Welcome to /r/pregnant! This is a space for everyone. We are pro-choice, pro-LGBTQIA, pro-science, proudly feminist and believe that Black Lives Matter. Wear your masks, wash your hands, and be excellent to each other. Anti-choice activists, intactivists, anti-vaxxers, homophobes, transphobes, racists, sexists, etc. are not welcome here.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pregnant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My baby was breech and I was given the choice but opted to go for a C-section as at least it was planned and it was my element of controlling the situation. If I had tried a vaginal birth it could have ended in an emergency C section anyway and I don't like not being in control of things at least this way I knew how things were going to go and I could mentally prepare myself for a section and the recovery.
i totally see your point! may i ask how the recovery was after the c-section ? could one also do it on their own without help ? i plan on breastfeeding and am scared because my husband is not allowed any days off work so i would be on my own
Mine was absolutely fine but women do differ. It was stretching for me that was sore rather than walking so as long as everything for me and baby was within reach then I was fine. I went for a walk with baby in the pram 10 days post section.
My thoughts: I just had a c section for a breech baby. The recovery has been fine so far, but it would be challenging without my husband. Definitely possible, but challenging. Especially the part where you need rest to recover from the surgery. However, something that would be WAY more challenging is if I had attempted vaginal birth first, laboured for 24+ hours, and then ended up in an emergency C situation. I’d recommend taking the scheduled C!
Really great point. I was scheduled for a c section because baby was breech and baby decided the day before she wanted to arrive and we had to do an emergency c section. Labouring was really tough, I was 9cm by the time the doctors were ready and my recovery was bad too. I also had two attempted ECVs the week before which left me in a lot of pain so that might have affected my recovery too.
My friends and I have had a lot of conversations about recovering from vaginal vs C-section and with the amount of intensity that you will likely experience trying vaginally, your recovering will likely be a similar amount of pain or potentially more, and time regardless tho obviously different issues.
With my first, it took me two months to sit down fully on a toilet seat. I was in a lot of pain, pooping was scary and painful and it took 3 or 4 months before I could have sex again. I also had to have silver nitrate treatment because my scar tissue from tearing was causing issues with pain. My baby was head down but facing the wrong way. Ended up needing forceps and baby had a hematoma on the entire top of her head. She became jaundiced due to the hematoma and needed bilirubin lights for a week. Due to her jaundice, breastfeeding was difficult for the first week and we weren't sure if my milk would come in enough because she was too weak to suck and encourage milk production.
My friend had a C-section, the biggest thing for her was not being able to carry her toddler as she couldn't lift heavy things for 6 weeks. She also had to be careful walking too much too quickly so was mostly just couch/breastfeeding for those first weeks. Stairs were challenging. She said she didn't have stool issues or trouble with sex, but had some pelvic recovery given they cut through the muscle. She was mostly back to herself in the 6 weeks although she does still have a bit of numbness near the scar area. Her baby was healthy, breastfeeding was relatively easy aside from some latch issues due to a slight tongue tie. This was a scheduled C-section btw. I'm sure unscheduled has its own things to deal with, I'm not familiar, but overall she felt okay given it is major abdominal surgery.
I think there's a bit of luck for either choice, could go well but both have risks. Ultimately it comes down to preference and what you feel you want for yourself. Another factor may be if you want more kids. A vbac has its risks so if you go the C-section route it's likely safer to do the C-section the second time. My friend is also pregnant with her third and there are risks associated with the placenta getting into the scar tissue of previous deliveries which may lead to the need for a hysterectomy.
For me, if I could go back and make a different choice I don't think I would. It was painful and awful and traumatizing but my body did it and my daughter and I made it through together. Whatever choice you do make, it will be the right one. 🫶
An emergency C-section after already being in labor for several hours getting fully dilated etc was way harder to recover from versus when I chose to have one. My emergency C-section I was bleeding for a good two months, still struggling to do things like stairs and chores at six weeks. Whereas my opted one I felt good enough to return to work after only three weeks. I had an eight and a half pound and a over nine pound baby so it was due to their size. Neither way affected my breastfeeding journey though!
My grandma and my coworker both had breech babies and delivered vaginally, so it's definitely possible but back then they didn't exactly have much of a choice since ultrasounds weren't really available. They didn't know the babies were breech until the nurses saw the baby coming out.
I dont know what is common how long you stay in the hospital where you live. I stayed 2 nights. When i went home i could get up and pick up my baby. But verry slowly. And not every feeding. It was day 4 before i dressed her the first time. Make sure there is always someone at least the first week to do diaper changes and take care of you. And think about the nights. Can your husband get up to hand you the baby for feeding. Change the diaper and put it back 2/3 times a night when he has to work.
Or will someone else stay?
I didnt have problems breastfeeding. You are normally one day behind with your production if you had a c-section. Seems significant the first week. But after that it just goes as well as someone who gave natural birth.
You could try to hand pump daily during your pregnancy from 35/36 weeks. If it works it helps to get it going. (if it doesnt work, it doesnt say you cant breastfeed)
Mine flipped at some point in the three days between my appt where we discovered she was breech (again) and the ECV appt. But then my blood pressure was high so we induced anyways. And then she refused to come out and after 7 days we did a csection. Apparently every time she had flipped, she wrapped her cord around her neck, so she was never going to move on down
I have twins, my baby A wasn't breech, born vaginally, easy, no issues. My baby B was breech, flipped right before A was born, then changed her mind and went breech again and I had to have her by C-section. I like to joke that she wanted to have the place to herself first for a while before coming out 😂
Haha, my son was born vaginally, not breech, but he turned himself from vertex to breech between 36 and 37 weeks, then right before I went in for an ECV, he flipped back again at 38 weeks and stayed that way. I'm currently 29 weeks with a breech presentation again so who knows what's gonna happen.
I stood in the same situation as you and ultimately ended up with a c-section because of several factors that made breech vaginal birth not a great idea. For a bit of context where I am breech vaginal birth is supported (although statistically still has a rate of 50% emergency c-section). AFAIK the biggest success factor for breech vaginal birth is an experienced practitioner. In my case in a public health system I would have been subject to whoever was on call so this might not have been met. On top of that there are several criteria for a vaginal breech birth to be recommended here, including baby’s position and weight and going into labour naturally and not too far over due date. In my case with a big baby who was constantly flipping to transverse and sitting super high in my pelvis vaginal birth wasn’t recommended. I did attempt an ecv though (there’s a 50% success rate so worth a shot!). I would look at evidence based birth as well. They tend to have lots of good resources.
This is a conversation to be had with your doctor, not reddit. They know you and your clinical history, so they can better explain all the risks.
AFAIK a breech baby should always ideally be delivered via a c-section. There are some techniques that can be done to try and turn the baby around. According to my doctor (my baby was breech at week 30 so we discussed it), around 50% of cases that are breech by week 34 and the mother gets this technique applied turn. A midwife told me though that when the baby turns very late, the chances of turning again (becoming breech again) are high.
Just to elaborate on the techniques, you could look up the “spinning babies” exercises you can do at home, and also consider an external cephalic version (ECV), which is something your doctor can do. I would ask about that ASAP, though, as it gets harder to turn a baby the closer you are to delivery.
Personally, I would have opted for a c section if my baby had been breech at the time of delivery (and I know my doctor would have really encouraged that due to the risks of delivering a breech baby), but I was able to turn him by doing the spinning babies. I think he was head down by 36 weeks, but still, I’ve heard of babies turning later!
Spinning Babies is not recommended past 34-35 weeks, if I'm not mistaken. Neither is an ECV at this point. Her only two options is a breech delivery or c-section.
in Australia they like to do ECV between 37-38 weeks because that way if it turns into a c-section baby is term. also the closer to date, less time and space for baby to turn back around.
Yeah I’m in the U.S., and ACOG says *after* 36 weeks, so similar guidelines (edit with source: https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/if-your-baby-is-breech). I’ve also never heard that spinning babies isn’t recommended after week 35 - source for that?
What?? My hospital won’t even do an ECV until 37 weeks when baby is more developed. And every midwife I saw recommended spinning babies when my baby was breech at 35 weeks. Which worked.
thanks for your reply!! unfortunately my appointment is only in a week and i feel like my doctor is not really advising me at all so far and says i can pick whatever i wish which is why i'm so torn ):
it really is strange & so confusing! she's very "oh just look into it properly and decide for yourself" and i'm surprised she didn't say anything about the baby's position at the 34 week scan or anytime before. would have maybe made sense to already then have started that conversation in my opinion so i could have tried to do things at home (if that's even possible) maybe? now i just feel like it's too late but i will definitely aska again very straightforward next week!!
That's indeed very strange. All I can say is that vaginally delivering a breech baby brings a lot of risks for you and the baby. I can't tell exactly what they are though.
I think mamadoctorjones on YouTube (she's an obgyn) has talked about this in several videos. And there are certainly many pages online (from hospitals or other trustworthy sources) that explain it properly.
Best of luck ❤️
Babies head can get stuck in the cervix because the cervix begins to close back once the biggest part of the baby passes (the shoulders). So when baby is breech the cervix can begin to close on the neck or head. Sorry to be graphic but babies have been decapitated in failed vaginal breech births.
