The last few weeks have been entertaining. Or exhausting is a better term. Depends on your point of view. I have never had so many health care appointments in such a short time frame. All due to the little one still cuddled up in my belly. It felt so cosy there it decided to stay a breech baby late into pregnancy, causing all the fuss.

Breech baby close to term

At my 35 week check-up the doctor determined the baby was still breech. She was not happy, to put it mildly, and kicked off a whole chain of subsequent appointments with the goal to turn the baby around. My midwives were more chilled, claiming it is not my first baby and my muscles are prestretched, allowing the child to turn later into the pregnancy. Still, breech babies cannot all be born spontaneously, so also the midwives did want it turned if need be. The midwives offer several other, more natural options to try and convince babies to turn. Those involve guiding the baby down with music and light. One can also do special gymnastics resembling candle pose, but with a variant where the partner assists. At one appointment with the midwives I was even given a cigar. With the cigar one can heat up accupuncture points on the feet which apparently get the baby moving. The process is called moxibustion and the idea of it freaked me out some, honestly said.

Call-off of external version with caution

Luck would have it that right before the external version at hospital was to happen, the baby turned. Just by itself. A lot of stress for nothing? Well, while we obviously called off the appointment at the 37 week mark, there is no guarantee the little one will stay the correct way around. As the midwives said, if it still turns now it still has space to do so. Therefore the possibility of the baby being breech again in a few days or close to labor is somewhat high. Fingers crossed it will decide to stay head-down, but just in case…. …it doesn’t present head-down at he onset of labor, more appointments were added to the calendar. Some of them regular check-ups to see if the baby stays in position. Others birth planning sessions at hospital in case it does not. For you see, I was not planning on giving birth on hospital at all. Just like Bubsi, I wanted the little one to be born in a local birth house with only midwife care. The caveat: breech babies cannot be born there. In the entire town, only one hospital has specialists that will allow you to give birth to breech babies spontaneously. So that is where I am now booked in and get regular checks, too. Anywhere else, a c-section is prettt much guaranteed. Needless to say, I really want to avoid surgery. Wish me luck spontaneous labor will work out. Regardless of breech position or not. Whether in hospital or at the midwife-led birth center. How did your babies present just before birth?