Homebirth Turns into an Surprise [Easy] Breech Homebirth!

I am hoping to finally get a few minutes to post my wonderful birth story.  Sunday night during a wonderful winter rain, thunder and lightening storm I had my second home birth using Hypnobabies which just happened to turn out to be a breech birth.

Sunday night at 2:32 am we welcomed our daughter Elliana Daisy Grace.  She happened to be born on her due date too.Let me start by saying about a week and a half before my due date I had a full day of pretty regular pressure waves but then they stopped so I was a little disappointed.  Then this past Saturday I also had pretty regular pressure waves but didn’t think much of it since I had already had them stop on me once.  Sunday I had a few pressure waves but not many.

Sunday evening around 8 they started getting more regular.  I laid down and tried to go to sleep but by 10 they were getting stronger and I thought I had leaking fluid so I got up to check and realized I was bleeding.  I called my midwife and had her come to check me since I was concerned.  At this point I was very upset at the thought of having to go to a hospital.  I had a hard time trying to stay calm and packed a bag to go the hospital while she was on her way.  I also called to have my doula come too.

 

My midwife arrived around 12 or 12:30ish.  By this time the pressure waves were getting much stronger.  She checked me and decided the bleeding was more of a mucous plug and she wasn’t concerned so we made the decision to stay at home. She said the baby was head down and we just sat around chatting and waiting for awhile.  The thought of having a baby in a hospital was terrifying to me.  My doula arrived as the midwife was checking me.  At this point I was able to relax again.  For about the next two hours the waves became stronger.  The pressure waves were definately managable.

 

A little after 2ish my fluids released.  I felt very pushy immediately.  After a push or two my midwife informed me that the baby was breech.  After three pushes out she came. I have to say that even though she ended up breech this delivery was much easier than the birth of my son.  I did not tear this time and I felt the whole thing just went easier.

 

There were many small things I did differently the second time around that made the experience much easier.  My first birth I was not able to relax.  This time around I had made the decision to stay calm and I believe it made a big difference. With my first birth I had no energy for over a week.  This time I was a little tired the next day but day two I felt great and yesterday I went grocery shopping.  I also had started taking iron extract a few weeks before my daughter was born because I had felt run down.  I believe this may have helped also.  I did not have a doula the first time around and this time I had decided it was necessary.  I believe the extra support also helped to keep my calm and comfortable.

 

The little one is waking up so I must go now.  I wanted to post this to encourage others that may have a breech baby that you can still do it at home.

Thanks to Gen from the Hypnobabies Yahoo Group for sharing her story with us!

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Cool Experience with Turn Your Breech Baby

Hi everyone!

I had the coolest experience with the Turn Your Breech track the other night and I had to share.

I’m now 23 weeks with the triplets and having brief weekly ultrasounds to check cervical length since a shortening cl (under 2.5cm) is one of the big indicators for preterm birth and indicates bedrest. The babies positions had been the same for quite some time, babies A & B (Reagan and Ryder) were vertex, with Reagan’s head right on the cervix, Ryder off to the side. Baby C, Ruby, is above, transverse. We only need Baby A to be vertex for a vaginal birth.

At last week’s u/s Baby A showed up breech! Its early still, but there’s a totally different dynamic with 3 in there and they get set in their positions much earlier than a singleton so I was a little freaked out. Obviously ECV wouldn’t be an option and even Webster and moxabustion have minimal positive results with multiples, especially the more babies there are (I’m a research freak so I looked into it immediately).

I was trying not to stress about it too much, but I could definitely feel her feet on my cervix all week, little leg movements, not big head movements like I had previously.

So I listened to the Turn Your Breech track the night before my next u/s because I knew I’d feel better if I could see her positioned head down again. Well, sure enough, the next morning I was feeling head movements again and the u/s showed her to be vertex, woohoo!

—
Morgan Cornwall, HCHI, HCHD, CD(DONA)
Hypnobabies Childbirth Hypnosis Instructor and
DONA certified Birth Doula

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Fast, easy, joyful surprise breech birth.

I’ve been meaning to write in and tell you about my successful use of the Hypnobabies Home Study course to prepare for my first birth in the summer of 2007. The techniques were so successful that I delivered my son breech at home with a smile on my face the whole time.

