Breech Babies Club

  • Facebook
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Breech Birth
  • Other Information
  • Contact

Alma’s birth – a planned breech hospital birth

Positive Birth Story; first time mum, Frank breech, planned breech birth in hospital.

I’m 33 and this was my first baby who I had originally planned to have at home. The only thing that had cropped up during pregnancy was a single umbilical artery, which was interesting, but had no impact on my daughter and was not specifically related to her being breech. However my mum was breech (footling homebirth, and I was born prematurely by c-section, so who knows could be something that runs in my family).

She was breech at the 28 week growth scan but I was not at all concerned and assumed she would turn. After that, my midwife had done a check on position and felt she was head down, another homebirth midwife also checked and agreed…. (A sneak my daughter!) However at the 36 week growth scan she was definitely bum down. I panicked an did all the things, acupuncture, moxibustion, spinning babies, handstands in the pool 😂 and agreed to an ECV at 37 weeks but was unsure if I wanted it. She didn’t turn by my ECV date and was still Frank breech and so to try and keep homebirth as an option, I had the ECV (and as an aside I would say to other ladies out there, I know easier said than done, but I wish I hadn’t let the turning activities and worry consume my last week’s pregnancy, so do them, but don’t beat yourself up with them).

I found the ECV painful but completely bearable. They tried twice without success and then almost immediately it felt, tried to push a C-section at 39 weeks. My trust (Homerton) will do VBB but they didn’t want to with a first time mum. I asked for info from the senior midwife and consultant, but also said I wouldn’t be making a decision that day (they really wanted to sign me up so be clear and take pressure off 😂). After a chat with my homebirth midwife, she explained that she wouldn’t feel 100% comfortable doing a homebirth but encouraged me to push for VBB in hospital if that’s what I wanted.

I had a few horrible days of stress trying to decide what to do. In the end, I decided to schedule a section for my due date (arbitrary I know but it gave me peace to have an end to the worry) and then if she came in the meantime I’d “see how it went”…

My waters broke at 4am at exactly 39 weeks. No contractions, but I called the hospital and they suggested I came in just to check all well. Upon arrival I had a VE, I was 2cm and the midwife said she thought she was head down, but scan confirmed she was still breech (told you, my daughter was very sneaky). I was offered a section but declined and asked to see how labour progressed. I was told that if everything progressed “smoothly” and baby’s heart rate was normal then it indicated that the breech birth would proceed well. I was also told I had 24 hours to progress due to water being broken. It was very interesting, as I faced a lot of push back on having a VBB as a first time mum, but as soon as I said I wanted a “trial of labour” aka give it a go, I noticed everyone kind of felt a bit excited. I had asked if the team on were confident with a breech birth and was assured they were.

At this stage (around 9am) I was still not experiencing any strong contractions, though maybe slight twinges. I had thought about going home (I’m only 5 minutes away by car) which they didn’t want, but a senior midwife secretly told me I could do what I wanted and if I wanted to go home I could (remember you are not a prisoner!). They also wanted to put in a canula at this stage but I declined as it seemed uneccesary and I knew I wouldn’t want to labour with one in my hand, so remember you can say no. Husband and I went on a long walk for ice cream, and by 12 midday I was feeling them and by 2pm I was moved to private room as I was 7cm and in active labour.

I was introduced to my birth team, which was quite large and included two midwives, a student (I didn’t mind – better to train more in breech), consultants, anaesthetist, baby specialists, talked through risks and how we would proceed. I already knew my Trust would decline me using a birth pool (apparently so as not to slow labour and then during birth so they could see) and would prefer me to labour upright / on all fours, ideally on a bed. Happy.

I was very active, moved around walking a lot and had terrible back pains so used the shower and counter pressure. At this stage I also agreed to a canula in case of emergency (it was hard to get it in with contractions happening I’ll admit!)

Everything progressed relatively quickly and I felt labour switch to pushing so was helped onto the bed around 7.30pm. Without asking lights were dimmed and all was very calm. 1 hour of pushing in an upright kneeling position against the back of the bed (which felt great and very powerful) and my daughter was born. She came out relatively easily, however there was a slight delay (only a couple of minutes but felt like forever) when her body was out and not head, which panicked me, however we waited for a contraction, which did come and then she was here. It felt amazing to feel her come out.

She was floppy and not breathing on arrival (I’ve since learnt that’s normal with breech, but I was very worried at the time), cord was immediately cut and she was taken to the resus table and I didn’t get to see her. She apparently had fluid on the lungs and a blood clot in her mouth. She cried after 5 minutes, and I held her after 20 minutes, uninterrupted for the next hour. The best feeling ever. I recall saying to the doctor’s “there’s your *effing “proven pelvis”” 😂 (in jest, but that’s the term often used to explain why second time, but not first time mums can do something like a VBB).

I felt incredibly proud of my body. Labour was HARD, but for me it felt right. That said, had I needed a c-section I’d also totally made my peace with it. I was sad to loose out of immediate skin to skin and having the cord cut so quickly, the resus was stressful, and I needed stitches for a second degree tear, but these things may also have happened with a head down birth.

After the birth I had a lot of young excited midwives congratulating me and saying they hoped more breech births could happen, which was positive! One more for the books (as an aside I hadn’t realised as I was on all fours, but my husband told me at the point of birth there were about 15 people in the room, some because they needed to be, others just watching 😂)

Anyway, the story of my beautiful breeching; Alma Medeina.

Filed Under: Birth Stories, Featured Tagged With: ECV, hospital, midwife, planned, vaginal

Chloe’s story – a positive planned vaginal breech birth

I read so many posts and comments with great interest after finding out my baby was breech just before Christmas. I found the birth stories in particular so useful and reassuring so wanted to share mine!

I have a bicornuate uterus so knew all along that I was more likely to have a breech baby as they can run out of space to turn. I had a presentation scan at 36 weeks because of this, and he was head down so I thought we’d got away with it. At 37+5 I felt like the movements had changed and just had a feeling he might have turned so went to triage to be checked out. Sure enough it was confirmed that he was breech (footling according to the sonographer) and I was given the choice of a vaginal breech birth or a c-section. I spoke to a lot of people and asked a lot of questions, but ultimately wanted to avoid a c section if at all possible so opted to try for a vaginal breech birth.

