical turning techniques you can try.  You can read more on Spinning Babies. 
 
*Look for a care-provider who will support you in whatever option you choose
Many maternity care-providers do not support vaginal breech birth and will advise a planned cesarean section at 38 or 39 weeks if your baby does not turn.  This is partly because most obstetricians and midwives do not possess skills in vaginal breech birth and so they are unable to offer this option safely. However, depending on various maternal and fetal factors, vaginal breech birth is not necessarily any riskier than cesarean section, particularly with the support of an experienced attendant. 

Before 37 weeks of pregnancy, breech presentation is much more common - about 20% of babies at 28 weeks are breech, and 15% at 32 weeks. Before term, which is defined as 37 weeks, it doesn't matter if the baby is breech, as there is always a good chance that she will turn spontaneously. Some babies do turn by themselves after this time, but it is much less likely, and some preparations should be made to decide how delivery is going to take place. About 10% to 15% of breech babies are discovered for the first time late in labor!


Very soon, I will post two guest birth stories. One of these stories is from Felicia, who had a cookie-cutter, non-complicated pregnancy but was forced into cesarean delivery solely due to a breech presentation. The second is from Kristel, whose daughter came out booty-first at home in the water. These ladies are examples of how having supportive care providers can make the difference between the birth experience you want and the experience that is forced upon you.

Further Reading:
Spinning Babies 
The Webster Technique
Breech Decision Making Sheet

UPDATE: Please click HERE for the Breech Babies tab, so you can read the birth stories mentioned above and any other resources on this site regarding breech babies.



Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4