Here’s my story:

Around 7 PM the night before my actual due date, I started having early “waves.” We tried to sleep, though I couldn’t, and then around 2 AM, we called the midwife to say that we thought things were moving along. The midwife told us to call her when the pain became “too much to handle” or the time between contractions very short.

So while my husband got things ready, I lay in a bed and did my focused relaxation; it felt mostly like I was having short spurts of menstruation cramps every so often. It was really manageable.

We finally called in the midwife around 5 AM, and when she checked me, I was already 8 cm dilated! I hadn’t realized it, but it seemed I’d been in “active labor” for hours. She quickly got the tub ready, as I had planned to at least labor in a tub to help with the pain I assumed I’d have. But there wasn’t really any pain and things were going so quickly and smoothly that there seemed no need for the tub.

We listened to a harp music CD and my husband used the “peace” cue with a hand on my shoulder whenever I felt a wave. I became aware and was told afterward that I was smiling (yes, smiling) the whole time! I just kept thinking, birth is natural and wonderful, and I couldn’t wait to see my baby. It’s hard to describe the blissful scene in our bedroom that early morning. We had candles around, soft music playing, and my husband and I held onto each other with so much love. It was so peaceful and moving, nothing at all like those horrible scenes one sees in the movies.

At 5:40 AM, my body just started to push naturally. It was amazing just to leave everything up to my body and to feel the push taking over. I pictured my baby moving lower and lower with every surge. Between pushes at some point, the midwifes told my husband the surprising news that my son was breech, presenting bottom first. He decided that it would be best not to tell me, as things were going so well, and he thought it would scare me. He was right.

I continued to push believing everything was fine. “Are those the shoulders coming out?” I’d ask. They kept reassuring me that things were going great and to keep doing what I was doing. Although I’d been laboring on my side for almost the whole time, I decided to get on my knees in hopes of having gravity work for me. I held onto my husband for support.

At the last moment, the midwives said that I would need to put everything I had into the next push. I felt a very intense stretching that was as close to pain as I’d gotten but still quite manageable and out came my son at 7 AM, after only about an hour of pushing.

He took a minute to revive fully but after a puff of room air and a spray of Bach’s rescue remedy, he was alert and wide-eyed. I delivered the placenta with ease 20 minutes later, with my beautiful baby boy in my arms and still attached via the umbilical chord.

I can’t say the next weeks were easy, but the birth itself could not have been more fluid. My husband and I still get teary eyed when we think back to that peaceful, incredible day. And my midwives, who had attended hundreds and hundreds of natural childbirths but had never taken part in a Hypnobabies birth, were stunned. It was, they concurred, one of the most beautiful births they had ever witnessed.

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Wondering Wednesday: What if my baby is breech?

Hypnobabies has a MP3 for that!

Click here to go to the Hypnobabies MP3 page.
Then click on the Turn Your Breech Baby, Yes You Can! link.

Hypnosis is excellent for turning a breech, since the baby is registered by the inner mind as part of the mother!

In this deep hypnosis Turn Your Breech Baby audio track, you are allowed to relax the muscles and any constriction all around your baby and use effective hypnotic suggestions for turning baby to the vertex, (head down) position, if that is the safest way for baby to be positioned. Baby will let you know!

Excellent for midwives to keep for their home birth and birth center mothers, as well as *anyone* whose baby has turned to Breech presentation in late pregnancy or labor.

For the best benefits, you can choose to listen to your Turn Your Breech Baby audio track every day until your baby turns head down. The subconscious mind is very powerful and will create more room for baby to turn while listening to your Breech Turning track, and make muscles much more relaxed as well as direct your baby to turn head down and facing your back.

You may want to look into other natural breech turning techniques as well, to augment your Hypnobabies MP3 track. (Slant board, music, the Webster Technique, acupuncture, etc.)

Testimonial!

One of our Hypno-Moms writes: “Just thought I’d share a happy story with you – my sweet babe has been lying transverse in my belly for months, and the other day I started thinking I needed to get her turned.

I’m only 27 weeks pregnant but I have a uterine septum which can increase the changes of a malpositioned baby and make it difficult to turn them later in pregnancy when space gets tight.

Plus I was feeling a bit uncomfortable having her wrapped around my sides so much. My belly actually looked funny because it was so wide.

I decided to listen to the Turn Your Breech Baby CD. I laid down while my older son was napping, listened to it, and once it was over felt moved to do one short (5 second or so) downward dog stretch and then a few pelvic tilts.