I ended up back in triage with reduced movements at 39+2 and while everything looked fine on the monitor, I still wasn’t feeling as much as I had been (I think baby had moved position slightly by this point which may have been why). A doctor convinced me that a c-section would be the best option and scheduled it for the following day. I got to the hospital the next morning and after waiting for 5 hours we were told that it had been rescheduled due to staff shortages and would now be 3 days later, so at 39+6. When we got to the hospital on the rescheduled date, I was put on the monitor and during the hour it was on, started having tightenings which were becoming more regular and more noticeable. A doctor came to review and agreed it looked like I was in early labour, so wanted to get on with the c-section asap. I asked if this meant I could reconsider a vaginal delivery (the main risk I’d been worried about was going into labour at home and something going wrong, but I was in the hospital now so felt more confident). I was rescanned by a very supportive consultant who said baby was now flexed breech, with his bottom presenting first, so we agreed to cancel the c section and wait for things to progress naturally.

The tightenings continued for the next 24 hours, getting slightly more intense and remaining regular at about every 4-5 minutes. At about 1am on the day after my due date I was woken by the tightenings and started trying to time them but kept drifting back off to sleep so gave up. At 4am they woke me again and seemed more intense so I timed them over the next 2 hours and they were every 3.5 mins lasting 1-1.5 mins so I called my midwife who said to come in to triage. After we got there at about 7:30am I was examined and to everyone’s surprise I was fully dilated! I was still managing well with breathing through the tightenings so couldn’t believe it. I was taken across to labour ward and we waited for things to progress further. Over the next hour or two things got a lot more intense and the tightenings were harder to breathe through so I tried some gas and air but didn’t feel like it did very much for me. At about 9:30am (timings get a bit hazy here!) my midwife asked if I could try to go to the toilet. I felt a pop and my waters started to trickle, then they went with a big gush when I got back to the bed. The midwife examined me and said she could see a foot was coming first and that it was time to push so I knelt leaning over the back of the bed. I think I was pushing for about 15 minutes in total before our little boy Oliver arrived safely, one foot first, at 9:54am on 06/01/2022 weighing 7lbs8oz, followed very swiftly by the placenta.

This was all SUCH a positive experience and I am so glad I stuck to my instincts and pushed (pun not intended!) for the delivery I knew I wanted and could have. Huge thanks have to go to Amy Meadowcroft from Oldham Hospital who was the most amazingly supportive midwife I could ever have hoped for, I definitely wouldn’t have felt able to get through all of this without her.

Filed Under: Birth Stories, Featured Tagged With: hospital, midwife, planned, vaginal

Hannah’s story – a midwife-supported hospital breech birth

Our baby girl was born on Saturday at the hospital in Truro, Cornwall. She is perfect! We had an incredible VBB, assisted by a lovely midwife. If anyone out there is feeling overwhelmed and unsure about their breechling please know that VBB can be so special.

Briefly, our little one flipped at 37w2 much to my surprise as my first was born vaginally head down so I hadn’t even really thought about breech at all. We went to the hospital to confirm and they immediately jumped to elective section and throwing quite a lot of data at me. It was overwhelming and I felt as thought something was “wrong” with me. I felt pressured to try an ECV but I went home first and did a loooooot of research. The internet is amazing. I decided to try the ECV. It was unsuccessful and now we know that the cord was wrapped around my baby’s head twice so I think that was what stopped her from turning. I doubt I would do an ECV again. I found it to be a very emotional experience.

So I moved on and decided to embrace my breechling as I was now 38w. I didn’t try moxibustion or anything else apart from continuing on with my daily yoga practice (which I did all along anyway). I let go of my homebirth plan because I couldn’t find anyone in my area to support me. I contacted the head of midwifery at the hospital and sent her my VBB plan and request for second birth partner (my doula) which was granted. I also spoke with Kemi Johnson who was just absolutely so supportive and reaffirmed my faith in myself. I filled my mind with positive VBB podcasts and stories and websites and videos. I also wrote an emergency C section plan and spent a little bit of time thinking on that.

My waters broke on Friday night/Saturday morning at 1:30am. The waters were red with quite a lot blood which is a bit scary. I was told to come straight in, the midwife on the phone was so excited when she heard I was planning on a VBB. Hospital was over an hour drive away and when we arrived I was still losing quite a lot of blood. I allowed the doctor to do a VE. I was 3cm. They asked if I wanted to do a section because they didn’t know where the blood was coming from. I declined and asked to wait a little longer as I felt fine and baby was happy. Surges had begun inconsistently. They agreed I could wait but they asked to put a canula in my hand so they had quick access to a vein should the bleeding get worse very quickly. That was scary and also very uncomfortable. But I felt it was a fair compromise.

My labour took a few hours to establish because I kept getting interrupted by various doctors giving me their unwanted opinions about my decision for a VBB. But the bleeding had stopped and waters were coming through clear now so my worry decreased. I got really annoyed with two male doctors pressuring me to talk about my c section plan should labour fail to establish within their timeframe since waters had broken. I just ignored them. When they left I asked my doula and partner to go and speak to our midwife.

They told her no more people in the room. Only her. No one else. They gave me my safe space back.

After that my surges came properly, soon they were just 2-3mins apart and lasting at least a minute each wave. I used my hypnobirthing and essential oils (lavender, frankincense and clary sage). My doula supported my back beautifully with a pressure point. My partner was amazing, reassuring and loving and supportive.

After an hour the midwife came to check in and she noticed that things had ramped up a lot. She asked to do another VE. I agreed but asked that she didn’t tell me my dilation, she was a bit surprised but agreed. Afterwards she told me I was 9cm. But after the check she just said we were going to get ready to meet baby soon. She began to get the room ready and spoke to me about staying standing and trusting my body to guide me into whatever position I needed to be in. I was on my yoga mat, kneeling and leaning into my partner. I began to shake and I knew I was in transition. All I could think was “the only way to my baby is through each wave”.