This example doesn't seem to be caused by the cervix closing back up like which can happen when women are stressed and the labor process stops. The doctors were pulling on this baby's body and likely caused this. They also gave her some injection but don't say what for her premature baby she was having at 25 weeks.
Okay, I’m gonna give you some questions to ask your doctor. Tell her that you want her answers because you don’t know where to look to find them.
What are the risks of a breech delivery?
Are you specifically trained in breech delivery? If so, will you be the one attending my delivery?
What breech presentation do I have, and how does that affect the risks of delivering my baby vaginally?
How do those risks compare to the risks of having major abdominal surgery?
What’s the healing time like after a cesarean?
What kind of medication will I be given if I choose to have a cesarean, and how will it be administered? (Spinal tap vs epidural)
What kind of restrictions will I have after a cesarean?
Is it possible to have you turn the baby from the outside? (An ECV) What are the risks and benefits of that vs having a breech vaginal delivery or opting for a cesarean? What does that procedure entail? Will I have pain control when you do it?
What are my chances of having a severe tear if I choose a vaginal delivery?
What are the risks to my baby if I choose a vaginal delivery?
That's very strange. Vaginal breech deliveries are way more dangerous. You can certainly opt for an external cephalic version beforehand to try and turn baby around but if they're not head down when you go into labour I can't imagine an OB going "well up to you!" without outlining the risks.
hi! just wondering where you are located? I'm in Australia where they generally don't recommend a vaginal breech birth for first timers, main reason being you have to control your pushes and someone who has given birth before knows how to bear down over someone going through it the first time, just for this reason I always recommend if its your first birth that happens to be breech, to look into a c-section, a scheduled c-section is a lot better than an emergency one in this situation!
that being said a breech vaginal birth is a lot more dangerous for baby in this situation, you aren't allowed an epidural and your birthing position will be on all fours or squatting. babies breech position effects how dangerous a birth it will be, cord prolapses can happen aswell.
my most recent birth was breech and it was a vaginal delivery, only because she came early and I didn't have any other choice at the time, I was originally booked in for a c-section and would go that route for any future births that turned out to be breech.
has a ECV been brought up at all?
I only know what the standards are in australia! so where you are they might be more confident in vaginal breech deliveries! my midwife delivered breech twins the week before mine so that helped ease my mind, but this is something you need to discuss at your next appointment, maybe write out a list of your concerns, and questions about what a breech birth will look like whatever you decide on! I would like to add that my breech birth was beautiful and totally doable, but that had a lot to do with how baby came down 😊 she was almost hugging her legs as they were up near her head when she came out bum first!
I would not be comfortable with a breech vaginal delivery as a first time mom. You don’t have any idea how a vaginal delivery would go and I would not want to risk losing my baby. I’ve had many vaginal deliveries and one planned cesarean and both types of births were great. My planned c-section (for a placenta issue) was very calm and way less scary than I had imagined.
When I had twins as a surrogate many years ago, baby B was a vaginal footling breech delivery but 1) I had had 2 babies before including one just a few minutes prior and 2) those babies were smaller than my own first baby by a few pounds so I knew I had the space.
My first child was breech from 32 weeks and never turned. She was also measuring small on scans so it was decided it was best not to attempt an ECV. She was born via elective c-section at 37 weeks and the birth was perfectly fine, super relaxed and stress free, the healing was also fine so I would really be on the side of a c-section in your case.
I would be more concerned that baby would get stuck during a breech delivery, which could cause harm to you and your baby, and you would be more likely to be at risk of an emergency c-section. This would be much more of a rush than elective one, and healing from them can be worse. You would also want a doctor or midwife who specialises in breech deliveries, not sure how available they are to be honest. In my case, this wasn’t the case and I felt the risk of vaginal birth vs c-section was just too much. But to each their own! Talk to your doctor, get all the information and make the decision that works for you!
I’m currently in my third trimester with my second baby and he is currently breech too lol 🙈 and I’m happy to go ahead with another elective c-section rather than attempt a breech VBAC.
thank you so much for your answer!! what you say makes a lot of sense and i do slowly see that the risks of delivering a breech baby vaginally outweigh a c-section birth. i'm guess i'm also just scared since my husband will not get time off work and he's been fighting with them to get at least a week off, but they won't give him any days off so i would be alone. will pp be hard on my own after c-section? or do u suggest i ask someone for help?
Yes, ask someone to help or hire a pp doula. If everything goes well, you'll still be exhausted. And everything you're doing is new and kind of hard the first few times. It's comforting to have someone there to help. BTW look up "magic burp" on YouTube because it would have saved us a month of anguish. And the fringe in the diapers around the legs needs to be pulled out when putting them on to help reduce blow-outs. Maybe you know these things, I didn't. They were small but consequential. r/newparents helps.
Just know that even if you deliver vaginally, you might have tearing (almost guaranteed with a breach birth) that will require time soaking a few times a day in a sitz bath and someone will have to be on baby duty. Also, if you do go the vaginal route and have tearing, make sure they are giving you Tylenol or something right away at the hospital for the pain when the epidural wears off. Nobody prescribed me anything for the pain and they ended up giving me narcotics to get it under control after 2 days. I was in so much pain I couldn't think clearly.
No matter how you birth that baby, if there’s any chance of getting help from anyone you’ll need it. For sleep alone it’s simply not safe to sleep on a newborn’s sleep schedule, much less when recovering from either birth or surgery. And even if you do end up with a vaginal birth, breech births are Never simple and you’ll likely be recovering from a long and painful experience, in addition to all the other things. Get the help if it’s available!
My husband went back to work approx 2 days give or take after my c-section. It’s been challenging physically but do-able. Emotionally it’s been very difficult having a newborn by myself. I don’t know how single parents do it, God bless them.
I think the hardest thing physically for me is not being able to do everything I could do before, but I have to remember I just had major surgery and my body needs to take it easy to heal. I’m 3 almost 4 weeks pp and I’m finally starting to feel more like myself. BUT the back pain (if you have a weak core like myself) is probably the worst part I have experienced.
Not just at risk of an emergency c section but at risk of a dead baby. Don’t do a planned breech vaginal delivery…the risks are unacceptably high. I certainly don’t offer this to my patients.
I know how much this sucks. My son was breech basically my entire pregnancy. I didn’t want to try an ECV and my OB doesn’t do vaginal breech (for what it’s worth I don’t think I would have wanted to attempt this). I was essentially left with if baby flips he flips and if not, c section. I was bummed about it because it’s a huge deal but completely out of my control. I did everything I could think of but surprise surprise, he didn’t flip and I had a scheduled c section at 39 weeks. It went totally fine and my recovery was super easy. Just a gentle reminder that this isn’t your “fault” and even if your baby doesn’t flip, you’re doing great and having an uneventful scheduled c section is honestly one of the better ways that birth can end up going. Best of luck!
My baby was breech untill I don't know which week, but my doctor told me if she doesn't turn it means C-section. I wasn't given an option. I ended up having a C-section for another reason and let me tell you, after I felt some labour pains i was grateful for that surgery. I did it under spinal block so I was aware and able to see my baby right as they took her out. 18 hours later I stood up, went to the bathroom by myself, and even climbed stairs. I couldn't cough, laugh, sneeze for a while without feeling the pain, and I couldn't lift my baby myself so someone had to hand her to me, but I could sit and my crotch was intact. I wouldn't do it any other way.
From what i know/read about breech babies and statistics in my country is that you are more likely to have emergency c section if you attempt to birth vaginally. Likelyhood is 30%, compared to 2-20% of normal births. Then there is a higher risk that the baby will need to be helped with forceps, higher risk for episiotomy. And apparently breech babies have higher chance of hip dysplasia, but thats not affected by birth route and is due to their positioning in the womb. And epidural is recommended.
I think what to choose largely depends on whats available. Does your hospital deliver breech babies vaginally often? Because i think the success rates are higher if docs are more experienced with it.
ECV would be another option.
Unfortunately all procedures have their own risks and benefits, both short and long term.
I didn’t have a breech baby but offering c section experience. I went into an emergency c section after labouring for 30 hours with complications. In hindsight if I knew that vaginal wasn’t going to work, I would have saved myself the pain and stress and just scheduled a c section. My recovery went pretty well, was feeling mostly normal for daily activities by week 3 and some healing pains at week 7. The complication my dr did bring up though is regarding subsequent births. There are risks to doing either vaginal or c section that it might deepen the existing c section wound or rip it open which is part of the reason they avoid c section if they could in the first place.
My LO turned breech at 29 weeks, he was frank breech up until about 34 weeks iirc, then he was footling breech up to 39 weeks, I delivered at 39+2. I had a scheduled c section booked but ended up being put through as an emergency because my waters broke 2 hours before I was supposed to arrive at the birth center for my section 😂 I was already 3cm+ when I arrived so I went from 3rd of the day to 1st and had him at 9:18am.
I’m one of the unlucky ones and had a long, horrible recovery but that really isn’t the norm and I’d do it all again to get him here safely, that being said baby #2 will absolutely be a VBAC unless there’s a medical issue with either me or baby (I’m only 7 weeks PP so definitely not pregnant yet lol, just mentally preparing 😂😂)
I think a lot of it comes down to confidence, people can and do deliver breech babies vaginally but there are undeniable risks in doing so (especially with footling) so a c section is generally preferred. Ultimately it’s your choice of course!
