How Our Breech Baby Flipped at 37 Weeks
But first, a little background…
I am still in shock to be sharing this blog post for two reasons. One being that we were told for weeks and weeks that baby was head down, until a 36 week ultrasound that revealed something quite different. Secondly, that I am able to share the outcome that at 37 weeks and 3 days our baby decided to flip. This happens spontaneously in such a small percentage of people (after 37 weeks) that I honestly can’t even find a statistic for it despite all my searching. When we discovered our baby had, I was dumbfounded and asked the doctors if they were joking… more on this later (or scroll to the bottom if you want to skip to our full story)!
There are endless options for what to do when you find out that you have a breech baby, so before I dive into our story, lets chat about some of the basic 411. All of the statistics* that I share in this blog post come from studies cited via Evidence Based Birth- which is my go to resource for the facts when it comes to pregnancy. First and foremost, what is a “breech baby?” Babies are typically and most easily/safely born head first since the head is the largest part of the body. When a baby is breech (only 3.9%* are at term), he or she is head up in the womb and has not turned into this optimal positioning for a vaginal birth. The implications are that most practitioners will not deliver a breech baby vaginally, resulting in parents having to choose between finding one who will attempt this or scheduling a C-section in the event that baby remains in this position. Of the 3.9%* babies that are breech at term, only 6.8%* end up being born vaginally (the other 93.2%* are born via C-section).
Thankfully our amazing OB is totally on board with our holistic approach to pregnancy and birth. She was supportive in us trying everything we believed could work to naturally help baby flip, then discussed the option of having a medical procedure that could flip the baby. Andrew and I decided to keep the news of baby being breech and decisions/plan that followed between us while we figured it out. This helped us minimize stress and do what felt right intuitively. I will detail ALL of the options we explored below and what I finally think worked for us!
All of the things…
When I say that we did “all of the things,” during that week (36 and a half to 37 and a half weeks) I really mean it! You guys know I love to explore my options and approach health situations holistically, so this is kind of my MO. That being said, I am not suggesting that this is what everyone should do. We are all different and it may stress someone out to try so many things, so if you are in this situation, find what feels right for you. My hope is that by hearing about these options, you can make your own informed decision. Also, please note that I am not a medical professional and you should always consult your care providers in making medical decisions.
Here is what my plan was comprised of (keep reading for my in depth experience of each!):
Traditional Chinese Medicine (Acupuncture/Moxibustion)
Chiropractic Care (The Webster Method)
Spinning Babies/Physical Exercise
Arvigo Therapy (Mayan Abdominal Massage)
Cranio Sacral Therapy
Hypnosis
Mental/Spiritual Healing
ECV (External Cephalic Version- hospital procedure)
Want daily real mom life wellness inspo? Follow @HeleneKusman
My twice daily moxibustion, a traditional Chinese medicine approach where mugwort is burned at the pinky toe
Traditional Chinese Medicine (Acupuncture/Moxibustion)
I went to receive acupuncture on the points associated with helping flip a breech baby twice during that week. I was lucky that this acupuncturist has a policy where he will charge a reduced rates so that moms can come as many times as they want while trying to flip a baby or induce birth (inquire about this and try to negotiate/find one who will if you are in this position!). He kept me there for about an hour and would come in periodically to stimulate the points on my feet.
He also gave me mugwort so that I could perform moxibustion twice a day. I had moxibustion done as a TCM fertility treatment around the same time we conceived, so I was excited and believed that it could help. This consisted of a twice daily ritual where I would have Andrew burn the mugwort stick at my pinky toe on each side until it hurt 6 times (the number was given to me my the acupuncturist based on baby’s energy). After each time, he would do acupressure by quickly squeezing the point before proceeding to the next round. I was so grateful for his open mind and willingness to do this. You can also try to do it to yourself, but its hard to reach your toes at this point in pregnancy!
Chiropractic Care (The Webster Method)
I had already been receiving weekly chiropractic care beginning in the third trimester, so I continued to go during this time. I suggest going to a chiropractor that is an expert at working with pregnant women and is familiar with the Webster Technique, which is used to help flip babies. When I went that day, my back probably cracked more than I’ve ever heard it! I also laid down with something called a peanut between my legs for 10 minutes which allows me to lay in the optimal hip alignment position. This visit is one of the two things that I think REALLY made a huge difference. The day I believe the baby flipped it was right after chiropractic care and during/after the next treatment that I discuss.