My midwife gently guided me in trusting my body and reassured me she would be hands off unless absolutely necessary and would talk to me the whole time. She told me not to push until there was just no way I couldn’t. She told me to breathe and take my time through each contraction.

Pushing began and lasted just 11 minutes, midwife called in second midwife to be present. This part was hard. Her one foot came out first, then her bum with her other leg. She was hanging beneath me, the midwife said I could reach down and then I felt her! We discovered we were having another baby girl! I cried! Then the midwife could see her arms were caught over her head. She asked me if she could assist baby because she was a little stuck. I agreed, it was very intense but I see in the video how gentle she was releasing the arms. After the arms were out I could feel the hardness of her head, it was soooooo hard after the squishy body! Midwife said to wait for the next surge and when it came to give everything. I did and she was out! Midwife told me to stand still as she unwinded the cord from around baby’s neck after which came her first cry as she was passed straight to me.

We did it! Euphoria.

The placenta took about an hour but we enjoyed golden hour and baby girl was just perfect, so alert and content. She scored 8/10 on the Apgar at birth and 10/10 after was few minutes. She began rooting and immediately latched on and started asking my body to feed her.

Later I was told that there were doctors and a neonatal specialist outside the door. But the midwife told them she would press the button if she needed help and otherwise to stay outside. She was absolutely incredible. I feel so lucky to have had her assist us in this birth.

Our baby girl was born at 12:54pm and weighed 3.4kg and we were discharged a couple of hours later. No stitches for me this time around.

I know it’s a bit of a long story but I also know there are others out there looking to stock up on positive VBB stories so this is for you. Our bodies are amazing and however we birth our babies, head down, head up, through a section, we are all incredible for what we go through.

Sending love to you wherever you are on your journey.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: diagnosed, foot-first, hospital, midwife, photos, planned, upright, vaginal

Isobel’s story – a planned midwife-led breech birth

I just wanted to share my positive breech vaginal birth story. I spent many hours in the weeks leading up to the birth searching for such stories, so hopefully mine will bring some comfort to those who are in a similar situation.

We found our little boy (second baby) to be breech from about 28 weeks following regular growth scans. I had an unsuccessful and rather distressing ECV at 38 weeks and was then given the option by our hospital of a planned C-section on our due date, or to attempt a vaginal delivery. I was desperate for a natural birth so I was lucky that our local hospital supports this option and we were told we would be assigned a senior midwife on arrival if I went into spontaneous labour.

Fast forward to 5/7/21 at 39+3 I started having regular contractions so we made our way in to the hospital. I was put on continuous monitoring as per protocol but was allowed to move around.

4 hours later I noticed the telltale signs of transition and began to push. I was allowed to be on all fours which was my preference. I heard some commotion of more people entering the room but we were made aware of the need for a doctor, NICU nurse and additional midwife to be present for the birth due to the potential for myself or baby needing some additional help.

The whole birth was hands off, with the midwife just talking me through what was happening which I found a huge help and a great motivation.

His body delivered in 2 contractions, these then died off and I was instructed to push his head out without the aid of contractions as there is a time limit on how long they will let the head go undelivered. This was actually not as difficult as I had anticipated and I got away with not even a graze.

Our little boy was born unresponsive, and needed immediate cord clamping, CPAP and vigorous stimulation at the beginning but quickly came round with no ill effects. Having the NICU team present was actually a real comfort and at no point did I feel anxious, I knew he was in safe hands and having done plenty of reading in the run up to birth I knew that this was quite normal for breech babies.

Apart from having some spectacular ‘frogs legs’ he is doing really well and my recovery has been far easier than my first vaginal cephalic birth.

I hope that this helps even one person in a similar situation who may be undecided about what sort of birth to go for. I knew I wanted to avoid surgery and felt that on balance trying for a vaginal birth was the right thing to do for me.

At the end of the day, you must go with your gut feeling – you will make the right decision for you!

Filed Under: Birth Stories Tagged With: diagnosed, ECV, hospital, midwife, planned, vaginal

Cina’s story – an upright breech birth in a hospital birth centre

My baby had been breech basically since 28 weeks. She was breech at 28 weeks for my midwife appointment, at 30 weeks I was told her head was up where my ribs were. I don’t know why but even though there was plenty of time for her to move I just knew she would remain there! At the 34 week scan she still was there too.

I was referred to the breech clinic at 35 weeks for confirmation of position and advice on how to turn baby. At 37+2 I had a failed ECV and baby was firmly engaged into my pelvis.

My waters broke at 6.30am with some twinges. I headed to hospital just to get checked etc. It was decided it would be best to keep me in due to breech/second baby and contractions had started at this point which I was more than happy to do. I had planned to have my VBB on the birth centre which luckily was honoured and not met with any disagreement. I stayed mobile and upright and contractions picked up quite a bit. Was 3 almost 4 cm by about 10.30am. At about 12 a foot presented itself. Contractions picked up and by 13.49 baby was born- about 5 mins between bum and head.

I am very happy about all the support I’ve received at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and am very pleased I was able to be on the birth centre which made me feel very comfortable.

Filed Under: Birth Stories, Featured Tagged With: birth centre, chiropractor, ECV, hospital, midwife, planned, upright, vaginal

Anne’s story: a calm breech midwife-led VBAC

Back story: Ever since my (unnecessary emergency) Caesarean section with my first breech baby, there was nothing more I longed for to experience a natural vaginal birth. Hence, I was quite devastated when my second daughter turned breech at 33 weeks and nothing worked to turn her back (spinning baby positions, moxibustion, ECV, you name it).

Because I found the thought of a planned Caesarean unbearable and my current hospital wasn’t breech experienced enough/ advised against a VBB, I did a fair bit of research online. All I wanted was being able to give it another go whilst being fully aware that it could end up in another caesarean which I was totally ok with. It was pure luck that the wonderful and amazing Emma Spillane worked at a hospital (Kingston) that wasn’t too far from where we lived.

