So much can change in a week, and then again…
We had our 37 week ultrasound about ten days ago, and once again baby proves that he will call the shots in our relationship! Our little guy was breech and already measuring quite large (of course there is also a significant margin of error). The chances of him moving on his own aren’t very high, according to our doctor. So we selected our baby’s birth date and have a scheduled cesarean on March 14th- or so we thought.
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| The whole household anxiously awaits Baby G’s arrival |
To be honest the news didn’t upset or worry me like I thought it might. I am a planner and I don’t like surprises- I have a lot of anxiety about the unknown-so I even felt a bit relieved. I have been struggling with the whole thought of labor and delivery. Now this is not to say that I would have elected to have a c-section just because, but finding out I need to schedule one is not the worst news.
Now as far as I could tell for the past several weeks, my baby was in the same spot he always had been. I felt the same body bumps and movements consistently. Which is why after being told six weeks ago that he was head down I was surprised to hear that he was breech.
I would like to share with you the options I was given- and feel free to weigh in with your thoughts or personal experiences! And be sure to keep reading for the twist!
External Cephalic Version (ECV)- This procedure is done by the doctor at the hospital to try and turn the baby from a breech position. It can be very painful and therefore I have the option of getting an epidural for it. My doctor’s success rate is about 50%, and there isn’t a guarantee baby won’t turn right back around even if she is successful. Knowing myself I would elect to have the pain medication, and really I don’t feel comfortable having that additional procedure. There of course are risks, however great or small, but it just didn’t appeal to me as a choice.
The Webster Technique– Our doctor informed us of this technique used by chiropractors that is said to have a very high success rate. The idea is to loosen the ligaments in your uterus to help give the baby more room to move. I contacted the one recommended to me today and was told they would like to see me every day for the next two weeks. I like the idea of this procedure since it doesn’t seem to put any pressure on the baby. However, daily visits for a full time working girl is not the easiest task. I also don’t love the $40 in daily cab fare in addition to insurance co-pays. But it is still on the list of possibilities- I guess I just need to decide how important it really is for me to get baby to turn.
Scheduled C-Section- As you already know, we did select this option. Now the idea is to have it on the books, and if he ends up in a head down position that is great, and we will proceed as planned with natural labor and delivery. In fact, when I go in on the 14th they will do an ultrasound, if he is head down I will be sent home without a choice. At that point the C-section is no longer medically necessary. They schedule these at 39 weeks for a couple of reasons. Namely to get him as close to your due date as possible for development reasons, but they don’t want to wait longer in order to lessen the chance of going into labor with a breech baby. In that event I could be looking at a possible emergency C-section. My doctor was very clear that she will not deliver a breech baby the old fashioned way.
Spinningbabies.com
– This is quite an interesting website- who knew there was so much dedication to turning a breech baby? It was recommended to me by several friends as well it came up on just about every Google search I did on the subject. I gave it a whirl- did some pretty funky moves- one of which is called The Inversion, which only lasted 30 seconds, but made my head feel like it would explode! I also did some Open-Knee Chest exercises, and even shone a light on my belly while my husband gave the baby a pep-talk to help him make his way down.Okay, so fast forward to our 38 week appointment, this was seven days from our scheduled C-section appointment. We have arrangements made for family to come in town, some hotel rooms reserved and I even booked a last minute pedicure for the occasion. I was trying not to read too much about the C-section procedure, and was feeling like I was mentally prepared to have one, even considering the surgical aspect.
My doctor did the usual exam and we discussed the concern surrounding my elevated blood pressure and increasing ankle swelling. She felt my belly to see if the baby had moved, and I advised her that I wasn’t aware of any big flips. She decided to perform another ultrasound because she was unable to tell by touch. And wouldn’t you know, the baby turned and is now head down. Ok, time for another mental gear shift! She did keep our scheduled appointment in case baby G isn’t done doing flips, and we go back on Wednesday for another ultrasound. But it seems for now that we are back to the normal waiting game of labor.
This story is just another reminder that babies rule and flexibility is key, even from the starting gates! Has anyone else had an aerobic baby keep them guessing before birth?
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Category: Pregnancy
Tags: breech baby