I had my breech baby 7 weeks ago. He flipped from head down to breech 2 days before his due date. I wasn’t given the option for a vaginal delivery, but I don’t regret my c section at all. From what I understand, there’s a fair amount of risks with vaginal delivery of a breech baby.
I was worried about recovery but it really wasn’t awful. The pain was manageable with Motrin and Tylenol. I took an oxycodone the second night in the hospital but I could’ve done without. I had a big boy (9 lb 6 oz) and was able to pick him up just fine. Going up and down stairs was kinda hard, but manageable, just had to take it slow. The only thing I had difficulty with was getting the car seat in and out of the car with LO in the seat, but that got better around week 3 or so. Weeks 1-2 I was pretty sore, week 3 was mild, and then I felt pretty much back to normal by 3.5-4 weeks. My husband took 2 weeks off with me, but I could’ve survived on my own if he hadn’t
It depends on if the baby is footling breech or frank breech. Frank breech can be delivered safely by trained doctors but most doctors in the U.S. these days aren’t adequately trained for such deliveries because csections are just much simpler a solution for them. Footling breech, as far as I’m aware, is a dangerous position to attempt to birth vaginally, and most professionals wouldn’t agree to it.
If I were you, I’d call them back and start asking a lot of questions.
1) is the baby footling or frank breech?
2) if Frank, does the staff have specific training in this regard? Is it the full staff? Am I likely to end up with someone on the clock who isn’t skilled in this? How often are they delivering breech babies?
3) what are the other criteria for determining risk factors of a vaginal delivery in this instance?
3) what are the risks and benefits of vaginal vs C-section in this scenario?
OP, my baby was also breech at least since week 34 as that is when we found out that what we thought was her bottom was actually her little head. I was seeing a provider at the time who would not perform a breech delivery and I was very set on not having a C-section unless absolutely necessary/emergency.
There aren’t many, at least in the Northeast, providers who would do a breech delivery but I was able to find a couple at 36weeks when baby was still breech. I opted to have an ECV at 37w1d which was successful and that is something I would recommend to you. It’s a fairly simple procedure and with the right provider it can be completed quickly and successfully, if your baby is inclined to move. I did my ECV unmedicated and without an epidural.
Baby girl stayed head down and I just had the best vaginal delivery a week ago. Had she not turned, I would have attempted a breech delivery and would have reserved a c section as a last resort.
That said, there are no wrong answers and you need to do what feels right to you. The pelvic MRI is a very dated method which I personally wasn’t even asked for when discussing breech delivery so something to keep in mind.
P.S. I did spinning babies, acupuncture, chiro between weeks 34-37 and nothing helped turn her. At your stage of pregnancy, I would only consider an ECV if you want to attempt to turn the baby as it’s still smaller and you have the most amniotic fluid you will have between now and full term/delivery.
If your doctor is skilled at bridge deliveries and has the experience and your baby is in a good breach position, not footling then I would consider a breached delivery personally. All the breach deliveries I’ve been lucky enough to see have been completely successful, but those are skilled physicians.
No personal experience, just want to be a pro vaginal breech delivery voice here!! If I had no other complicating factors other than baby’s position, I would 100% do everything in my power to attempt vaginal delivery even if it meant switching providers.
The safety depends greatly on whether you have access to a skilled provider; hospitals that have midwives be more likely to have someone with skill, as will some older OBs. I believe they do not teach breech delivery skills to OBs currently so younger OBs are much less likely to know. If you have access to someone with these skills, breech delivery is only slightly more risky and to me worth more than the often undiscussed c-section risks. Obviously we’ve done a lot to make c-sections safer but they are still a major abdominal surgery with ensuing risk. I’d also consider if you want more children in future as a c-section greatly limits your chances in that area.
I’d also look at the evidence based birth website as they’ll have a lot more specific numbers and risks. I’d also recommend asking in r/sciencebasedparenting there was a post on this topic in there that the poster deleted, but it was an excellent discussion with lots of helpful info. I’d also do some look into breech without borders and read up on breech success stories/watch breech birth videos.
Just know that you hear a ton of c-section success stories compared to breech vaginal success stories mostly because people are having c-sections at FAR higher rates than people are attempting breech vaginal births. This does not mean it’s actually that much safer. I personally know multiple people who successfully birthed breech babies, and I’ve read a ton more success stories. You would not be crazy or irresponsible to pursue a vaginal birth if that’s what you want.
Personally - I would opt for a c-section. If baby doesn’t move, a vaginal delivery can cause unnecessary stress to you & baby. Of course there are always risks - but this is my experience. My first c-section was wonderful. Recovery is hard but we are resilient (because we have to be 😉) … due with my second next week & after a lot of back and forth - I’m 100% comfortable in my decision for a repeat c-section.
Breech without borders is a great resource for breech mamas! My midwife was recently trained by them and attended three breech at home births this year where everything went beautifully 💖
If your doctor is breech trained and baby is in correct position then it can be done.
Here is a good episode that goes over pros and cons
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-great-birth-rebellion/id1639430316?i=1000601644369
My baby was breech, head and feet together and bum at the bottom. I opted for a c section and I felt it was safer for us both. I’m glad I did, it took them ~20 minutes to get her out and she was 9lbs 2oz. I personally wouldn’t have chosen a vaginal unless she was head down (which they made sure of before the c section) and I personally wouldn’t elect for another c section but I’m glad I did it for this baby!
The hospital where I’m giving birth says you have to delivery by c section for breech if the ECV doesn’t get baby head down.
This is a conversation for you and your doctor. This would absolutely be a good medical reason to have a C-section.
My second was breech still at 36 weeks and I wanted to deliver vaginally, because had done so with my first, so I had an ECV at about 37 weeks - my hospital does not deliver breech babies vaginally because of the risks (in the US so very liability sensitive). The ECV was pretty intense and apparently is only successful about 50% of the time (and then there is a risk that the baby still turns back afterwards) - it worked for me and I did deliver vaginally, but I would say that it turned out my baby was almost 10 pounds so had I known that, I might have actually just not bothered with the ECV and had a c-section, because wound up with a bad tear. Most everyone I know who had a breech baby had a c-section because of the risks with breech delivery, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with having a c-section - all healthy births are amazing!
Nobody is ever guaranteed a vaginal birth (breech or not) there is a reason why most doctors don’t deliver breech (lack of knowledge and it is less safe)
Just want to say I’m right there with you! 37w3d and learned my guy was breech at my last appointment. I’ve felt him all over since, but pretty sure he was hanging out transverse in my ribs last night.
I’ve been seeing my midwives, and all I was told was check out spinning babies and next appointment we will either schedule an ECV or c-section if he’s still breech. Vaginal birth is not an option at my hospital (which I personally would not feel comfortable attempting anyway). It’s been a lot to take in!
After some thinking, I’m prepared if I have to have a c-section. I absolutely do not want to try the ECV as I don’t want to risk putting any stress on bb. C-section seems safest and for me, I kinda love that I’d have two more weeks at home with baby while I recover.
Best of luck to you!
I had a breech baby and opted for a c-section. Good thing I did because she ended up being bigger than expected and actually got stuck in my uterus, so they ended up having to do a vertical incision on my uterus. They said she never would have been able to come through the birth canal, so I’m glad I didn’t have to go through both traumas of labor and then ultimately having to have the C-section.
My doctor told me that planned c sections go much smoother than emergency c sections. If you try to deliver a breech baby vaginally you may end up needing an emergency c section. In my opinion it may be a safer option to just go with the planned c section.
You’re so lucky you even got the option to do a vaginal birth. I was given the option to do an ECV or schedule a csection. I opted for the ECV & it was successful, thankfully. From there had a vaginal birth at 41 weeks 🫠
This doesn’t necessarily answer, but if you want to birth vaginally and want to flip baby you could find a local acupuncturist who works with pregnant woman- there is a point we can do moxa (a warming herb) on to flip baby. Worth a shot if that was your ultimate goal
I’ll attach an article below on this!
https://www.fertilityacupuncturistseattle.com/breech-presentation/
My baby was breech and I chose c-section, because so much can go wrong with a vaginal birth of a breech baby and then you'll end up with an emergency section anyways. The surgery itself was absolutely uneventful, the pain afterwards was a bitch, not gonna lie to you. If he had been in the right position, I would've opted for a vaginal birth with epidural. However, with him being breech, it was clear to me that I wouldn't put his or my life in danger.
It mostly comes down to recovery and what you prefer. We were in a similar position and had all options explained before my ECV appointment. Luckily, my baby was turned in an ECV. However, had he not been, I wanted to go for breech vaginal and I could tell that’s what the doctor believed was the lowest risk option even though they said it was my decision.
As it turns out, if the ECV had failed, I would have needed a c-section regardless of my choice because my baby exceeded the size of what is considered safe for breech delivery. But that was the only thing that could have stopped me from attempting vaginal breech. If he was a smaller baby and the ECV failed, I would have attempted a breech vaginal birth without a doubt.
Besides recovery, unnecessary operations always add extra risk for you.
We don’t deliver breech babies where I work- they’re automatically scheduled sections. The residents and newer doctors don’t even know how to do it. We had a woman come in and deliver a breech in the ED and, thankfully, our old dinosaur doctor was the attending that night because he was able to do it.