The day after I had contacted her I transferred hospitals at 37+1 and was so relieved and happy. Emma briefed me in detail about pros and cons and I was given a 40% chance of success. Labour started 1.5 weeks later with sporadic contractions every 10-20 minutes during the night (midnight to 6am) which paused during the day and then became more regular from 6:20pm onwards (every 5-7 minutes). 30 minutes later my waters went and we slowly made our way to the hospital.

At 10pm I was examined for the first time and was at 2-3cm. I was then put in a beautiful room in the birth centre as I wasn’t in established labour yet. Contractions remained at 5-7cm throughout the night. I was grateful for a slow labour as I could properly relax in between contractions. For the contractions I found it most comfortable to kneel in front of the birthing ball and have my upper body rest on it. At some point in the early morning I had to vomit which I thought was a sign that things were progressing. The best of it all, I was left alone to labour in peace and I felt like I was treated like any other laboring woman. A lovely midwife only checked in every now and then to see how I was coping.

I was examined again at 7am when I felt things were picking up a bit. It turned out I was 7cm dilated which meant I got transferred to the labour ward for the last stretch. I was able to find a similar position on the bed with the headrest up as I had before on the ball and before I knew it I was told it wouldn’t be much longer. I was offered gas & air which didn’t do anything to alleviate the “pain”/ pressure but it helped me tremendously with my breathing. It is also recommended for VBACs to have baby’s heart monitored which was a bit tricky in the position I and baby were in but we got there and the heartbeat was never a concern.

Elise was born at 8.52pm weighing 2890g. She had great oxygen levels and could be put on my chest straight away. I was close to needing a small cut but the next contraction was strong enough to avoid it after all. I ended up with a small tear but nothing to worry about. Overall, I couldn’t have asked for or imagined a better birth experience and will be forever grateful. I felt so incredibly well taken care of and supported throughout.

Filed Under: Birth Stories, Featured Tagged With: birth centre, hospital, midwife, vaginal, VBAC

Freya’s story: Two breech babies, both born naturally

First breech birth – Abigail

Born at the Oxford JR Hospital, 15 June 2017, 8:43pm, 7lbs

We found out at the 36-week scan that our daughter was breech. Having limited knowledge of breech babies at the time, I assumed this would rule out a natural delivery. I was booked in for an ECV (external cephalic version) for the following week. (This is an attempt to manually turn the baby back to a head-down, or cephalic, position through manipulation and pressure on the bump.)

In the days between the scan and the scheduled ECV, I began practising some of the techniques from the Spinning Babies website to encourage the baby to turn – crossing my fingers that something would work and the ECV wouldn’t be necessary. I also went to see an acupuncturist, who specialised in moxibustion, a technique of heating acupressure points, involving holding a burning mugwort stick next to your little toe for ten minutes at a time over several days. While these various techniques have undoubtedly been successful for other people, none of them worked for me, as the scan prior to the ECV confirmed: she was still in an extended, or frank, breech position.

The ECV appointment was my first experience with the Oxford JR breech team, and from this point right through to the end of my birthing experience they were absolutely amazing in their approach, treatment, care and expertise. They told me that they would make a maximum of two attempts during the session: the first with no other assistance, and the second, if it was needed, with an injected muscle relaxant that could help things along. As it was, both attempts were unsuccessful and Anita, the breech team’s lead midwife, said we should stop there; that there must be a reason the baby was stubbornly staying breech. We would not try again the following week. The procedure itself was uncomfortable and not particularly pleasant; however, it was all over relatively quickly, and I didn’t feel any residual pain or discomfort afterwards.

I spoke to the team for some time following the procedure – they took the time to explain things fully and answer all my many questions! My options now would be either to book an elective C section (usually at around 39 weeks) or to aim for a vaginal breech birth. I already knew the latter option was what I wanted to try for. The possibility of needing an unplanned C section during labour was higher than if she was head down – but, as I had been discovering ever since that 36-week scan, the main reason breech births had been considered so “problematic” is that hospital staff in many areas simply didn’t have the experience of dealing with them. Since the early 2000s, when a flawed report (the Term Breech Trial) sparked off the stigmatisation of breech birth, the number of hospitals able, or willing, to deal with natural breech births had fallen dramatically. Most people, when learning my baby was breech, automatically assumed I’d be booked in for a C section.

Following my ECV, and after a couple more days of doing moxibustion and Spinning Babies techniques, I decided to embrace the breech, and spend the rest of my pregnancy focusing on relaxing, breathing and doing hypnobirthing techniques (I listened to Maggie Howell’s Hypnobirthing Relaxation tracks), and generally looking forward and being positive. I’m so glad I took this approach, rather than desperately hoping that she would turn right up until the birth. 

I went into labour on 15 June 2017, when I was at 39+1. I felt the first twinges not long after lunch, which initially felt like period pains. At first I thought it might be Braxton Hicks, not having felt them up until then, but they got stronger and it soon became apparent that something more significant was happening. Things progressed quite rapidly after that. My waters broke on the bathroom floor and contained meconium – which is very normal for a breech birth, given the position the baby is in! Even so, the MAU told my husband on the phone that we should come in straight away. He managed to get the TENS machine on me (the only pain relief – or, really, pain distraction – that I used) and we drove the 20 minutes from our house to the JR. I was now fully contracting, and it wasn’t the most pleasant journey, but the TENS vibrations and me making a lot of noise definitely helped! We arrived at around 6:30pm. Once at the MAU, I was assessed fairly quickly, and then taken through to the breech team in the delivery suite. It was a lovely room with dimmed lighting and floral patterns on the wall, helping create a calm and soothing atmosphere. Once in there, I was given space to let things happen. 

