What is Breech Birth?

A breech birth is when the baby is in position to descend bottom first instead of head first. Breech presentation occurs in 3% to 4% of all term pregnancies. A higher percentage of breech presentations occurs with less advanced gestational age. At 32 weeks, 7% of fetuses are breech, and 28 weeks or less, 25% are breech. If your baby is in the breech position at term, you will have to research, evaluate, and make a decision about how and where to have your specially positioned baby.

Medical professionals will often consider this to be a high risk for natural birth however with proper monitoring and birth assistance there is no difference.

What Causes a Breech Birth?

The breech position is normal and throughout your pregnancy your baby will move around and change position (you may notice this during your ultrasound). However as the body prepares for birth your baby often moves into a head down position.

Baby’s Choice

In some cases, the body and baby make the choice not to turn into a cephalic (head down) presentation. Though it is rare, it can be completely normal and nothing to worry about with the assistance of a professionally trained midwife and doula. Your midwife, Obstetrician-gynecologist (obgyn), or a maternal-fetal specialist will determine the causation ahead of labor to ensure there aren’t special measures that need to be taken. However, some rare anatomical conditions of the baby such as craniosynostosis (a birth defect in which the bones in a baby’s skull join together too early) can not always be determined with ultrasound before birth and must be taken into consideration.

Amniotic Fluid

The amniotic fluid in your uterus plays a role in your baby’s ability to move around.  Your baby may have too much or too little space to move around as a result of your uterus having too much or too little amniotic fluid.

Uterine Abnormalities

Another reason for breech birth is an abnormally with your uterus. Sometimes it’s a deformity in the shape. Other complications, such as fibroids in the uterus or placenta previa also can cause a breech birth. In cases like this, you and your medical team know months in advance to your labor preparation.   Which brings us to the next question…

IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE A BREECH BABY AT HOME?

The answer is often, yes. It is possible to  birth a breeched baby naturally in any setting entirely depending on the reason your baby is breech. The reason and your risk level should be explored by your team of birth professionals before a decision is made.

A home setting leads to high rates of vaginal birth and good maternal outcomes for both breech and cephalic term singleton presentations. Out-of-hospital vaginal breech birth under specific protocol guidelines and with a skilled provider may be a reasonable choice for women wishing to avoid a cesarean section—especially when there is no option of a hospital breech birth. Unfortunately, there are no known options for planned vaginal breech delivery in the hospital setting within the state of Virginia.

Consultation

I am available for consultation with ways to safely turn babies using gentle external cephalic version and spinning baby’s techniques, if the baby can do so and regarding vaginal breech birth.