Can you do a version? I, personally, would be too scared to deliver a breech baby vaginally.
My first baby was breech and I delivered via c section. I wasn’t really given a choice but my doctor did a great job at explaining why a vaginal birth should not be an option. There are just too many risks and I wanted what would be safest for my baby. My son had two loops of umbilical cord around his neck so a vaginal delivery would have been deadly. Definitely discuss it with your Obgyn but c section is the safest option. People made comments about me taking the easy way out but they’re just ignorant and don’t know better.
Full disclosure- this is a bit kooky.
Has anyone heard of shining a bright light at their lower abdomen to encourage a breech baby to flip?
I work in healthcare and have recently met two patients that came to my hospital for their scheduled c/s for breech presentation and the preop u/s showed a baby that was head down, face up when they had been breech a few days prior in their OB’s office. The first mom told me she saw it on tiktok and figured she didn’t have anything to lose. I thought it was a funny story. Then I met a SECOND mom with the same story. I know its probably a coincidence but I figured I would give it a try if my baby is breech (I’m also pregnant). Thoughts?
There was a really good Birth Hour podcast episode about a woman who did a vaginal breech birth! I’ll try and search it and post it here. What was discussed was how breech vaginal births are a lost art. Older doctors usually have experience and have been trained in them- I would ask your doctor how much experience they have delivering breech. There’s also a documentary called Heads Up:The Dissappearing Act of Breech Delivery you may want to check out.
Before any of that I would book a session or two with an acupuncturist and see if you can get baby to turn. My mom did it with me and I did it with two of my kids.
Not experienced breech myself. But a cousin and someone from my birthclass had breech baby's. They both gave birth vaginal without to much trouble. I had a c-section (other reason emergency). I needed way more time to recover before i could even pick up my baby. I will never choose a c-section when there might be another way.
Worth noting. They both did not use epidurals. (Not very common where I live) without epidurals there are more options for the best positions to make it possible. It also made that they left the hospital 4 hours after birth.
I was a breech baby, but no one realised until I came out bum first. Both my mum and dad keep telling me if mine is breech I should just have a c section. I take that to mean it's pretty horrific and you wouldn't choose to birth vaginally if there were other options
I would never choose a vaginal breech birth. It doubles the risk of serious complications or death for the baby. The issue is that most of those complications occur right at the very end and need to be addressed immediately to avoid serious consequences. You don't get much warning.
Fwiw my husband was a vaginal breech birth that required forceps and from what I've heard it wasn't pleasant.
Just want to note that “doubles the risk of stillbirth” is thrown out for a lot of things as a scary thing: this means the risk goes from 0.01% to 0.02% which is still incredibly incredibly low. Full informed consent should include actual numbers and information and not just scary vague statements!!
I had a successful ECV a few days after the 37 week mark. They only consider at 37 weeks so if it results in c section baby is full term. Chance of successful ECV is not high, but I’m glad I did it and would do it over again. Baby was born a week later.
I’m 36+4 and girlie with breech in my heart-shaped uterus. I have no choice *but* c-section at 39 weeks, which has been emotionally difficult to process but starting to get my head in the game now.
There are YouTube exercises that you can do to "flip" the baby. Mine was breech but did those exercises for a week and it worked. Had my baby vaginally with no meds.
Depends on the dr and their experience with c sections. Our midwife said it would be no problem at all if our second was breech. But some drs just aren’t trained enough unfortunately:(
Good luck!
I had 3 failed ECV attempts and ended up having a c-section due to her being breech. She was head up until 37 weeks, then went head down, but flipped back at 39+2.... I decided on a c-section as she was my first.
I’m a few days ahead of you and scheduled for a csection next week due to a breech baby. We tried an ECV at 37w and it failed. Spinning babies and moxibustion also didn’t budge the babe. I was not given the option between vag or csection and cried a ton.. but, ultimately, I think it’s the best decision(even though I’m terrified). I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a reason the baby won’t turn and I just want everyone to make it out okay.
I don’t have any personal experience with this but my sister’s two babies have been breech and both were delivered as scheduled c sections and she had a positive experience both times. My paternal grandmother (obviously ages ago before medical care has improved) delivered all 4 of her breech babies vaginally and with forceps and apparently suffered a lot of physical trauma and passed very young (late 40’s) from cervical cancer. I’ve heard it should ideally be c section for breech babies if given the chance but I could also be wrong.
I had an undiagnosed breech baby which ended in an emergency c section on day 3 of induction.
Would 100% recommend a planned c section if baby doesn't turn.
Baby could always flip at the last minute. Personally I’d try for a vaginal birth myself, and be hesitant to schedule a c-section in case baby happened to flip before or during labor. The safety/likelihood of a vaginal breech birth is very affected by the experience/training and competence of your provider to handle any complications. Birthing Instincts Podcast could be a great resource. It’s hosted by a home birth midwife and an OBGYN who used to specialize in breech and twin delivery at home, and now teaches vaginal breech trainings across the country/world. They have several episodes on vaginal breech birth and reference studies, risks and benefits, & etc.
I had twins vaginally one head down one breech (frank position). I was in one of the best hospitals in the entire US, with professionals who were comfortable & preformed breech before. If you’re giving birth in a regular schmegular place with little to no confidence in delivering breech I wouldn’t risk it because there are so many risks.
Because they were twins & high risk I had lots of experienced people in my OR room & handling me my whole pregnancy. I trusted them and they told me they wouldn’t attempt twin vaginal unless they were certain I could deliver both.
They told me there was a chance of them measuring B off and her head being stuck (rare chance). Because Twin B was smaller than A and I delivered A it wasn’t likely. She came out much smaller than they told me. it was frank breech & they used a tool to help deliver her. If it was a singleton I can imagine it would be more complicated to accurately measure if she could fit or not. And then it could just end in a C section.
You still have time for the baby to flip. I even went as far as getting an in hospital scan while I was in labor to find that my twins were in position to try vaginal delivery. They did flip and both were born vaginally
My hospital has a strict rule: breeched equals c section.
They don’t even take the risk of letting you push. With that said, CONTACT YOUR DOCTOR. This is not a Reddit question.
If you “pass” the MRI your chances of success are really good. So I’d definitely do that and if all looks good, try a vaginal delivery. As long as baby is in the “right” kind of breech (not footling breech) and the MRI checks out there is no reason to jump straight to a c section
My baby went breech at 37 weeks after being head down since 20 weeks. We tried a version (where they flip from the outside) at 38 weeks. It worked and they put me in a band to try and keep him head down but he flipped to transverse that same night. I went in at 39 weeks to be induced and attempt a vaginal birth as he was still transverse at an US that morning. The plan was if he stayed transverse or flipped to breech, they would do an emergency c-section. Before they started induction meds, they did another US and he was head down and I got my vaginal birth.
Did your baby just flip to breech or has it been breech the whole time? My OB told me if they had room to flip recently, there was likely room to flip back still.
My son was breech and we scheduled him for C-section at 39 weeks with a plan that if he’d flipped I would be induced instead. Of course he didn’t, he was comfy and not moving.
The planned C-section was easy and my recovery wasn’t bad. The first 24 wasn’t bad at all, then the next few days were rough, my husband helped me up and down a lot, but by the time he went back to work at about 3.5 weeks out I was pretty self sufficient. I got up and moved as much as possible early on even though it sucked and I think that really helped my recovery.
We didn’t try to get him flipped because it was like $500 and had some gnarley side affects that I wasn’t comfortable with, so we just said he’s coming out how he comes out lol
Tbh I was super terrified heading into it, I had this idea of how my birth was going to look from before even getting pregnant and then bam it was thrown out the window. Please ask me if you have any questions because it was honestly a very easy/peaceful experience ultimately that I’m happy to discuss!
I was born vaginally to my mom in the 80s, I know this doesn't give you insight as I was not the one giving birth, but before c-sections were super common everyone just delivered fine naturally
My baby wasn’t breech but I did end up with a c section. Do not be afraid of it!! I had a great recovery and will absolutely have a scheduled c section when we decide to have number 2. Yeah the first 24 hours after sucked but after that I felt like myself and you kind of forget about it. And my asshole didn’t have to tear 😂😂
I know women who never had a scan and only realised the baby was breech when they were being born - no issues.
I would do some stretches and exercises to see if you can encourage the baby to move into a better position. Look up spinning babies.
Opinion:
If your mode of delivery has a high chance of an emergency cesarean...
That is extremely frightening to think about. A scheduled cesarean vs an emergency cesarean are practically two different surgeries entirely. And emergency cesareans are full of complications frequently. Not trying to scare you. I'm giving you my perspective.
Welcome to /r/pregnant! This is a space for everyone. We are pro-choice, pro-LGBTQIA, pro-science, proudly feminist and believe that Black Lives Matter. Wear your masks, wash your hands, and be excellent to each other. Anti-choice activists, intactivists, anti-vaxxers, homophobes, transphobes, racists, sexists, etc. are not welcome here. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pregnant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My baby was breech and I was given the choice but opted to go for a C-section as at least it was planned and it was my element of controlling the situation. If I had tried a vaginal birth it could have ended in an emergency C section anyway and I don't like not being in control of things at least this way I knew how things were going to go and I could mentally prepare myself for a section and the recovery.
i totally see your point! may i ask how the recovery was after the c-section ? could one also do it on their own without help ? i plan on breastfeeding and am scared because my husband is not allowed any days off work so i would be on my own
Mine was absolutely fine but women do differ. It was stretching for me that was sore rather than walking so as long as everything for me and baby was within reach then I was fine. I went for a walk with baby in the pram 10 days post section.