I didn’t have an internal examination at all throughout the entire labour; it wasn’t necessary. The breech team’s approach was the preferable “hands off the breech”, and that’s exactly what they did – simply talking me through the breathing and pushing when appropriate. They needed to attach a heart-rate monitor to my tummy, which was quite difficult as I couldn’t lie back at all, it was far too uncomfortable. But very soon after that, they could see the baby coming. I instinctively started pushing and the birth started happening. The only assistance Michaela, the midwife, needed to give was to ease the baby’s arm down once her bottom, legs and other arm were out. Her head was still to come, but then my contractions stopped, so I had to push without a contraction – this was more difficult, but I managed, and all was fine in the end. And then, at 8:43pm, just over two hours after we arrived, our baby, Abigail, was born weighing just under 7lbs.

I found the labour and birth to be a positive experience – the whole thing was relatively quick, so I wasn’t in painful labour for hours, and only pushed for a few minutes. It was extremely intense but not unmanageable. My recovery post-birth was relatively rapid too. I felt that if we ever were lucky enough to have another baby, I would be OK with him or her being breech too, given my first breech experience. 

Second breech birth – Camille

Born at home (born before arrival), 11 October 2020, c.2:50am, 8lbs 6oz

Having joked about the likelihood of this baby also being breech, I was still a little shocked when I found out this was indeed the case at the 36-week scan. She appeared to be in exactly the same position as our first daughter had been: frank (extended) breech, with her back to the right. I knew already that this was an optimum position for birthing as far as breech went, and due to my previous positive breech experience, didn’t feel the same anxiety as the first time. 

After discussion with Anita from the Oxford JR breech team, I ended up opting for an ECV this time as well, as the absolute ideal position (with the minimum risk) to birth a baby is head down, and I knew I’d be constantly wondering if she could have turned if I hadn’t tried it. I had the ECV towards the end of the following week, at 38 weeks. I knew there was more likelihood of it being successful as it was my second pregnancy. However, this one also failed; the baby, just like her big sister, was completely sure she wanted to stay bottom down! 

We booked ahead an appointment for 40+4 to discuss options if the baby hadn’t come by then (they don’t like to let breech babies go too far over the due date, generally ten days maximum, rather than two weeks plus for head down babies – and breech babies aren’t induced; if labour doesn’t start naturally, it will most likely lead to a C section). As my first baby came at 39+1, I kind of assumed this one would come at a similar time, or maybe even earlier as it was my second baby. However, 39 weeks, and then 40 weeks, came and went, and I became very keen for her to make an appearance, as I really wanted a natural delivery again. The Saturday night following the Thursday due date, I couldn’t sleep (again!) and eventually went downstairs around 1:30am (so, now Sunday, 11 October). I’d been feeling low-down pressure in my abdomen, which was getting more pronounced, and found I was unable to sit comfortably on my birth ball, and after a bit longer, was unable to walk to the kitchen (I really wanted a cup of tea!). It took a little time for my brain to catch up with what was happening: I crawled back to the lounge where my waters broke. It was then that I called to Gareth, my husband, and he came rushing downstairs. I managed to make it to the downstairs bathroom to go to the toilet, then got a very strong, continuous contraction, followed minutes later by an uncontrollable urge to push, so I just went with it. We realised that the baby was coming – right now! She started emerging, and Gareth raced to get his phone to call 999 and grab towels (I was insistent that we needed them!). As he came back, the baby was born into my arms. It only took about three or four pushes; an incredibly quick birth! The 999 operative talked us through the checks to do on the baby; thankfully she was fine and was responding well. A short while later, the ambulance arrived and transferred me and our baby, Camille, to the JR hospital, while Gareth followed in the car (once he’d cleaned up the downstairs bathroom!).

Camille passed all her checks and observations at the hospital with flying colours, and we were back home at lunchtime that day. Her weight was 8lb 6oz (3.8kg). I was really pleased to have had another successful breech delivery; even though this one was much speedier than I’d expected, it was still a positive experience. Our first daughter, Abigail, who is now three, was fascinated to learn that her baby sister was born the same way up that she was – our two special breech babies!

Filed Under: Birth Stories, Featured Tagged With: diagnosed, ECV, home, hospital, midwife, moxibustion, positional exercises, vaginal

Helena’s story: breech birth in a Birth Centre

I gave birth to my daughter in December 2020 and I just want to share what an amazing experience I had at the Royal Oldham Hospital Birth Centre.

When I found out that my baby was breech I was extremely worried. The last thing I wanted was to have a section. I had a straightforward, head down water birth with my first baby and I was obviously hoping for the same experience again. The thought of having a section filled me with dread and worry.

When baby failed to turn, I had an ECV at 37 weeks, which was unsuccessful. The consultant who carried out the procedure then informed me straight away, in no uncertain terms, that the only other safe option would be to have a section. The midwife present quickly stepped in and informed me there were other options that could be considered. She then very kindly put me in touch with a specialist breech midwife, Amy Meadowcroft, who luckily worked at the hospital. She was amazing to say the least. She explained to me that a section was not my only option and that I could give birth naturally to my breech baby. As we were both low risk, the risks to my baby from being born breech were incredibly low, the same as a straight forward head down birth. So I decided that this was what I wanted to do. With the constant support of Amy, we made a plan for me to birth naturally at the hospital birth centre.

Baby decided to arrive 8 days before my due date and the labour and birth could not have gone better. I gave birth to my baby girl naturally, bum first, and everything went perfectly. The support I received from Amy and all the staff at the birth centre was just amazing and I couldn’t have done it without them all. So for that I will be eternally grateful.

I just wanted to share my experience with any ladies out there, that may be in the same position as I was, and are worrying about what to do. If it wasn’t for the midwife stepping in, after my ECV, I would have been none the wiser about my options, to an extent, and I would not have been put in contact with my midwife Amy. I just want to say to any ladies in the same position as I was, please ask if there is an experienced breech birth midwife at the hospital or if they know of any at other local hospitals. If you want to go down the vaginal birth route then it is worth fighting for. I am so glad that I did.

Filed Under: Birth Stories, Featured Tagged With: birth centre, diagnosed, ECV, midwife, vaginal

Zoe’s story : A first baby born breech

I planned a home birth but found out at 40 weeks that my baby was in extended breech.

I felt scared into a caesarean after a failed painful ECV but went away from the hospital and had a think and spoke to midwives and my friend who’s a midwife and decided on a natural breech birth.

