Your Options If Your Baby is Breech or Transverse

You might have found this article because you've discovered your child is in the breech position or is transverse (laying parallel across the stomach) and you want to know what your options are. In many cases today, doctors recommend a cesarean section. But is this your only option? Cesarean sections are the most common way to deliver a breech baby in multiple countries.

If you are looking to avoid a c-section, you do have some options. You can still birth vaginally with a breech presentation.
One of the first thing I'd recommend is to start seeing a chiropractor. While I don't believe chiropractors can solve all problems, but when it comes to pregnancy, research confirms that adjustments can assist mom in pregnancy, labor, and in this case, in turning a baby. A chiropractor will help adjust the alignment of your bones and muscles to help encourage the baby to turn into the downward position

Turning the baby, or External Version is another option. An ultrasound is done to visually place where the baby is located and the doc or midwife will perform a non-stress test to confirm that the baby can handle that stress of the version. Often a drug is given to relax the mom's muscles, specifically the muscles of the uterine walls, to help the turn go smoother. The nurse and doctor will then push on the mom's abdomen to attempt to physically turn the baby into the correct position. Sometimes mom's even are given an epidural to help cope with the pain. It can be painful (some moms report its more painful than childbirth).

Hypnotherapy has been researched at the University of Vermont as an option to turn the baby. You'd meet with the hypnotherapist who will lead you through visualization techniques. Clinical hypnotherapy has previously been shown to help with weight loss, to stop smoking, reduce anxiety, and reduce pain in childbirth. Statistics report that hypnotherapy has turned babies 85% of the time.

Some other options used by midwives, but with less research include:

-Visualization- There are websites dedicated to turning babies just with visualizing alone
-Swimming- The relaxation of the water combined with the pressure of the water on the body
-Breech Tilt- This involves lying down with your hips titled in the air, at least 12 inches above the level of your head. Often the baby's head will become un "stuck" from the pelvis and will turn
-Sensation Approaches- Babies in utero will respond to light and temperature. Try tracing a flashlight along your abdomen down towards the birth canal. Babies also respond to cold and will respond if you place an ice pack on the area where babies head is located
-Drink alot of water- The more water you drink, the more it increases amniotic fluid and the more room baby has to swim

Why the need for a C-section? Well there are risks associated with vaginally delivering a breech baby, including prolapse (flattening) of the umbilical cord. When the amniotic sac breaks, the baby may become tangled in the breech position in the cord and can cut off their oxygen supply. The baby's head can often become stuck as it is the last part of the baby to be born. The head is the largest part of the infant and the head can become stuck in the birth canal (which can also compress the umbilical cord for an extended period of time, again cutting off oxygen to the baby).