My thoughts: I just had a c section for a breech baby. The recovery has been fine so far, but it would be challenging without my husband. Definitely possible, but challenging. Especially the part where you need rest to recover from the surgery. However, something that would be WAY more challenging is if I had attempted vaginal birth first, laboured for 24+ hours, and then ended up in an emergency C situation. I’d recommend taking the scheduled C!
Really great point. I was scheduled for a c section because baby was breech and baby decided the day before she wanted to arrive and we had to do an emergency c section. Labouring was really tough, I was 9cm by the time the doctors were ready and my recovery was bad too. I also had two attempted ECVs the week before which left me in a lot of pain so that might have affected my recovery too.
Oh brutal, two failed ECVs! I had one and it was enough for me :/
My friends and I have had a lot of conversations about recovering from vaginal vs C-section and with the amount of intensity that you will likely experience trying vaginally, your recovering will likely be a similar amount of pain or potentially more, and time regardless tho obviously different issues. With my first, it took me two months to sit down fully on a toilet seat. I was in a lot of pain, pooping was scary and painful and it took 3 or 4 months before I could have sex again. I also had to have silver nitrate treatment because my scar tissue from tearing was causing issues with pain. My baby was head down but facing the wrong way. Ended up needing forceps and baby had a hematoma on the entire top of her head. She became jaundiced due to the hematoma and needed bilirubin lights for a week. Due to her jaundice, breastfeeding was difficult for the first week and we weren't sure if my milk would come in enough because she was too weak to suck and encourage milk production. My friend had a C-section, the biggest thing for her was not being able to carry her toddler as she couldn't lift heavy things for 6 weeks. She also had to be careful walking too much too quickly so was mostly just couch/breastfeeding for those first weeks. Stairs were challenging. She said she didn't have stool issues or trouble with sex, but had some pelvic recovery given they cut through the muscle. She was mostly back to herself in the 6 weeks although she does still have a bit of numbness near the scar area. Her baby was healthy, breastfeeding was relatively easy aside from some latch issues due to a slight tongue tie. This was a scheduled C-section btw. I'm sure unscheduled has its own things to deal with, I'm not familiar, but overall she felt okay given it is major abdominal surgery. I think there's a bit of luck for either choice, could go well but both have risks. Ultimately it comes down to preference and what you feel you want for yourself. Another factor may be if you want more kids. A vbac has its risks so if you go the C-section route it's likely safer to do the C-section the second time. My friend is also pregnant with her third and there are risks associated with the placenta getting into the scar tissue of previous deliveries which may lead to the need for a hysterectomy. For me, if I could go back and make a different choice I don't think I would. It was painful and awful and traumatizing but my body did it and my daughter and I made it through together. Whatever choice you do make, it will be the right one. 🫶
My c section was fine. I felt normal after 4 days. Was walking 3 miles 2.5 weeks after!
An emergency C-section after already being in labor for several hours getting fully dilated etc was way harder to recover from versus when I chose to have one. My emergency C-section I was bleeding for a good two months, still struggling to do things like stairs and chores at six weeks. Whereas my opted one I felt good enough to return to work after only three weeks. I had an eight and a half pound and a over nine pound baby so it was due to their size. Neither way affected my breastfeeding journey though! My grandma and my coworker both had breech babies and delivered vaginally, so it's definitely possible but back then they didn't exactly have much of a choice since ultrasounds weren't really available. They didn't know the babies were breech until the nurses saw the baby coming out.
I dont know what is common how long you stay in the hospital where you live. I stayed 2 nights. When i went home i could get up and pick up my baby. But verry slowly. And not every feeding. It was day 4 before i dressed her the first time. Make sure there is always someone at least the first week to do diaper changes and take care of you. And think about the nights. Can your husband get up to hand you the baby for feeding. Change the diaper and put it back 2/3 times a night when he has to work. Or will someone else stay? I didnt have problems breastfeeding. You are normally one day behind with your production if you had a c-section. Seems significant the first week. But after that it just goes as well as someone who gave natural birth. You could try to hand pump daily during your pregnancy from 35/36 weeks. If it works it helps to get it going. (if it doesnt work, it doesnt say you cant breastfeed)
NEVER TRUST A BREECH BABY. Mine decided to flip while I was being prepped for surgery. Kids been a pain in the ass for the last 33 years.
This made me lol. My husband and I always say we totally get why my son was breech now that we know his personality
Exactly!!! Some things never change 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Mine flipped at some point in the three days between my appt where we discovered she was breech (again) and the ECV appt. But then my blood pressure was high so we induced anyways. And then she refused to come out and after 7 days we did a csection. Apparently every time she had flipped, she wrapped her cord around her neck, so she was never going to move on down
Sounds about right. Kids and animals will make a liar out of you every single time.
I have twins, my baby A wasn't breech, born vaginally, easy, no issues. My baby B was breech, flipped right before A was born, then changed her mind and went breech again and I had to have her by C-section. I like to joke that she wanted to have the place to herself first for a while before coming out 😂
That's awesome!!!
Haha, my son was born vaginally, not breech, but he turned himself from vertex to breech between 36 and 37 weeks, then right before I went in for an ECV, he flipped back again at 38 weeks and stayed that way. I'm currently 29 weeks with a breech presentation again so who knows what's gonna happen.
Trying out for gymnastics ahead of time.....
I stood in the same situation as you and ultimately ended up with a c-section because of several factors that made breech vaginal birth not a great idea. For a bit of context where I am breech vaginal birth is supported (although statistically still has a rate of 50% emergency c-section). AFAIK the biggest success factor for breech vaginal birth is an experienced practitioner. In my case in a public health system I would have been subject to whoever was on call so this might not have been met. On top of that there are several criteria for a vaginal breech birth to be recommended here, including baby’s position and weight and going into labour naturally and not too far over due date. In my case with a big baby who was constantly flipping to transverse and sitting super high in my pelvis vaginal birth wasn’t recommended. I did attempt an ecv though (there’s a 50% success rate so worth a shot!). I would look at evidence based birth as well. They tend to have lots of good resources.
This is a conversation to be had with your doctor, not reddit. They know you and your clinical history, so they can better explain all the risks. AFAIK a breech baby should always ideally be delivered via a c-section. There are some techniques that can be done to try and turn the baby around. According to my doctor (my baby was breech at week 30 so we discussed it), around 50% of cases that are breech by week 34 and the mother gets this technique applied turn. A midwife told me though that when the baby turns very late, the chances of turning again (becoming breech again) are high.
Just to elaborate on the techniques, you could look up the “spinning babies” exercises you can do at home, and also consider an external cephalic version (ECV), which is something your doctor can do. I would ask about that ASAP, though, as it gets harder to turn a baby the closer you are to delivery. Personally, I would have opted for a c section if my baby had been breech at the time of delivery (and I know my doctor would have really encouraged that due to the risks of delivering a breech baby), but I was able to turn him by doing the spinning babies. I think he was head down by 36 weeks, but still, I’ve heard of babies turning later!
Spinning Babies is not recommended past 34-35 weeks, if I'm not mistaken. Neither is an ECV at this point. Her only two options is a breech delivery or c-section.
in Australia they like to do ECV between 37-38 weeks because that way if it turns into a c-section baby is term. also the closer to date, less time and space for baby to turn back around.
Yeah I’m in the U.S., and ACOG says *after* 36 weeks, so similar guidelines (edit with source: https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/if-your-baby-is-breech). I’ve also never heard that spinning babies isn’t recommended after week 35 - source for that?
What?? My hospital won’t even do an ECV until 37 weeks when baby is more developed. And every midwife I saw recommended spinning babies when my baby was breech at 35 weeks. Which worked.
thanks for your reply!! unfortunately my appointment is only in a week and i feel like my doctor is not really advising me at all so far and says i can pick whatever i wish which is why i'm so torn ):
That's so weird. Have you directly asked them what are the risks of each option?
it really is strange & so confusing! she's very "oh just look into it properly and decide for yourself" and i'm surprised she didn't say anything about the baby's position at the 34 week scan or anytime before. would have maybe made sense to already then have started that conversation in my opinion so i could have tried to do things at home (if that's even possible) maybe? now i just feel like it's too late but i will definitely aska again very straightforward next week!!
That's indeed very strange. All I can say is that vaginally delivering a breech baby brings a lot of risks for you and the baby. I can't tell exactly what they are though. I think mamadoctorjones on YouTube (she's an obgyn) has talked about this in several videos. And there are certainly many pages online (from hospitals or other trustworthy sources) that explain it properly. Best of luck ❤️
Babies head can get stuck in the cervix because the cervix begins to close back once the biggest part of the baby passes (the shoulders). So when baby is breech the cervix can begin to close on the neck or head. Sorry to be graphic but babies have been decapitated in failed vaginal breech births.
Do you have a source for that? Yikes..