Arvigo Therapy (Maya Abdominal Massage)
This is another treatment that I had already been receiving every 1-2 months during pregnancy and highly recommend! It is an abdominal massage that helps align all the organs, including the uterus, to the optimal position. It is used not only during pregnancy, but also for fertility, digestion and more. I got this done twice that week. I believe that the baby moved into at least the transverse position (sideways instead of head up) during the massage, but may have flipped all the way. Everything was nice and loose after my chiropractic care that day and the massage really seems to gently encourage baby to keep swimming around in there until finally getting more comfortable! Things definitely felt different after. The practitioner (who has a background in midwifery) thought baby felt head down but I didn’t really believe it and still felt like maybe he/she was transverse- guess we’ll never know for sure!
Spinning Babies/Physical Exercise
Doing inversions is a great way to get baby up, away from being far down in the pelvis. I had already been doing 3 of the spinning babies exercises nightly (realistically 4ish nights/week) throughout the third trimester. This was a general best practice recommended by my doula. I continued these and did them more frequently that week in addition to doing more inversions both in the pool and via other inverted yoga poses! The day that I believe baby flipped, I started the day with a private yoga lesson where I did supported inversions using the wall and props for about an hour! I would suggest only doing yoga inversions with support and a spot during this point of pregnancy. I would also ONLY work with a yoga teacher or go to a yoga class with knowledge of prenatal yoga and how to flip babies because there are a lot of poses you want to AVOID as well.
CranioSacral Therapy
My usual acupuncturist incorporates CST during may regular treatments, but was out of town during this week! She suggested I go to another CST practitioner for a treatment, which was explained to me as a treatment that releases tiny tensions built up deep within the body. This is done through very gentle touch, so it is considered more of an energy type body work. The practitioner explained each part of my body that had tension and what it might be connected to. Interestingly, the area she felt as being the most tense was the same area that really seemed to crack a lot and open up the next day when I went to the chiropractor, so I believe that she may have started to work through something that then needed a little extra subsequent release.
Hypnosis
The one birth course I took during pregnancy is HypnoBirthing, which teaches you how to breathe and meditate through labor and birth using hypnosis techniques. This is not what may come to mind as someone who is unconscious with their eyes crossed! This type of hypnosis is one where you are in complete control but are using your mind to put your body into a completely relaxed and in touch state. I had read in the book that there was a particularly effective hypnosis treatment done on women with breech babies. I called the teacher to see if she could share the resource and to my surprise she offered to come over and personally guide me through it. I did this once that week, but also downloaded the HypnoBabies breech baby hypnosis which I did 2-3 times as well.
A “spiritual bath” with some visualization mantra cards from the morning of the scheduled procedure
Mental/Spiritual Healing
Because I have no risk factors or physical causes associated with babies being breech, I came to the conclusion that there may be some metaphysical causes and mental/spiritual healing that needed to take place. This is part of the HypnoBirthing philiopsphy- that there may be a fear around birth that you are holding onto preventing baby from feeling like it is safe and time to come, thus not flipping yet. While this may seem “out there,” you can also view it from a more medical/physical perspective that if the body is in fear or “fight or flight mode,” it would not feel like it is safe to birth a baby and may not show physical signs of being ready.
So what did I do? As part of the HypnoBirthing Exercise we did a “fear release” where I discussed my fears, not around birthing, but around postpartum with my teacher. I then did a meditation in the hypnosis where I imaged them being drawn out and away from me. I also went to my regular therapy session that week where I do EMDR and did some around my postpartum fears as well. I will write a whole blog post about my experience with EMDR another time so just look it up if you’re curious for now.
The morning of the procedure I describe below, I created and took a “spiritual bath.” I went on a walk and collected plants that represented feminine, birth and softening/opening to me. I put them in a special bowl from my grandma filled with water and sprayed them with an essential oil/reiki blessed/herb spray that I have. I then splashed the water on my arms, face and belly. This served to get me relaxed and feeling confident, calm and okay with whatever unfolded.
Additionally, I journaled about it and wrote a letter to baby. The letter explained why it is important to turn and also gave baby my unconditional love and trust that if there is some reason he/she is head up and needs to remain that way it is okay and to disregard all of this. I think that is important to note because many babies are breech due to life-threatening circumstances so if your baby doesn’t flip before birth, trust that it is meant to be and okay.
ECV (External Cephalic Version- hospital procedure)
Okay now onto the practice with the most statistical evidence to support its effectiveness, but also the riskiest! This is the procedure that our doctor suggested we try and has a 33%* chance of working for first time moms with breech babies. Basically, two doctors grab the baby from the outside of your body and attempt to maneuver him/her into the head down position. The risks are that baby can become distressed, the placenta or cord could become detached and would call for an immediate emergency C-section.
