GynoFiles

Having your gyno physically turn your baby from butt in the pelvis (breech presentation) to head down so that you can have a safer and possibly a vaginal birth is called external version. Only about 30% of babies are still breech by your 28 week ultrasound, but by full term, only less than 3% stay that way. So it's not often a subject that comes up. In the year 2000 The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists had issued a statement that all women should be "offered" a chance for a version if they are still breech at full term. Many are not offered this because their gyno either lost her skills, didn't have the skills, or has other issues that prevent the success of version. For instance, guidelines now say deliver no baby before 39 weeks of pregnancy. But by 39 weeks the baby may be so deep in the pelvis that turning the baby is much less likely, gynos may be wary to induce premature delivery with trying too soon (before 39 weeks) just to turn the baby...

Breech babie s are lying with their head in the upper part of the uterus, and their bottoms pointing towards the birth canal. They to be sitting, and the healthier way to deliver vaginally for the baby to be born is head down . This is so the bigger parts can come out first.  With a breech the feet are much smaller than the head, so the feet coming first, or footling breech, can be dangerous as once the baby's shoulders and head come to the birth canal they can get stuck.  This is of critical importance. We think of the risks of c-sections as being significant, but prior to modern times, operative deliveries were uniformly fatal. The operation is quite safe for the mom, but what is not always recognized is that it is much safer for the babies to be born by c-section if they are breech. In 2000, a study from the Netherlands found that breech babies born vaginally had a 33% higher risk of injury or death compared to those born by C-section. they have now updated the...