The hospital had little to no experience with breech births so I think the doctors discouraged me but always remember it is your choice. The midwives were fantastic and very supportive and excited!

I went into labour 40+5 at 3:30AM and delivered at 11:24AM with no issues.

Now I have had no problems throughout my pregnancy which was my first and he came out 7lbs 1oz. A natural pregnancy can be achieved even with breech 👍

Filed Under: Birth Stories Tagged With: diagnosed, ECV, hospital, midwife, vaginal

Ada’s Birth: A Hospital Breech Vaginal Delivery

By Lizzie Johnson

Even before I became pregnant, I always knew I wanted to give birth at home. Home births seemed safe and familiar because my mother had me in her own bed thirty-four years ago. Moreover, hospitals had bad associations. Their wipe-down surfaces and windowless rooms reminded me of the months I’d spent being treated for breast cancer a decade earlier. A hospital birth was the last thing I wanted. And yet here I was, under the moonlight, my body bent double by contractions, climbing into the back of a car destined for St George’s hospital in Tooting. How had I got here?

The news that my baby was breech was delivered without much fanfare during a routine (but late) ultrasound at University College London Hospital (UCLH) in week 34 of my first pregnancy. At the time the sonographer was more concerned about a suspected and potentially dangerous complication to do with my umbilical cord, making my baby’s breech presentation seem almost incidental. Even after the doctors established that my umbilical cord was fine, I wasn’t concerned about my baby being breech. I had been breech until late in my mother’s pregnancy. She persuaded me to turn using moxibustion; a practice used in traditional Chinese medicine where dried mugwort is burned next to particular acupressure points. Plenty of time to turn, I thought. And there was always moxibustion to fall back on if my baby didn’t make its own way into a head down position.

Up until that ultrasound, my pregnancy had progressed without any real difficulties. It was deemed low risk and I hired a private midwife to help me give birth at home. I also registered with UCLH to have my antenatal scans and ensure that I could easily transfer into hospital if needed. My midwife seemed relaxed about the breech presentation, but suggested moxibustion and swimming to encourage the baby to turn. Each night before bed I ground up fresh ginger and put it into a plaster that I taped to the outside edge of my little toe. I got to grips with the exercises designed to encourage optimal foetal positioning on the Spinning Babies website, and could often be found lying on an ironing board propped against the seat of my sofa with my feet elevated in the air. Friends and acquaintances made suggestion after suggestion about how to turn breech babies. It seemed that everyone had a theory and a tale of a baby turned at the last minute. I was happy to give anything a go, no matter how peculiar, so long as it might prompt my baby to turn and keep my home birth on track.

Three weeks passed and despite my efforts the person growing inside me remained stubbornly bottom down. My midwife advised me against a homebirth if my baby stayed breech, and made an appointment for me to have an external cephalic version (ECV) at UCLH to try to turn the baby around. I knew the procedure came with risks, but on balance I thought they were worth taking if it meant I could potentially avoid a medicalised hospital birth. The talk of caesareans only began after two doctors failed to push the contents of my swollen belly into a more typical position. Responding to what they referred to as my baby’s “malpresentation”, the team at UCLH strongly encouraged me to opt for a planned caesarean section, arguing that a vaginal birth represented an increased risk to my baby. They could support a vaginal breech birth, and did agree to respect my wishes if I made this decision, however it was made clear that it would likely be a highly medicalised affair. I would have to give birth on the labour ward (the midwifery-led unit was not an option) and the delivery would likely involve obstetric interventions including lithotomy, and potentially forceps and episiotomy. An emergency caesarean might still be necessary if my labour wasn’t making sufficient progress, and I would have to agree to a caesarean if I had not gone into spontaneous labour by 40 weeks. Whether they intended it or not, I left UCLH with the feeling that I would be regarded as reckless were I to choose anything other than an ‘elective’ caesarean.

The problem, I later learned, was a scientific report published almost twenty years ago known as the Term Breech Trial (1). It concluded that an elective caesarean section presented a significantly safer mode of delivery for mothers and babies than planned vaginal breech births. Following the publication of the report vaginal breech births became a rarity in developed countries and a whole generation of doctors and midwives went through their professional careers with almost no clinical experience of this type of delivery. As I read more and more online articles, clinical guidelines and blogs about breech presentation, I discovered that they were rare, affecting only 3-4% of pregnancies at term, but not abnormal. I also learned that since its publication in 2000 the Term Breech Trial had been widely criticised and aspects of its findings found to be flawed (2). Vaginal breech births could be as safe as vaginal cephalic births so long as the supporting doctors and midwives were trained and experienced in this mode of delivery (3). This is the catch 22 situation familiar to all pregnant British women who discover their babies are breech. Vaginal breech deliveries are safe with experienced staff, yet the Term Breech Trial had all but eliminated that clinical experience.

The day after the ECV my tender stomach muscles needled my conscience about going through with the previous day’s potentially harmful procedure. Weary with guilt, I tried to make sense of my new situation. A caesarean represented a major surgery; a prospect coloured by my previous treatment for breast cancer. I was terrified of what I perceived as the loss of physical sovereignty that my past surgeries had entailed. Following my mastectomy, the slow dissolution of my surgical stitches had counted out the postoperative days, turned into weeks, in which my body was bruised and swollen. I knew all too well how flimsy the promise, “You’ll be up and about in no time”. Despite their obvious differences, I struggled to separate the idea of a caesarean from my mastectomy. Having a caesarean was the most sensible decision given the lack of vaginal breech experience at UCLH, but it also meant letting go of the idea that my birth could be an opportunity to heal; to regain trust in my body and its physiological processes.

The fragile belief that there was still time for my baby to turn was my only shield from my fear of a hospital birth. Foetal positioning exercises took up hours of my time each day. I listened to hypnobirthing audio tracks designed to encourage breech babies to move into a cephalic position. Instead of resting, I took almost daily trips across London, spending hundreds of pounds seeking help from chiropractors, osteopaths and acupuncturists.