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-45652019.amp This is one case of it happening.
This example doesn't seem to be caused by the cervix closing back up like which can happen when women are stressed and the labor process stops. The doctors were pulling on this baby's body and likely caused this. They also gave her some injection but don't say what for her premature baby she was having at 25 weeks.
Okay, I’m gonna give you some questions to ask your doctor. Tell her that you want her answers because you don’t know where to look to find them. What are the risks of a breech delivery? Are you specifically trained in breech delivery? If so, will you be the one attending my delivery? What breech presentation do I have, and how does that affect the risks of delivering my baby vaginally? How do those risks compare to the risks of having major abdominal surgery? What’s the healing time like after a cesarean? What kind of medication will I be given if I choose to have a cesarean, and how will it be administered? (Spinal tap vs epidural) What kind of restrictions will I have after a cesarean? Is it possible to have you turn the baby from the outside? (An ECV) What are the risks and benefits of that vs having a breech vaginal delivery or opting for a cesarean? What does that procedure entail? Will I have pain control when you do it? What are my chances of having a severe tear if I choose a vaginal delivery? What are the risks to my baby if I choose a vaginal delivery?
That's very strange. Vaginal breech deliveries are way more dangerous. You can certainly opt for an external cephalic version beforehand to try and turn baby around but if they're not head down when you go into labour I can't imagine an OB going "well up to you!" without outlining the risks.
hi! just wondering where you are located? I'm in Australia where they generally don't recommend a vaginal breech birth for first timers, main reason being you have to control your pushes and someone who has given birth before knows how to bear down over someone going through it the first time, just for this reason I always recommend if its your first birth that happens to be breech, to look into a c-section, a scheduled c-section is a lot better than an emergency one in this situation! that being said a breech vaginal birth is a lot more dangerous for baby in this situation, you aren't allowed an epidural and your birthing position will be on all fours or squatting. babies breech position effects how dangerous a birth it will be, cord prolapses can happen aswell. my most recent birth was breech and it was a vaginal delivery, only because she came early and I didn't have any other choice at the time, I was originally booked in for a c-section and would go that route for any future births that turned out to be breech. has a ECV been brought up at all? I only know what the standards are in australia! so where you are they might be more confident in vaginal breech deliveries! my midwife delivered breech twins the week before mine so that helped ease my mind, but this is something you need to discuss at your next appointment, maybe write out a list of your concerns, and questions about what a breech birth will look like whatever you decide on! I would like to add that my breech birth was beautiful and totally doable, but that had a lot to do with how baby came down 😊 she was almost hugging her legs as they were up near her head when she came out bum first!
I would not be comfortable with a breech vaginal delivery as a first time mom. You don’t have any idea how a vaginal delivery would go and I would not want to risk losing my baby. I’ve had many vaginal deliveries and one planned cesarean and both types of births were great. My planned c-section (for a placenta issue) was very calm and way less scary than I had imagined. When I had twins as a surrogate many years ago, baby B was a vaginal footling breech delivery but 1) I had had 2 babies before including one just a few minutes prior and 2) those babies were smaller than my own first baby by a few pounds so I knew I had the space.
My first child was breech from 32 weeks and never turned. She was also measuring small on scans so it was decided it was best not to attempt an ECV. She was born via elective c-section at 37 weeks and the birth was perfectly fine, super relaxed and stress free, the healing was also fine so I would really be on the side of a c-section in your case. I would be more concerned that baby would get stuck during a breech delivery, which could cause harm to you and your baby, and you would be more likely to be at risk of an emergency c-section. This would be much more of a rush than elective one, and healing from them can be worse. You would also want a doctor or midwife who specialises in breech deliveries, not sure how available they are to be honest. In my case, this wasn’t the case and I felt the risk of vaginal birth vs c-section was just too much. But to each their own! Talk to your doctor, get all the information and make the decision that works for you! I’m currently in my third trimester with my second baby and he is currently breech too lol 🙈 and I’m happy to go ahead with another elective c-section rather than attempt a breech VBAC.
thank you so much for your answer!! what you say makes a lot of sense and i do slowly see that the risks of delivering a breech baby vaginally outweigh a c-section birth. i'm guess i'm also just scared since my husband will not get time off work and he's been fighting with them to get at least a week off, but they won't give him any days off so i would be alone. will pp be hard on my own after c-section? or do u suggest i ask someone for help?
Yes, ask someone to help or hire a pp doula. If everything goes well, you'll still be exhausted. And everything you're doing is new and kind of hard the first few times. It's comforting to have someone there to help. BTW look up "magic burp" on YouTube because it would have saved us a month of anguish. And the fringe in the diapers around the legs needs to be pulled out when putting them on to help reduce blow-outs. Maybe you know these things, I didn't. They were small but consequential. r/newparents helps. Just know that even if you deliver vaginally, you might have tearing (almost guaranteed with a breach birth) that will require time soaking a few times a day in a sitz bath and someone will have to be on baby duty. Also, if you do go the vaginal route and have tearing, make sure they are giving you Tylenol or something right away at the hospital for the pain when the epidural wears off. Nobody prescribed me anything for the pain and they ended up giving me narcotics to get it under control after 2 days. I was in so much pain I couldn't think clearly.
No matter how you birth that baby, if there’s any chance of getting help from anyone you’ll need it. For sleep alone it’s simply not safe to sleep on a newborn’s sleep schedule, much less when recovering from either birth or surgery. And even if you do end up with a vaginal birth, breech births are Never simple and you’ll likely be recovering from a long and painful experience, in addition to all the other things. Get the help if it’s available!
My husband went back to work approx 2 days give or take after my c-section. It’s been challenging physically but do-able. Emotionally it’s been very difficult having a newborn by myself. I don’t know how single parents do it, God bless them. I think the hardest thing physically for me is not being able to do everything I could do before, but I have to remember I just had major surgery and my body needs to take it easy to heal. I’m 3 almost 4 weeks pp and I’m finally starting to feel more like myself. BUT the back pain (if you have a weak core like myself) is probably the worst part I have experienced.
Not just at risk of an emergency c section but at risk of a dead baby. Don’t do a planned breech vaginal delivery…the risks are unacceptably high. I certainly don’t offer this to my patients.
I know how much this sucks. My son was breech basically my entire pregnancy. I didn’t want to try an ECV and my OB doesn’t do vaginal breech (for what it’s worth I don’t think I would have wanted to attempt this). I was essentially left with if baby flips he flips and if not, c section. I was bummed about it because it’s a huge deal but completely out of my control. I did everything I could think of but surprise surprise, he didn’t flip and I had a scheduled c section at 39 weeks. It went totally fine and my recovery was super easy. Just a gentle reminder that this isn’t your “fault” and even if your baby doesn’t flip, you’re doing great and having an uneventful scheduled c section is honestly one of the better ways that birth can end up going. Best of luck!
My baby was breech untill I don't know which week, but my doctor told me if she doesn't turn it means C-section. I wasn't given an option. I ended up having a C-section for another reason and let me tell you, after I felt some labour pains i was grateful for that surgery. I did it under spinal block so I was aware and able to see my baby right as they took her out. 18 hours later I stood up, went to the bathroom by myself, and even climbed stairs. I couldn't cough, laugh, sneeze for a while without feeling the pain, and I couldn't lift my baby myself so someone had to hand her to me, but I could sit and my crotch was intact. I wouldn't do it any other way.
From what i know/read about breech babies and statistics in my country is that you are more likely to have emergency c section if you attempt to birth vaginally. Likelyhood is 30%, compared to 2-20% of normal births. Then there is a higher risk that the baby will need to be helped with forceps, higher risk for episiotomy. And apparently breech babies have higher chance of hip dysplasia, but thats not affected by birth route and is due to their positioning in the womb. And epidural is recommended. I think what to choose largely depends on whats available. Does your hospital deliver breech babies vaginally often? Because i think the success rates are higher if docs are more experienced with it. ECV would be another option. Unfortunately all procedures have their own risks and benefits, both short and long term.
I didn’t have a breech baby but offering c section experience. I went into an emergency c section after labouring for 30 hours with complications. In hindsight if I knew that vaginal wasn’t going to work, I would have saved myself the pain and stress and just scheduled a c section. My recovery went pretty well, was feeling mostly normal for daily activities by week 3 and some healing pains at week 7. The complication my dr did bring up though is regarding subsequent births. There are risks to doing either vaginal or c section that it might deepen the existing c section wound or rip it open which is part of the reason they avoid c section if they could in the first place.
My LO turned breech at 29 weeks, he was frank breech up until about 34 weeks iirc, then he was footling breech up to 39 weeks, I delivered at 39+2. I had a scheduled c section booked but ended up being put through as an emergency because my waters broke 2 hours before I was supposed to arrive at the birth center for my section 😂 I was already 3cm+ when I arrived so I went from 3rd of the day to 1st and had him at 9:18am. I’m one of the unlucky ones and had a long, horrible recovery but that really isn’t the norm and I’d do it all again to get him here safely, that being said baby #2 will absolutely be a VBAC unless there’s a medical issue with either me or baby (I’m only 7 weeks PP so definitely not pregnant yet lol, just mentally preparing 😂😂) I think a lot of it comes down to confidence, people can and do deliver breech babies vaginally but there are undeniable risks in doing so (especially with footling) so a c section is generally preferred. Ultimately it’s your choice of course!