This was where we had a big decision. After talking to our doula we realized that if we were to schedule a C-section, we could have a better chance of a “gentle cesarian” where we could be likely to have skin to skin, immediate nursing, etc. The ECV could work, but it could also cause us to have to have an emergency C-section which was something we had to face. I happened to have almost all of the factors that make you more likely for a successful Version (my amniotic fluid, size of baby and position of uterus), so we decided it seemed like our odds could be good and it was worth the risk. We scheduled it for a week after the ultrasound where we found out baby was breech, based on our doctor’s recommendation.
Visualization was a powerful tool in staying positive and calm during this time
Our Story….
We discovered in our first ultrasound that the umbilical cord was to the side of the placenta, so our doctor wanted to monitor baby with more ultrasounds than usual. She was comfortable with us basically doing one more than usual towards the end of our pregnancy to make sure everything was okay before birth. We went for that ultrasound at 36 weeks, 2 days and baby was healthy…. however the ultrasound tech had some other news. What everyone had told me felt like the “bony butt” was actually the head! Our baby was breech… something I had heard a lot about from my pregnancy books, podcasts, etc. Because of having this knowledge, I knew exactly what that meant and also what our options were.
Our doctor is very factual and to the point, yet open and non-judgmental. She presented us with numbers about breech babies, what she usually recommends and details about the ECV- then told us to take our time making a decision. I already knew that I definitely wanted to attempt at ECV. Andrew was on board and we left the office with one scheduled in the hospital for the following week.
Immediately after, I proceeded to do all of the things that I detailed above until the procedure was scheduled. The odds of spontaneous flip at this point were low, but I felt it was worth trying everything even just to know I had done everything I could. Sometimes I think that can be enough of a benefit in and of itself with alternative treatments…. it can help with peace of mind, which should never be underestimated when it comes to full mind/body/spirit wellness.
As I mentioned, I felt like baby was in a different position beginning the afternoon before we were scheduled to go to the hospital. If anything, I thought he/she was transverse, but kept trying to visualize a head down baby and the picture I had conjured during my hypnosis session of the doctor saying- “baby is head down, you can go home now! see you when you go into labor!” In my vision, we would leave and go to lunch at one of our favorite cafes, looking forward to a later, spontaneous vaginal birth.
I also continued to be realistic, which helped the anxious side of me cope. We had our back up birth plan with our doula and my hospital bags packed (though we left them at home out of superstition!). We got to the hospital at 10 and checked into labor and delivery. Around 10:30 they brought me back and hooked me up to an IV, monitors to listen to baby’s heartbeat, my pulse, monitor for contractions, etc. As much as I hate IVs, I was happy to have one because I felt super dehydrated from not being able to eat or drink even water since the night before. The nurse said that based on where the heartbeat was coming from, baby was still head up. I was disappointed, but still really hopefully that the procedure would work.
An anesthesiologist was also present and came to speak to me about getting an epidural. I knew my doctor did not plan to use one for this procedure and told him that I would wait for my doctor to arrive. I also tried to keep an open mind and shift my perspective since I had never imagined getting one, but would have needed one if it turned into a C-section.
Our doula arrived at 11 and was a breath of fresh air in that tiny, silent hospital room. She distracted us by chatting about light topics like when we met and got married and massaged my feet with essential oils. I had already misted the room with a reiki healing herbal spray, and had my crystals and dried lavender next to my pillow. Let’s just say I wasn’t surprised when she told me she was shocked by how calm my pulse was on the monitor!
Finally, 2 hours after waiting hooked up to everything and trying to remain calm, my doctor, another physician and 2 nurses rushed into the room, running late from a previous surgery and ready to get started! It was a whirlwind to say the least and reminded me why it is important to practice breathing/remaining calm. They had the uterus numbing drugs ready to inject into me literally inches from my abdomen when they quickly checked baby’s position on an ultrasound to see where to begin the procedure. I felt the device on my pubic bone and head them say “there’s the head,” but couldn’t believe what was happening. How could that be the head? The nurse just said baby was still head up! “Are you sure?? “I asked! “Are you joking? “I couldn’t imagine doctors would joke about something like that but was in shock.
Sure enough, they were serious and my vision slowly came true. As fast as they rushed in, they pulled everything off me and rushed out, telling me they would see me when my water breaks in a few weeks. I felt the most intense rush of emotions and could barely move. I quickly dressed and we left and went to that cafe I had pictured us going to in my vision. As we walked in the door, I asked Andrew to pull of my hospital bracelets, the only physical evidence I now had that this dream like situation was actual reality.
