My Baby is Breech! What do I do?

I wanted to talk about having a breech baby during pregnancy because it is one of the most common issues pregnant mommas ask me about. They usually ask me about it right at the end of their pregnancies and I also get messages from people in my life who do not live near me and are trying to flip their baby right at the end of their pregnancy.

What Is A Breech Positioning

A breech positioning is when baby is either butt or feet down. Normally, the baby’s head must be facing down for a normal delivery. There aren’t a lot of practitioners out there who deliver breech babies. A breech presentation is almost certainly going to lead to a c section in my area.  Although, my OB-GYN when I gave birth to my daughter in Ohio could deliver breech babies, but only if the mother is low risk and successfully had a vaginal birth in the past.  She is an older OB and is the exception. 

My Recommendation Regarding This Situation

My recommendation to people inquiring about this is to find a Webster certified chiropractor right away. Chiropractors have an organization called the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) and chiropractors have a lot of modules on pediatric care, pre and post natal care, and more. One of the courses is the Webster technique, which is a pelvic balancing technique that involves adjusting the pelvis, working on the ligaments of the pelvis, and giving optimal positioning to the pelvis so that the uterus will have lots of room to be symmetrical and allow the best positioning for babies.  Ideally, you are getting Webster technique and care throughout pregnancy to maintain pelvic symmetry so that baby has all the room to move and get into ideal position on their own.  

Aside from having a breech baby, moms should also find a Webster certified chiropractor if their baby is transverse. Instead of the baby being up and down or perpendicular to the floor, the baby is parallel to the floor. My son was actually in a transverse position when I was 32 weeks pregnant and this was despite being adjusted fairly regularly. One of the factors that might have resulted in my baby being in such a position is because I was commuting to and from my house to get to my work, which is 45 minutes away. During the commute, I tended to tuck my tailbone under and it shortens up your pelvic floor and it can allow for pelvic floor issues and not optimal positioning for your uterus. It can also contribute to having baby go into sunny side up position/posterior, which is not ideal as well. 

After Seeing A Chiropractor, What’s Next?

When my baby was in transverse position, I got some more adjustments weekly  and did a variety of exercises. If this is not corrected, the only way for the baby to come out is via C-section.

One of the most common things I recommend is checking out Spinning Babies. It is a method used by many health practitioners like doulas, midwives, OB-GYNs, and the like. They have a variety of exercises that I recommend as well as ones that I have picked up from DNS, the ICPA, and yoga.  One of which is the puppy pose or the open knee chest position. This pose will train you to get your hips higher than your torso. When doing this exercise, you come onto your shins or onto your knees and your hips are stacked above them. You then walk your hands out and put your chest on the floor. It looks like a very small down dog.

There are more exercises that health professionals recommend but the one thing they have in common is that we want to get the pelvis above the torso. The reason being we want to get the uterus to shift out of the pelvis and allow the baby to have lots of room to move around and get head down. Ideally, the baby wants to be head down as this is the position that they want to get into if they can. As long as we try to give them as much room and space to do that, they are most likely going to try and get there.

The other thing that can help with a breech baby is the breech tilt, which is something similar to what I do in the office. I have a foam wedge in the office that I have people lie on and the wide part is where the butt and hips are and the sloping down is where their torso is. Again, the pelvis is above the torso so the baby has room to move around. The breech tilt recommended by Spinning babies uses an ironing board placed on a couch and you lie on that board. It can be intimidating and that is why I prefer using my foam wedge.

When I was getting my son out of the transverse position, I also did one more thing. I put my shins on the couch, bent forward, and put my hands on the ground. After that, I came down to my forearms. Doing this, my hips were very high, my torso was very low, and baby Deacy was able to shift out of my pelvis. With both my pregnancies, I did a lot of yoga, forearm stands, handstands, head stands, and more up until delivery. It was not new to me but it was not difficult. Holding it for a long period of time is, however, tiring.

When doing these exercises, you still have to be mindful about your tolerance because there are people who cannot tolerate lying on their back for a very long time because of the pressure on the blood flow. You still have to check with your health practitioner before doing these.

How The Pelvis Is Shaped, How It Works 

The pelvis is shaped like a circle and has an entrance, or the pelvic inlet, and an exit, or the pelvic outlet. When the entrance narrows, the outlet opens, when the exit narrows, the inlet opens. You cannot have it both ways. When one narrows, the other one opens.

When you are getting to the end of your pregnancy and want to engage the baby to be head down, hanging out in a full deep squat is an awesome way to engage the baby down into the pelvis. If you do this, your tailbone is tucked under and it opens the pelvic inlet. You have to make sure that your baby is not in breech position because the more that you put yourself in a deep squat or do things that are opening the pelvic inlet, the more the baby comes down with its feet or butt facing your cervix. You are working against yourself in this situation and it will take more effort to bring the baby back up to be switched and flipped.

Why It’s Good To Have Good Positioning And Having Enough Room In The Uterus For The Baby To Move Around

Having a good positioning and having enough room in the uterus for the baby to move around isn’t just for avoiding breech or transverse positions.   You do not want the baby to be sunny side up or in a posterior position. This positioning means the baby’s face is facing out to the front.  Although it does not seem like a big deal, when this happens, the baby could get hung up on your pubic bone.

Posterior babies tend to have much longer labors, more pain associated with it, and it usually leads to the need for intervention. The likelihood of getting a cesarean or having a vacuum assist in the delivery is higher. It’s one of the reasons why even if the baby is not in a breech or transverse position, it is still best to get help through the Webster technique and do the exercises mentioned above.

You can also do some round ligament massage at home and you can use lotion and lightly work that area. You have the round ligament on either side of your abdomen and you can try to do the massage to keep it balanced. These are things your health practitioner can talk to you about. 

Labor is one of the hardest things you will ever do and you want to give yourself the best scenario and most optimal field that you can play on. Make sure that the baby is nice and comfy and check the baby’s position every now and then with your health practitioner. Having an easier labor and less chance for c-section or other interventions makes your recovery time post partum much more smooth. You can also ask your partner to help you with these exercises and do it more than once a day for the best results.

If you have any questions, you can drop it in the comment section or you can send me a message through Facebook or Instagram. I’d be happy to do another podcast about your questions. Also, if you want me to talk about something specific, let me know!

You can also check my TikTok account as I use the platform to educate viewers about movement, chiropractic education, yoga, pregnancy, and more! 

Thank you for listening and see you next week!