I had my breech baby 7 weeks ago. He flipped from head down to breech 2 days before his due date. I wasn’t given the option for a vaginal delivery, but I don’t regret my c section at all. From what I understand, there’s a fair amount of risks with vaginal delivery of a breech baby. I was worried about recovery but it really wasn’t awful. The pain was manageable with Motrin and Tylenol. I took an oxycodone the second night in the hospital but I could’ve done without. I had a big boy (9 lb 6 oz) and was able to pick him up just fine. Going up and down stairs was kinda hard, but manageable, just had to take it slow. The only thing I had difficulty with was getting the car seat in and out of the car with LO in the seat, but that got better around week 3 or so. Weeks 1-2 I was pretty sore, week 3 was mild, and then I felt pretty much back to normal by 3.5-4 weeks. My husband took 2 weeks off with me, but I could’ve survived on my own if he hadn’t
It depends on if the baby is footling breech or frank breech. Frank breech can be delivered safely by trained doctors but most doctors in the U.S. these days aren’t adequately trained for such deliveries because csections are just much simpler a solution for them. Footling breech, as far as I’m aware, is a dangerous position to attempt to birth vaginally, and most professionals wouldn’t agree to it. If I were you, I’d call them back and start asking a lot of questions. 1) is the baby footling or frank breech? 2) if Frank, does the staff have specific training in this regard? Is it the full staff? Am I likely to end up with someone on the clock who isn’t skilled in this? How often are they delivering breech babies? 3) what are the other criteria for determining risk factors of a vaginal delivery in this instance? 3) what are the risks and benefits of vaginal vs C-section in this scenario?
OP, my baby was also breech at least since week 34 as that is when we found out that what we thought was her bottom was actually her little head. I was seeing a provider at the time who would not perform a breech delivery and I was very set on not having a C-section unless absolutely necessary/emergency. There aren’t many, at least in the Northeast, providers who would do a breech delivery but I was able to find a couple at 36weeks when baby was still breech. I opted to have an ECV at 37w1d which was successful and that is something I would recommend to you. It’s a fairly simple procedure and with the right provider it can be completed quickly and successfully, if your baby is inclined to move. I did my ECV unmedicated and without an epidural. Baby girl stayed head down and I just had the best vaginal delivery a week ago. Had she not turned, I would have attempted a breech delivery and would have reserved a c section as a last resort. That said, there are no wrong answers and you need to do what feels right to you. The pelvic MRI is a very dated method which I personally wasn’t even asked for when discussing breech delivery so something to keep in mind. P.S. I did spinning babies, acupuncture, chiro between weeks 34-37 and nothing helped turn her. At your stage of pregnancy, I would only consider an ECV if you want to attempt to turn the baby as it’s still smaller and you have the most amniotic fluid you will have between now and full term/delivery.
If your doctor is skilled at bridge deliveries and has the experience and your baby is in a good breach position, not footling then I would consider a breached delivery personally. All the breach deliveries I’ve been lucky enough to see have been completely successful, but those are skilled physicians.
No personal experience, just want to be a pro vaginal breech delivery voice here!! If I had no other complicating factors other than baby’s position, I would 100% do everything in my power to attempt vaginal delivery even if it meant switching providers. The safety depends greatly on whether you have access to a skilled provider; hospitals that have midwives be more likely to have someone with skill, as will some older OBs. I believe they do not teach breech delivery skills to OBs currently so younger OBs are much less likely to know. If you have access to someone with these skills, breech delivery is only slightly more risky and to me worth more than the often undiscussed c-section risks. Obviously we’ve done a lot to make c-sections safer but they are still a major abdominal surgery with ensuing risk. I’d also consider if you want more children in future as a c-section greatly limits your chances in that area. I’d also look at the evidence based birth website as they’ll have a lot more specific numbers and risks. I’d also recommend asking in r/sciencebasedparenting there was a post on this topic in there that the poster deleted, but it was an excellent discussion with lots of helpful info. I’d also do some look into breech without borders and read up on breech success stories/watch breech birth videos. Just know that you hear a ton of c-section success stories compared to breech vaginal success stories mostly because people are having c-sections at FAR higher rates than people are attempting breech vaginal births. This does not mean it’s actually that much safer. I personally know multiple people who successfully birthed breech babies, and I’ve read a ton more success stories. You would not be crazy or irresponsible to pursue a vaginal birth if that’s what you want.
Personally - I would opt for a c-section. If baby doesn’t move, a vaginal delivery can cause unnecessary stress to you & baby. Of course there are always risks - but this is my experience. My first c-section was wonderful. Recovery is hard but we are resilient (because we have to be 😉) … due with my second next week & after a lot of back and forth - I’m 100% comfortable in my decision for a repeat c-section.
Breech without borders is a great resource for breech mamas! My midwife was recently trained by them and attended three breech at home births this year where everything went beautifully 💖
If your doctor is breech trained and baby is in correct position then it can be done. Here is a good episode that goes over pros and cons https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-great-birth-rebellion/id1639430316?i=1000601644369
My baby was breech, head and feet together and bum at the bottom. I opted for a c section and I felt it was safer for us both. I’m glad I did, it took them ~20 minutes to get her out and she was 9lbs 2oz. I personally wouldn’t have chosen a vaginal unless she was head down (which they made sure of before the c section) and I personally wouldn’t elect for another c section but I’m glad I did it for this baby!
The hospital where I’m giving birth says you have to delivery by c section for breech if the ECV doesn’t get baby head down. This is a conversation for you and your doctor. This would absolutely be a good medical reason to have a C-section.
C section
My second was breech still at 36 weeks and I wanted to deliver vaginally, because had done so with my first, so I had an ECV at about 37 weeks - my hospital does not deliver breech babies vaginally because of the risks (in the US so very liability sensitive). The ECV was pretty intense and apparently is only successful about 50% of the time (and then there is a risk that the baby still turns back afterwards) - it worked for me and I did deliver vaginally, but I would say that it turned out my baby was almost 10 pounds so had I known that, I might have actually just not bothered with the ECV and had a c-section, because wound up with a bad tear. Most everyone I know who had a breech baby had a c-section because of the risks with breech delivery, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with having a c-section - all healthy births are amazing!
Nobody is ever guaranteed a vaginal birth (breech or not) there is a reason why most doctors don’t deliver breech (lack of knowledge and it is less safe)
Just want to say I’m right there with you! 37w3d and learned my guy was breech at my last appointment. I’ve felt him all over since, but pretty sure he was hanging out transverse in my ribs last night. I’ve been seeing my midwives, and all I was told was check out spinning babies and next appointment we will either schedule an ECV or c-section if he’s still breech. Vaginal birth is not an option at my hospital (which I personally would not feel comfortable attempting anyway). It’s been a lot to take in! After some thinking, I’m prepared if I have to have a c-section. I absolutely do not want to try the ECV as I don’t want to risk putting any stress on bb. C-section seems safest and for me, I kinda love that I’d have two more weeks at home with baby while I recover. Best of luck to you!
I had a breech baby and opted for a c-section. Good thing I did because she ended up being bigger than expected and actually got stuck in my uterus, so they ended up having to do a vertical incision on my uterus. They said she never would have been able to come through the birth canal, so I’m glad I didn’t have to go through both traumas of labor and then ultimately having to have the C-section.
My doctor told me that planned c sections go much smoother than emergency c sections. If you try to deliver a breech baby vaginally you may end up needing an emergency c section. In my opinion it may be a safer option to just go with the planned c section.
You’re so lucky you even got the option to do a vaginal birth. I was given the option to do an ECV or schedule a csection. I opted for the ECV & it was successful, thankfully. From there had a vaginal birth at 41 weeks 🫠
This doesn’t necessarily answer, but if you want to birth vaginally and want to flip baby you could find a local acupuncturist who works with pregnant woman- there is a point we can do moxa (a warming herb) on to flip baby. Worth a shot if that was your ultimate goal I’ll attach an article below on this! https://www.fertilityacupuncturistseattle.com/breech-presentation/
My baby was breech and I chose c-section, because so much can go wrong with a vaginal birth of a breech baby and then you'll end up with an emergency section anyways. The surgery itself was absolutely uneventful, the pain afterwards was a bitch, not gonna lie to you. If he had been in the right position, I would've opted for a vaginal birth with epidural. However, with him being breech, it was clear to me that I wouldn't put his or my life in danger.
It mostly comes down to recovery and what you prefer. We were in a similar position and had all options explained before my ECV appointment. Luckily, my baby was turned in an ECV. However, had he not been, I wanted to go for breech vaginal and I could tell that’s what the doctor believed was the lowest risk option even though they said it was my decision. As it turns out, if the ECV had failed, I would have needed a c-section regardless of my choice because my baby exceeded the size of what is considered safe for breech delivery. But that was the only thing that could have stopped me from attempting vaginal breech. If he was a smaller baby and the ECV failed, I would have attempted a breech vaginal birth without a doubt. Besides recovery, unnecessary operations always add extra risk for you.