Two weeks before my due date I had the good fortune to meet midwife turned acupuncturist Meredith Churchill. Meredith placed her needles in my skin with care. She suggested that my baby had been given every opportunity to turn and perhaps there was a good reason for it staying with its bottom lodged in my pelvis. If I wasn’t sure about the caesarean, she proposed, perhaps I should research whether there were any other London hospitals with staff experienced in breech vaginal deliveries. That way, if there was nowhere supportive of a vaginal breech birth, I might find it easier to accept the caesarean and focus on making the experience as meaningful as possible to me. Her suggestions recognised how important it is for women to feel that they have agency in the way they give birth. Referring to the psychoanalyst D. W. Winnicott’s theory of the ‘good enough’ mother, Meredith sensitively suggested that my experience of birth did not have to be perfect: it only had to be good enough. Buoyed by these words, I began to let go of the perfect home birth I had envisioned and wonder what my ‘good enough’ birth could look like.

After a few hours of searching online, I sent emails to mothers and midwives interested in physiological breech birth asking if they knew of any London hospitals experienced in this area. One of the people kind enough to respond was Dr Shawn Walker, Midwifery Lecturer at King’s College London, who directed me to the breech clinic run by Emma Spillane, Lead Midwife for the Carmen Birth Centre, at St George’s hospital, Tooting. On contacting Emma, I discovered that over the past few years the team at St George’s had been building confidence and clinical experience in physiological breech birth. In the thirty-ninth week of my pregnancy, my boyfriend and I met Emma, looked around the hospital and booked in with St George’s. St George’s had strict guidelines designed to minimise the risk to mothers and babies. I had to give birth on the labour ward, rather than in their friendly midwifery-led birth centre. If I had not gone into spontaneous labour before week 42, I could not be induced and a caesarean would be necessary. Finally, if my labour did not progress smoothly, I would have to have an emergency caesarean. Although its policies were broadly similar to those at UCLH, for me the difference between the two hospitals was that the team at St George’s made me feel my wish to attempt a physiological breech birth would be supported and respected. What I was being offered was a chance at a vaginal delivery: there were no guarantees. I knew that I might still end up having a caesarean, but if that happened I could be certain it would be the right decision at that point. After weeks of anguish and confusion I finally felt ready to have my baby.

A day after my due date, I returned home from a long, slow walk in the summer evening. My boyfriend had gone to a work event and I slumped on the sofa, glad to take the weight off my feet. Ten minutes into an episode of the Great British Bake Off, I felt a small rush of water flow between my legs. I jumped to my feet confused and thinking that I might have wet myself. More fluid trickled into my knickers and down my leg. It took me a few seconds to realise what was happening. This was it: my waters had broken. I called my boyfriend to tell him he probably ought to come home. I called my midwife to ask her to come to check on me. I called my mother to share my excitement.

I rushed around the flat, shoving my slippers and phone charger into the hospital bag, wiping down the kitchen surfaces and tidying away clutter. My boyfriend arrived back. We sat on the sofa chatting, giddy with excitement. When the midwife appeared she checked my amniotic fluid, told us all was well, to get some rest and to head to the hospital, where she would meet us, once I was experiencing three contractions in every ten-minute period. My first contraction came as she spoke; a tightening in my uterus like period pain. It was about 9pm and I had no idea how quickly things would progress. I got into bed with my boyfriend and tried to rest, but the tightenings were too distracting. With each tightening I felt the urge to jump out of bed, as though I could run away from the feeling now taking over my body. I repeatedly ran to the toilet, responding to an urge as though I wanted to poo. I’d fail to shit and climb back into bed. After about an hour of this back and forth between bed and toilet, I stopped returning to the bed, preferring to lie on the bathroom floor. The surges of energy consumed my body for short periods at a time. I found myself saying to my boyfriend, “This really hurts,” for some reason surprised by the intensity of the feeling. With each surge I’d jump to my feet as though I could outrun it, and then bend onto all fours moaning. Not once did it occur to me to ask for the TENS machine or the glass of wine I had planned to drink as an analgesia, and had so been looking forward to after nine months sober. The sensations consumed me.

By 11.30pm it was clear to me that if I did not head to the hospital there and then I would refuse to go at all. I had no idea how many contractions I was having over what period of time, but I knew I couldn’t face getting into a car if we left it any longer. The plan had always been to take a taxi, but now in the heat of the moment I had no confidence in my power not to puke, shit or leak amniotic fluid in the back seat of a cab. We decided that my boyfriend would drive us. Armed with a bucket and an incontinence pad, I climbed into the footwell of the backseat.

In the car I fumbled with my headphones, eventually managing to start the playlist I had put together. Focusing on the music between the surges and the speedbumps, I belted out familiar songs all the way from Kilburn to Tooting. The sensations and the music enclosed me so completely that I was shocked when the car stopped and my boyfriend told me we had arrived. The short walk from the carpark to the labour ward was punctuated by several contractions, with pitstops leaning over bike racks and railings, but eventually we made it. I hobbled through the ward’s double doors and immediately got onto all fours in the corridor. Everything in my body told me to stay low to the ground with my bum in the air. A midwife directed us towards a waiting room, but the idea that I could sit on a chair was preposterous. After five minutes on all fours in the corridor, I was moved to “somewhere more appropriate”, which turned out to be a triage room. It took some persuading to get me off the floor and onto the bed to be examined. The routine blood pressure test and internal exam seemed unnecessary to me when I was certain that what I needed was to be taken to my own room and left alone. I only agreed on the grounds that after this there would be no more routine exams. The midwife checked my dilation and went to fetch a more senior colleague who also examined me. I watched them realise what I already knew: my labour was well advanced.