Then I got up, looked at my belly, and it was a COMPLETELY different shape – much more round and less wide. I also had more pressure lower in my pelvis and could feel immediately that she had moved.

She’s now kicking in the center of my body rather than around at my sides. I had a prenatal visit on Saturday and my midwife confirmed that baby is now head-down, with her bottom against my bellybutton, head facing my back.

Amazing results after only listening to the Breech track once! 🙂 Hurray and thank you SO much to Kerry and the Hypnobabies team for creating this program. I am SO thankful!

~ Kristin in Oregon”

More ideas

I really like this resource for additional ideas to use for encouraging baby to turn.

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Vaginal Breech Birth with Hypnobabies Childbirth Hypnosis

We welcomed our second Hypnobaby, Miriam Dawn, on June 23rd. She was born at home in the water after a fast and easy birthing time. She was also breech and her delivery could not have gone more perfectly. She came out so fast my husband almost missed it!

If you want to see photos, check out my blog: http://redheadmusings.blogspot.com/2010/06/story-of-miriams-breech-homebirth.html
Now for the long version…

With my first baby (born July 2008) I did the Hypnobabies homestudy course. I had a drug free delivery in a hospital. Everything went smoothly but I ended up pushing for 3 hours!

When I got pregnant this time I decided to do a live class. I wanted my husband to be more involved and understand everything better. We had a great class and my husband Jared really got on board with everything. I had a very uneventful pregnancy until the third trimester. I felt great, and with the exception of some round ligament pain, never even got that uncomfortable. However, Baby Miriam decided we needed some more drama in our lives when she turned breech around the start of the third trimester and stubbornly refused to go head down. We spent weeks trying all the normal tricks–breech tilt, inversion, chiropractor, acupuncture, massage, Turn Your Breech Baby cd, music, ice, flashlight, headstands, homeopathics, and of course lots and lots of prayers.

Finally, when I was almost 38 weeks my midwife referred me to an OB for a version. I had an ultrasound done first where it was discovered that my amniotic fluid levels were quite low. Too low to attempt a version, and low enough to cause concern that something else could be wrong. The OB said that most of his colleagues would recommend I get a c-section that night since my baby was full term and breech. He realized that was obviously something we wanted to avoid, so he recommended a non-stress test to see how the baby was doing first. Fortunately, my midwife could do this at her office, so we didn’t have to stay in the hospital. Baby was doing great so the orders were to “hydrate like hell” and hope to get my fluids up enough to attempt the version in a couple days. I drank liters and liters of water but when I went back for another ultrasound my fluid levels were barely higher. A version was no longer an option. Time to prepare for plan B.

We did another non-stress test (baby still doing great) and talked things over with our midwife. Here in Utah it is illegal for liscensed midwives to attend breech births at home. This meant our wonderful midwife, Rebecca, could not attend our birth alone. So she contacted a very experienced and well respected lay midwife in our area and asked her if she’d be willing to come to our birth. Chris agreed to come. We decided it was probably best for Miriam to come pretty soon since my fluid levels were so low. We decided to give her a few more days but made plans to encourage things along the following Wednesday. We continued to do non stress tests every other day, which Miriam always passed with flying colors.

Wednesday came and that morning Rebecca stripped my membranes and gave me cohosh in the hopes of getting labor started. I’m not usually a fan of even these types of intervention but with my low fluid levels and a breech baby we thought it was best to encourage things along. We did another nonstress test that morning too and she was happy as always. When Rebecca stripped my membranes I was 4 cm dilated and 50% effaced with a bulging bag of waters quite low. Not a bad start.

We left Rebecca’s office just before 10 and headed to Costco to get a few last minute things. I started having a few mild cramps. By the time we left Costco they had picked up a bit. We stopped at one more store to get diapers and pads and then headed home. It was just after 11 am when we got home. I was having mild and crampy waves pretty close together but still didn’t know if they would go anywhere. I had several things I wanted to get done around the house and thought I would have plenty of time. I got on the computer to do a quick post on my blog. By the time I was done with that I was having to really concentrate on the waves to relax. They were getting more intense and were VERY close together. Rebecca called around noon and said that was the cohosh at work.

