Imagine a scenario with me if you will…You have been sailing through your pregnancy, planning to birth in birth center or perhaps at home when at a routine hospital appointment, you discover that your baby is breech. Momentary mad panic ensues because now, although you know you could have a vaginal breech birth, the advice from the hospital all seems to be geared towards a c-section.
Now, I know you have nothing but total respect for those c-section mamas out there but if at all possible, you want to avoid having an abdominal birth (for many reasons). What can you do? Well, lovely…there are so many things! Here are my top tips…
Don’t feel overwhelmed by all of the suggestions, take a look and see which ones appeal to you and start there!
-Visualise- this can have an amazing effect! Get into a relaxed state and visualise baby turning into the correct position. The beauty of this is that your brain doesn’t differentiate from what is real or what is vividly imagined. Convince your brain & your body will follow! From a practical point of view when you visualise something vividly and feel how you will feel when it happens, we are more propelled to take the action needed. The action part is vital…(Remember the more you repeat a message to yourself the more your subconscious believes and accepts it- Law of Repetition)
-Relax, trust and believe that baby will turn and baby is more likely to. (What you put out there comes back to you like a boomerang- Law of Attraction)…On a practical note, the more relaxed you are mentally, the more relaxed your body is, the more room baby has to turn.
-Acupuncture- Moxibustion is a technique Acupuncturists use to specifically turn breech babies. Here is a great article which covers the evidence behind the use of this technique.
– A Hypnosis session with a qualified Hypnotherapist (or your Hypnobirthing instructor) is a great way to help turn baby if they haven’t done so already after 36 weeks. Here is a link to the research to support that.
– A fear release exercise on its own is great. Write down all your fears (not just baby related), and let them go or reduce your anxiety around them. Perhaps chatting your fears through with a loved one will help you to make sense of them and not fear them as much, or maybe writing it down and ripping it up or burning those fears. Once you have done that you can then go and listen to your Fear Release MP3 afterwards. Fear will cause your body to tense and give baby less room to move.
-Watch your posture. If you find you are slouching on a sofa then put a cushion under your bottom and behind you so you straighten up or sit on your birthing ball
– Spinning babies this is a great site which gives specific exercises you can do to turn baby
– Chiropractor’s can perform the Websters technique on you to turn baby. Even if you don’t have the Websters technique, just some adjustment can help align your pelvis and encourage baby to move.
– Miles Circuit is a set of exercise’s used to get baby into Optimal Position http://www.milescircuit.com/
– Bowen Technique is a gentle, relaxing technique to align all of your ligaments and help with any misalignment in the pelvis which could help with getting your baby to turn into the optimal position.
– Anthonissa Moger’s Course called Align Your Baby which I would really recommend which is all about getting your baby in the right position.
ECV’s- External cephalic version is a totally a personal choice. This is a procedure where your doctor will manually attempt to turn your baby by pressing their bands firmly on your abdomen. It has a reputation of being an uncomfortable experience (breathing properly and relaxing as much as possible would really help). It is always worth going to see your doctor about it and get all the information so you can make an informed decision as with all procedures it isn’t for everyone and it can carry some risks.
Remember; If baby stays breech it is usually for a really good reason…they won’t turn if its isn’t in their best interests. A breech vaginal delivery is a possibility or a C-section and both of those can be positive experiences.