The midwife led us to a small room with no bathroom. I requested that the lights be lowered and the resuscitation equipment pushed to one side. The blankets, fairy lights and pictures that I had so carefully selected to make my hospital room feel more homely remained untouched in my hospital bag. All I wanted was to kneel on the floor, leaning over a couple of pillows, and disappear back into the headphones’ cocoon. I hardly noticed when my private midwife arrived and various hospital staff came and went. Surges of pain ebbed through me with no clear beginning or ending. I found myself chanting as their intensity increased, sometimes Buddhist chants my mother had taught me, sometimes instructions like ‘relax, relax, relax, relax, relax, relax, relax,’. When the intensity slowed, I would tune into the music playing on my ipod, occasionally giggling at song lyrics. “Nothing’s gonna change my world,” sang John Lennon, as my world was in the process of changing forever. The surges rose up regularly and relentlessly, crashing over my body. There was only one occasion during the labour when I integrated the contraction into my being, instead of trying to escape it. I rode the feeling, rising to meet it with my breath. It was my only glimpse of how labour could be experienced without feeling pain in its usual sense.

The surges continued and I was starting to get tired. I wriggled around on the floor searching for a position where I could rest a little. But as I lay on my side I had the sense that it was a mistake to try to slow the surges’ intensity. It seemed that any momentary relief would merely slow the juggernaut of labour. There was no way out but through.

My midwife suggested I stood and leaned over the bed, swaying my hips from side to side. I managed this until the next surge propelled me to climb onto the bed, where I would stay, on all fours, for the rest of the labour. My birth plan specified that I should not be offered pain relief and I was so overwhelmed by sensation that the idea didn’t enter my mind. What I did do was tell my boyfriend that I didn’t think I could do it. “You’re doing it,” he replied. I gained strength from knowing he was at my side throughout it all; holding my hand, rubbing my shoulders, encouraging me to relax my clenched jaw and making sure I kept drinking water. Seeing that I was flagging, my private midwife waited until the hospital midwife had left the room and encouraged me to eat. (Eating is generally discouraged in hospital because it increases the risk of complications should a labouring woman go on to need a general anaesthetic.) Instead of eating, I slurped a carton of apple juice and felt replenished by the sugar.

Every so often I would surface from the pure sensation of the surges and become aware of the people around me. I turned to my hospital midwife, who had already cared for me for over an hour, and said “Hello”, as if introducing myself for the first time. This represented a rare occasion during labour where my feelings towards her were not warped by circumstance. I hated her when she did her initial internal exams; when she explained that she needed a small lamp light in the room so she could see to write her notes; when she held the Doppler to my belly to check the heartbeat of my baby at ten-minute intervals. I also developed a passionate dislike for the objectively personable man who was the Consultant on duty. Although I was well aware of the risks associated with a vaginal breech delivery, he insisted that I remove my headphones so he could explain again and warn me about the possibility I might need a caesarean. “Just say what you’ve got to say quickly and I’ll consent,” I murmured; prepared to say anything so he’d go away.

The labour drove on and my hips began to feel as though they were about to burst from the pressure. Then, when the baby’s body started lowering into the birth canal the sensation changed completely. Still on my knees, I gripped the metal bed head and emitted a low, fast “Huh!”, like the sound made by someone doing martial arts. I felt prised apart and as though I couldn’t breathe. As the surge subsided I could feel my baby’s body slowly slide back up into my body. “Huh!”: the sensation of my baby’s body moving down again. I felt it slide back inside me. “Huh!”. “Huh!”. “Huh!”. The surges pulsed the baby’s body in and out, until it began to move down and stay down. “Huh!”. Somehow my headphones had been removed. I was kneeling on the bed facing the wall, unaware of the crowd of people gathered behind me. “Huuuhhh!”: I felt my body opening. At this point, my boyfriend would recount later, a tiny bottom emerged from my backside and did a swirling shit of treacle-black meconium. Another surge came and I went with the feeling, experiencing relief as a leg flopped down out of my vagina, then another. A downwards movement forced my body open and out slipped the arms. The baby was now out up to the chin and the surge subsided. “You need to push now,” said the midwife. “But I don’t feel the push feeling,” I replied. The directions issued by my body had got me this far and I was unwilling to listen to advice that ignored my instincts. But the medical team now gathered in the room explained that getting the baby out quickly was now imperative, so I forced myself to push like I was doing a shit.

I felt a tremendous rush of relief as my baby slipped fully from my flesh. I spun around and there on the end of the bed lay a lanky purple doll on its back. The Consultant rushed towards the silent, still baby to cut the cord. My boyfriend tried to stop him, hoping we could still achieve the delayed cord clamping set out in our birth plan. But our baby still hadn’t drawn a breath, and a medical chorus insisted that cutting the cord now was necessary. We consented quickly, the Consultant cut the cord and our baby yelped and opened its eyes. Everyone in the room cried out and sighed with joy. My baby looked so utterly unfamiliar, like a person I had never seen before. A paediatrician I hadn’t noticed until that moment whisked the baby over to the resuscitation equipment to perform some initial checks. “What kind of baby is it?” I asked my boyfriend. “It’s a girl,” he replied. It was 4.20am. I had been in the hospital for barely four hours. My baby weighed 7lbs and 3oz. Five minutes after her birth her Apgar score was 10. I had a small perineal tear, but apart from the stitches that sewed it up I had managed to avoid any intervention. We had made it. She was safe. She was well. So was I. I felt elated.

My daughter was not born at home surrounded by the sights, smells and people now familiar to her, as I had hoped. She was born in a room filled with wipe-down surfaces, strangers and her parents. Her birth was not what I had imagined. But it was good enough.

1) Hannah, M, et al. (2000) ‘Planned caesarean section versus planned vaginal birth for breech presentation at term: a randomised multicentre trial’. The Lancet, vol. 356, issue 9239, pp.1375-1383.

2) Glezerman, M. (2006) ‘Five years to the term breech trial: the rise and fall of a randomized controlled trial.’ American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, vol. 194, 1, pp.20-25.

3) Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (2017) Management of Breech Presentation (Greentop Guideline No. 20b).

Filed Under: Birth Stories, Featured Tagged With: diagnosed, doctor, ECV, hospital, midwife, moxibustion, planned

Next Page »

Search our breech birth stories and articles

Categories

  • Academic papers (3)
  • Birth Stories (64)
  • Featured (14)
  • General information (2)
  • Publications (3)
  • Uncategorized (1)

Copyright © 2023