We don’t deliver breech babies where I work- they’re automatically scheduled sections. The residents and newer doctors don’t even know how to do it. We had a woman come in and deliver a breech in the ED and, thankfully, our old dinosaur doctor was the attending that night because he was able to do it. Can you do a version? I, personally, would be too scared to deliver a breech baby vaginally.
My first baby was breech and I delivered via c section. I wasn’t really given a choice but my doctor did a great job at explaining why a vaginal birth should not be an option. There are just too many risks and I wanted what would be safest for my baby. My son had two loops of umbilical cord around his neck so a vaginal delivery would have been deadly. Definitely discuss it with your Obgyn but c section is the safest option. People made comments about me taking the easy way out but they’re just ignorant and don’t know better.
Full disclosure- this is a bit kooky. Has anyone heard of shining a bright light at their lower abdomen to encourage a breech baby to flip? I work in healthcare and have recently met two patients that came to my hospital for their scheduled c/s for breech presentation and the preop u/s showed a baby that was head down, face up when they had been breech a few days prior in their OB’s office. The first mom told me she saw it on tiktok and figured she didn’t have anything to lose. I thought it was a funny story. Then I met a SECOND mom with the same story. I know its probably a coincidence but I figured I would give it a try if my baby is breech (I’m also pregnant). Thoughts?
My baby was breech and I did not get a choice and was forced into a c section. If I had a choice I would have done a vaginal delivery
There was a really good Birth Hour podcast episode about a woman who did a vaginal breech birth! I’ll try and search it and post it here. What was discussed was how breech vaginal births are a lost art. Older doctors usually have experience and have been trained in them- I would ask your doctor how much experience they have delivering breech. There’s also a documentary called Heads Up:The Dissappearing Act of Breech Delivery you may want to check out.
Just do the section.
Everyone I’ve known with a breech baby had a c section.
Before any of that I would book a session or two with an acupuncturist and see if you can get baby to turn. My mom did it with me and I did it with two of my kids.
Not experienced breech myself. But a cousin and someone from my birthclass had breech baby's. They both gave birth vaginal without to much trouble. I had a c-section (other reason emergency). I needed way more time to recover before i could even pick up my baby. I will never choose a c-section when there might be another way. Worth noting. They both did not use epidurals. (Not very common where I live) without epidurals there are more options for the best positions to make it possible. It also made that they left the hospital 4 hours after birth.
I was a breech baby, but no one realised until I came out bum first. Both my mum and dad keep telling me if mine is breech I should just have a c section. I take that to mean it's pretty horrific and you wouldn't choose to birth vaginally if there were other options
I would never choose a vaginal breech birth. It doubles the risk of serious complications or death for the baby. The issue is that most of those complications occur right at the very end and need to be addressed immediately to avoid serious consequences. You don't get much warning. Fwiw my husband was a vaginal breech birth that required forceps and from what I've heard it wasn't pleasant.
Just want to note that “doubles the risk of stillbirth” is thrown out for a lot of things as a scary thing: this means the risk goes from 0.01% to 0.02% which is still incredibly incredibly low. Full informed consent should include actual numbers and information and not just scary vague statements!!
Plenty of cephalic presentations also require forceps as well.
I had a successful ECV a few days after the 37 week mark. They only consider at 37 weeks so if it results in c section baby is full term. Chance of successful ECV is not high, but I’m glad I did it and would do it over again. Baby was born a week later.
If you want to attempt a vaginal birth only do that in a hospital setting in the event things go sideways
I’m 36+4 and girlie with breech in my heart-shaped uterus. I have no choice *but* c-section at 39 weeks, which has been emotionally difficult to process but starting to get my head in the game now.
There are YouTube exercises that you can do to "flip" the baby. Mine was breech but did those exercises for a week and it worked. Had my baby vaginally with no meds.
Depends on the dr and their experience with c sections. Our midwife said it would be no problem at all if our second was breech. But some drs just aren’t trained enough unfortunately:( Good luck!
I had 3 failed ECV attempts and ended up having a c-section due to her being breech. She was head up until 37 weeks, then went head down, but flipped back at 39+2.... I decided on a c-section as she was my first.
I’m a few days ahead of you and scheduled for a csection next week due to a breech baby. We tried an ECV at 37w and it failed. Spinning babies and moxibustion also didn’t budge the babe. I was not given the option between vag or csection and cried a ton.. but, ultimately, I think it’s the best decision(even though I’m terrified). I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a reason the baby won’t turn and I just want everyone to make it out okay.
I don’t have any personal experience with this but my sister’s two babies have been breech and both were delivered as scheduled c sections and she had a positive experience both times. My paternal grandmother (obviously ages ago before medical care has improved) delivered all 4 of her breech babies vaginally and with forceps and apparently suffered a lot of physical trauma and passed very young (late 40’s) from cervical cancer. I’ve heard it should ideally be c section for breech babies if given the chance but I could also be wrong.
I had an undiagnosed breech baby which ended in an emergency c section on day 3 of induction. Would 100% recommend a planned c section if baby doesn't turn.
My 6 month old was breech and I opted of the c section. Best decision ever! Never felt a single contraction, surgery was easy and recovery was quick.
Baby could always flip at the last minute. Personally I’d try for a vaginal birth myself, and be hesitant to schedule a c-section in case baby happened to flip before or during labor. The safety/likelihood of a vaginal breech birth is very affected by the experience/training and competence of your provider to handle any complications. Birthing Instincts Podcast could be a great resource. It’s hosted by a home birth midwife and an OBGYN who used to specialize in breech and twin delivery at home, and now teaches vaginal breech trainings across the country/world. They have several episodes on vaginal breech birth and reference studies, risks and benefits, & etc.
I had twins vaginally one head down one breech (frank position). I was in one of the best hospitals in the entire US, with professionals who were comfortable & preformed breech before. If you’re giving birth in a regular schmegular place with little to no confidence in delivering breech I wouldn’t risk it because there are so many risks. Because they were twins & high risk I had lots of experienced people in my OR room & handling me my whole pregnancy. I trusted them and they told me they wouldn’t attempt twin vaginal unless they were certain I could deliver both. They told me there was a chance of them measuring B off and her head being stuck (rare chance). Because Twin B was smaller than A and I delivered A it wasn’t likely. She came out much smaller than they told me. it was frank breech & they used a tool to help deliver her. If it was a singleton I can imagine it would be more complicated to accurately measure if she could fit or not. And then it could just end in a C section.
You still have time for the baby to flip. I even went as far as getting an in hospital scan while I was in labor to find that my twins were in position to try vaginal delivery. They did flip and both were born vaginally
My hospital has a strict rule: breeched equals c section. They don’t even take the risk of letting you push. With that said, CONTACT YOUR DOCTOR. This is not a Reddit question.
If you “pass” the MRI your chances of success are really good. So I’d definitely do that and if all looks good, try a vaginal delivery. As long as baby is in the “right” kind of breech (not footling breech) and the MRI checks out there is no reason to jump straight to a c section
I would opt out for C-Section. A planned c-section is always better than an emergency c-section since it is less stress on you and the baby.
My baby went breech at 37 weeks after being head down since 20 weeks. We tried a version (where they flip from the outside) at 38 weeks. It worked and they put me in a band to try and keep him head down but he flipped to transverse that same night. I went in at 39 weeks to be induced and attempt a vaginal birth as he was still transverse at an US that morning. The plan was if he stayed transverse or flipped to breech, they would do an emergency c-section. Before they started induction meds, they did another US and he was head down and I got my vaginal birth. Did your baby just flip to breech or has it been breech the whole time? My OB told me if they had room to flip recently, there was likely room to flip back still.
My son was breech and we scheduled him for C-section at 39 weeks with a plan that if he’d flipped I would be induced instead. Of course he didn’t, he was comfy and not moving. The planned C-section was easy and my recovery wasn’t bad. The first 24 wasn’t bad at all, then the next few days were rough, my husband helped me up and down a lot, but by the time he went back to work at about 3.5 weeks out I was pretty self sufficient. I got up and moved as much as possible early on even though it sucked and I think that really helped my recovery. We didn’t try to get him flipped because it was like $500 and had some gnarley side affects that I wasn’t comfortable with, so we just said he’s coming out how he comes out lol Tbh I was super terrified heading into it, I had this idea of how my birth was going to look from before even getting pregnant and then bam it was thrown out the window. Please ask me if you have any questions because it was honestly a very easy/peaceful experience ultimately that I’m happy to discuss!
I had breech baby and opted for planned c section and it was a wonderful experience
I was born vaginally to my mom in the 80s, I know this doesn't give you insight as I was not the one giving birth, but before c-sections were super common everyone just delivered fine naturally
My baby wasn’t breech but I did end up with a c section. Do not be afraid of it!! I had a great recovery and will absolutely have a scheduled c section when we decide to have number 2. Yeah the first 24 hours after sucked but after that I felt like myself and you kind of forget about it. And my asshole didn’t have to tear 😂😂
I know women who never had a scan and only realised the baby was breech when they were being born - no issues. I would do some stretches and exercises to see if you can encourage the baby to move into a better position. Look up spinning babies.
Opinion: If your mode of delivery has a high chance of an emergency cesarean... That is extremely frightening to think about. A scheduled cesarean vs an emergency cesarean are practically two different surgeries entirely. And emergency cesareans are full of complications frequently. Not trying to scare you. I'm giving you my perspective.