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Friday, March 19, 2010

Back to Breech...

Hmmmm... just when I was able to report that everything was progressing without a hitch.... the baby turned BACK to breech. I was so relieved and excited that the huge risk of c-section was gone, and now it's back with a vengeance.

I even made my husband promise not to tell anyone because if his mother finds out and even says one word about it to me I will lose control. I'm mostly joking, but I really will find it hard to bite my tongue if she were to say anything to me in that regard.


We went in for our regular appointment last week and a midwife that was filling in for my usual one felt for the position, and was having a really tough time between the braxton hicks I was having and the baby itself. She started to get worried that the baby had turned breech again and wanted to schedule an ultrasound at 36 weeks to confirm it. Unfortunately the hospital had other ideas and was booked all the way into my 37th week which would not have given us much time to try any natural methods of having the baby turn on his own. Needless to say I was a little anxious..... Thankfully, I just got the call today that my appointment was switched to the day the baby is 36 weeks! So, if we do find out that he is in fact still breech we can try natural methods of turning him for a week before we need to try an ECV.


The natural methods to turn a baby include:
  • going in water with your head down feet up
  • laying on a board with your feet elevated higher than your head
  • Moxibustion- a chinese medicine tool that consists of a herb used near your baby toe
  • Acupuncture
  • Webster Technique done at the Chiropractors

And there are more that I have missed I'm sure.

Now, the scary thing is the ECV. It stands for External Cephalic Version and consists of an Obstetrician manually turning the baby from the outside using their hands and kind of pushing the baby around. They begin by prepping you for an emergency c-section (great) and giving you drugs to relax your uterus (also great). They have to make sure to lift the baby out of the space between the pelvic bones and tuurrrrrn the baby so that the head is down. The part that doesn't bode well for me is the rate of success is 58% and also the success rate goes down for first time pregnancies.

The complications include the placenta separating from the uterine wall (resulting in a emergency c-section), the risk of the baby's heartbeat dropping (resulting in immediate delivery), and/ or cord prolapse. Sounds fun, doesn't it? Many babies turn back even after the ecv, and apparently it hurts... It definitely doesn't look fun based on the you tube videos I may have looked up. Ah well, I would rather try to get him turned around naturally first, manually second, and still aim for a natural birth. However, if it comes down to a c-section I will be disappointed, but blah blah blah all that matters is a healthy child. I'm practising to say that to people because I will be really sad if I don't get to have the birth I want.

So now for a weekend of waiting. Although with everything going on right now I'm not sure I will have that much time to actually think about it.

I have to pack up most of our house so that we can move it to the house we are renovating. Unfortunately this is difficult because I would really like to have at least one room done in which to put stuff so we don't have to move it ten times... but alas we have to complete painting and trim in minimum the three rooms that are the closest to finished. However, I suppose I could just pack everything up and keep it at the house we are living in until those rooms are completed.

I mainly need to make a place for donating stuff, throwing away stuff, and keeping stuff. I need to purge because I don't want to bring a ton of clutter into a new place. Maybe the nesting energy will kick in! Fingers crossed!

I also need to go shopping for the things that are most critical in preparing for this baby like a diaper bag and the stuff that we need to take to the hospital. I need to buy some nursing tank tops and something more comfortable maternity wear wise to wear around the house. It feels like my tummy is growing out of everything these days! I know this to be true because of the excessive stretch marks that seem never ending! I have a lower stomach that is almost entirely tiger stripes, so hot....

In between the packing, cleaning, and shopping I will need to make time for resting and homework as well... I have a feeling this weekend is going to fly by and the ultrasound will be here before I know it!

Has anyone had an ultrasound at 36 weeks? I assume it will be much different from my 20 week one, and I'm wondering how much detail you can see? Facial features?

Hope to report great news next time! Have a great week everyone!

9 comments:

  1. We had an u/s at 37 weeks, and it was soo different than the 19-week u/s. Couldn't see any real detail - picture quality was still the same. The biggest thing I noticed was how crowded everything was. We could only get pieces and parts on the screen this time - a foot there, a part of a spine there. It was fun though!

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  2. Visiting here from SITS...

    I hope your baby cooperates for you. This could be a good indicator of his/her personality. ;-)

    U/S at 36 weeks are quite different than 20 weeks. The baby will look more like a real baby and all its facial features will be clearer. But then, the poor thing is all scrunched up in there too. lol

    Hope for an easy delivery for you!

    BTW...I'm 22 weeks preggers. Our little boy is due July 24. :-)

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  3. Happy SITS Saturday Sharefest
    I hope he flips for you! and that you have an easy labor! yayyyy for babies!!! :)

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  4. visiting from SITS - good luck with your U/S - hope everything is ok and the baby isn't breech... or if it is, that you are able to get the little one turned!

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  5. Good luck with the flip. I had US every month at first and then every week towards the end (the one benefit of having a high risk pregnancy) and as the baby got bigger we could see he was more and more scrunched up. Detail was hard to see, even with the 3D US, but still interesting to get a peek.

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  6. I'm so sorry you're baby is back to breech. My baby was breech too and I had a C-section, but then again, I opted out of the EVC option. (I had a friend who had good results working with a chiropracter though! She says he saved her from a C-section.) Good luck! And remember, whatever happens, it'll be okay. Either way, in the end you'll have your baby.

    I had a third trimester ultrasound--I can't remember which week exactly--and it was amazing! I could see so much detail and for the first time, my baby looked like a baby! That part's going to be fun!

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  7. Hi! Visiting from SITS! My first was breech and we decided against the version and to do a C-section. I think we just didn't know much about it. I had a ton of ultrasounds in my doctor's office in the last month to check her position. They wanted to be sure. Good luck with everything!

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  8. Oh wow, that sounds intense!! Sounds like the natural methods might work. I hope!

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  9. My bub (who is 6 weeks this Tuesday) was a flipper too. Head down at 34 weeks, transverse at 35, head down at 36, head up at 37 then head down for the final three weeks.

    Babies can flip all the way up until 40 weeks so I'm sending 'head down' vibes to your LO and 'don't worry' vibes to you!

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