I laid on my bed and listened to Easy First Stage. The waves were so close together I hardly got a chance to regroup between them. Time gets a little fuzzy from here on out, but I spent a few waves on the toilet and then on the floor of the bathroom on my hands and knees. Then I went back to my bed. Rebecca called again and said she would come right over as soon as her last appointment left. I was back in the bathroom when she got to our house about 1:45. She checked me and I was 7 cm and 80% effaced. And bless her she said I could get in the birth pool!

I was so happy to be in the water. It really helped me relax more. The waves had spaced out a tiny bit so I was getting a bit more of a break between them, but they were also getting super intense. I knelt and leaned against the side of the pool and started vocalizing through them. In the mean time, Jared was working out arrangements for our son Asher who had just woken up from his nap, and we were still waiting on Chris, the other midwife to get there. Right around when she arrived I started feeling pushy and felt a pop–my water broke. This is also about the time Jared left to take Asher around the corner to a friend’s house. I started pushing involuntarily and pretty soon her bottom was out and then her legs. And Jared wasn’t back yet! Rebecca ran out the door to see if she could catch him but didn’t see him. He got back when Miriam was half way out. Chris told me to reach down and touch her so I was rubbing her back before her head was out. She got still for a moment while she got her arms out and then I pushed again and her head came right out super easy.  I just lifted her between my legs and turned around. No one else even touched her. I think the whole pushing phase was less than 5 minutes. (Unfortunately, it was so fast that we didn’t get a chance to get out the video camera. I really wanted to get the birth on video since a breech homebirth is so unusual. That is my only regret for the day.)

She was born at 2:41 pm. So I had roughly 3- 3 1/2 hours of active labor. I think because of the cohosh and membrane stripping, everything was more intense. My waves were always super close together. It was definitely a fast ride. But I remained very calm and peaceful during the whole thing. Thank you, Hypnobabies! I really trusted my body and my baby and it could not have gone more smoothly.

When I lifted Miriam out of the water her eyes were wide open and she was quiet. My first thought was that her eyes were huge and she looked so different than Asher did right after he was born. (He was all swollen and bruised.) I rubbed her back and we put a towel on her and she started pinking up and making some noise. We hung out in the water until the cord stopped pulsing and then Rebecca clamped it and Jared cut it. Jared took Miriam and held her skin to skin while I got out of the water and went over to the couch. I wasn’t even bleeding that much thank goodness. A few minutes later I pushed out the placenta. We just hung out on the couch and Miriam eventually started nursing while Rebecca and Chris cleaned up and then checked me out. I didn’t tear! I just have a little “skid mark” that will heal up fine. I’m not even sore. I only used one ice pack that day and have felt fine since. Much different than how I felt after Asher when it seemed like my bottom wasn’t even attached to by body anymore! Three hours of pushing can do that I guess!

My grandma thoughtfully had some pizza sent to our house so thats what we ate for a late lunch. Then I had to go pee so Rebecca helped me up and I got all cleaned and padded up. 🙂 I seriously felt SO good. I didn’t feel like I had just had a baby. I put on some clothes and then we weighed and measured Miriam. 6 pounds 10 ounces, 19 1/2 inches long, 13 inch head. Absolutely perfect.

This birth was pretty much exactly as I had been visualizing it my entire pregnancy. The only difference is that it was faster and she was breech. I really wanted to go into labor in the morning after a good night’s sleep and then have her in the afternoon sometime. I imagined being in the water, kneeling and catching her myself. That is exactly what I did. Although labor was very fast and intense, I was always calm and never afraid. I always felt really peaceful about everything. Pushing was SO easy and painless and she came right out fast and perfectly. The mind is so powerful. During waves I imagined myself opening really big to allow her body and head to come through easily. After she was born I also imagined everything closing up so that I wouldn’t bleed very much. (Redheads are notorious for being bleeders.)

I feel like the stars really aligned to give us the perfect peaceful home birth we had prepared for. I will be forever grateful to our midwives for their confidence in the birth process. I’m still amazed at how easy and beautiful this birth was when probably 99.9% of people in our situation would have had a c-section. I feel so blessed that I had this experience.

And let me also add that being at home right after is SO great! I’ve loved it. I hope I never have to birth in a hospital again!

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My Surprise Breech Vaginal Birth

Even though it was my first pregnancy I felt very confident about the upcoming birth (thank you Hypnobabies!) I had a planned a home birth with a wonderful midwife team, and declined all offers of a last ultrasound to check on the baby’s position (there was always some uncertainty during my checkups, but they always concluded that the head was down).

