Breech position: the sweet strategies to try to make the baby run around

If the baby is breech

What to do if the fetus is in the breech position?

It is a kind of inner program: as soon as the situation in the womb tightens, almost all babies settle into the position that makes them childbirth as less complicated as possible, that is with the head down!

There is however a 3-4% of children who do not want to know how to turn around, and arrive in the vicinity of childbirth in breech position, that is, with the head up and the bottom or feet towards the vaginal canal.

In this article

 

• Cesarean delivery is recommended
• How to get him to do the somersault? 
• The turning maneuver
• Acupuncture & co.
• Postural techniques
• Other sweet strategies
  
  
  

6 PHOTOS

6 images of the fetus in the breech position

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When it is time for delivery, all babies change position and place themselves in the head position, with the head facing the vaginal canal. But sometimes it can ...

Read also: Breech baby, what can be done

Cesarean delivery is recommended

Is it the end of the dream of a natural birth?

This is often the case, since vaginal expulsion can be risky in this position. Only a few operators are specialized in assisting the natural birth of a breech baby, so much so that most gynecologists recommend a caesarean delivery as, according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, breech presentation is one of the indications for carry out the intervention.

52 PHOTOS

Caesarean delivery: 52 photos from the operating room to understand how it happens

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It may seem mechanical, not natural. The solution that is used when the baby and the mother are in difficulty. But it is life. It is the coming into the world of a new ...

How to get him to do the somersault?

Up to 32-34 weeks of pregnancy, the baby still has the opportunity to turn around spontaneously

Some mothers accept the position of the baby and the idea of ​​one without problems caesarean, while others want to try at all costs to make the little one do a somersault that puts him in the right position. Because in many cases, at least in principle, an inversion in the mother's womb it is still possible.

The turning maneuver

The external cephalic version

This is a maneuver that must be performed by an expert operator, and it is the only strategy for which a certain efficacy is scientifically proven. In practice, the operator tries to "move "the baby by manipulating the mother's abdomen under constant ultrasound control. Generally, before the maneuver, the mother is given drugs that help stretch the uterus.

The maneuver is performed only in some specialized hospitals, and cannot be done if:

• the mother has had some blood loss;
• the fetal heartbeat has anomalies;
• the amniotic fluid is too scarce;
• there was a previous caesarean delivery.

Acupuncture & co.

The techniques of Chinese medicine

La Chinese medicine starts from the assumption that the body is crossed by the so-called meridians, that is, the flow lines of energy flows. Along these lines there are points that can be stimulated by puncture with needles (acupuncture), the heat (mocking) o la pressure (acupressure). The stimulus is transferred through the meridian to other regions of the body, thus releasing any energy blocks present, with therapeutic effects. The strategies of traditional Chinese medicine are also proposed to try to make a breech baby change position.

• Acupuncture: with acupuncture needles the points on the meridians connected to the uterus and pelvis are touched. In this way the little one should receive the impulse to turn around. However, not all pregnant women can handle this technique
• Moxibustione o moxa: with a sort of cigar made with artemisia leaves, a point placed on the little finger is stimulated with heat, on both feet in succession. This treatment can also be performed by the partner, instructed by a midwife or naturopath. A note: the cigar has a very acrid odor, which can be unpleasant to the woman or to the person carrying out the treatment
• Acupressure: The meridian point on the little toe of the foot can also be massaged. It is usually done by the partner.

Caution: there is no conclusive scientific evidence in favor of these techniques. But it is true that, beyond some discomfort, they have no side effects or important contraindications, so you can try.

Postural techniques

Simple physical exercises

Sometimes mothers are advised to do simple physical exercises, which should induce the breech baby to change presentation. For example the bottle position, in which you have to get on all fours, but with your head resting on the ground, on your hands or the lying on the back, with pillows under the pelvis. Thanks to these postures, the uterus should widen a little and the baby, feeling that there is free space, would be prompted to change position.

Again, however, there is no evidence that postural techniques are really useful.

Other sweet strategies

Relaxation and dialogue strategies with the baby

by midwife Christine Graf

• Journey of fantasy: with the guidance of a midwife, the pregnant woman makes a mental journey into her uterus. The mother asks the baby how he is, how he feels and why he doesn't want to turn around. She focuses on her little one, she feels her unconscious desires and concerns (eg fear of natural childbirth) and can talk to her midwife. All this - Graf believes - would have a relaxing effect and could affect the baby's position.
• Aptonomia: the mother makes contact with the baby through her own hands. The baby clearly feels these tendernesses: some unborn babies curl up in the belly under the palms of their mother's hands. When the fetus, after a few days, has become accustomed to these "caresses", an attempt is made to gently draw it towards the right direction to make it turn.
• Sound ball: the little one should follow the sounds of a sound ball. The ball is rotated several times on the belly, and more precisely from the point where his head is located towards the one where you want the head to move, that is, in the direction of the pubic bone.

Attention: also in this case There is no scientific evidence that these strategies are valid, nor solid scientific foundations why they should work. However, these are strategies that favor contact between mother and baby even before birth, and which certainly have no contraindications. Badly, you will have spent some time in contact with your baby, in an intimate and relaxed situation.

Sources for this article:

information material of the WebMd site;

Information material on the breech presentation at the end of the Documentation Center on perinatal and reproductive health of Emilia of the city;

Materiale informativo dell'American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Questions and answers

Cesarean delivery: when is it really needed?

Breech presentation, placenta previa, fetal suffering: these are the cases in which the cesarean is really needed according to the guidelines of the Higher Institute of Health.

Breech position: what happens if the baby stays upside down?

If the baby is breech, the gynecologist will have to explain all the eventualities and possible risks, which could be recorded at the time of birth. To avoid problems for the fetus and mother, the medical team recommends in most cases to resort to a caesarean section.

Read also: Cesarean section, all you need to know

TAG:

• give birth
• Caesarean section
• weeks 29 40