My water broke at 8 am, 6 days before the due date, catching me a little off guard as I really did think my baby would be at least a few days late. The pressure waves shortly afterwards and immediately felt fairly strong and only 2-3 minutes apart. ***BOP warning: discomfort mentioned*** I knew my baby was not posterior, so I was surprised when I needed my DH to apply pressure with both hands on my low back to alleviate some of the pressure there, even though I was otherwise completely relaxed. Well, as a first timer I just thought that what I had was the normal back discomfort, and that back labour would feel way more intense.  By 4 pm I learned that I was 5 cm dilated, which I was really happy about. However, by 10 pm I had only progressed to 7 cm, and things were slowing down.  I was starting to get frustrated and rather bored.  At 2:30am my midwifes gave me two options; either go to the hospital and start oxitocin drip, which meant that my natural homebirth in a tub was out the window, or they would go home and leave me to go to bed and try to sleep, which would mean things slowing down even more. Since the baby’s heartbeat was great and my temperature was normal they were not worried about infections, and I therefore chose this option.

That night I actually got some decent sleep between my pressure waves, and by the morning my waves were about 45 minutes apart. We spent the morning between my occasional pressure waves (with someone pushing on my back with all their might) finishing decorating the baby’s room, doing laundry, playing cards, and eating a good size pasta lunch to give me energy for later. Who could have thought that giving birth to a baby could be so boring?!? My midwife came by in the afternoon to check baby’s heartbeat and my temperature; everything still looked great. Due to risk of infection she didn’t do an internal check, but she told me that she believed that I had a high breakage, and that it might even seal up on its own. Either way, provided that there were no signs of infections she was willing to let me keep going for days instead of transferring me to the hospital. It was all up to me. She packed up all her equipment and we joked about that would start my birthing time again for sure. Little did we know how right we were…

Sure enough, soon the boredom dissipated as the pressure waves got more regular, and the intensity increased. By about 8pm (24 hours after my birth started) I was having a hard time relaxing even when DH applied pressure to my lower back and using the relaxation cues.  I remember asking for the MW to come back, and if this wasn’t transition, then I wanted to go to the hospital for some drugs since I didn’t know how long I could deal with that level of intensity. I was never checked to confirm that, but I’m convinced that’s what it was. After I got in the pool I felt much better, and it wasn’t long before I started making an ahhhh-sound during my waves, although I only felt a huge urge to push at the very top of a few of the waves. I was in a bit of denial at this point, and thought I was still in transition, and when one of the MWs told me to reach down to and feel my baby I was in complete shock to feel it there just inside me. The softness of it confused me but was told it probably was the bag of water that hadn’t broken yet.

After a few more of those little pushes between my loud breathing I heard some kind of commotion behind me, and one of the MWs saying “that’s NOT a head!!!” They told me that by baby was breach, coming butt first, and since they didn’t feel comfortable delivering a breach baby they had to call an ambulance and transfer me to the hospital. This is when it started to get kind of exciting. The fire truck with the first responders arrived, asking me really stupid questions, even during my pressure waves. The most annoying part was that they would let me drink. I mostly just ignored them, swallowing the ice chips against their protests, and concentrated on my own work. It was hard to avoid pushing during the 5 minute extremely bumpy ambulance ride, but I generally managed.  They took me to the ER where luckily two of hospital’s most natural birth friendly OBs  were on call. Not a word was mentioned about c-sections to my immense relief. My hospital used to have a policy of automatic c-sections with breach babies, however, had earlier that week (!!!) changed its policy to attempt some breach vaginal deliveries (although it was much controversy regarding the lack of experience with such births). I guess my two doctors thought that this was as good a time as any to try it out;) The tiny ER room was filled to its maximum; two doctors for me plus an anesthesiologist, `just in case’. There were also a bunch of nurses and 3 people from the NICU for the baby. In addition there were lots of people that didn’t seem to have a purpose at all, just standing around (including my DH and MW). Maybe they just wanted to witness this rather unusual event? All in all there were about 15 people crammed into this little room. When I was finally given the go-ahead to push I couldn’t stop. First I tried the exhale pushing like I’ve been doing all along, but was told to hold my breath to get her out quicker. When I did that, things started happening fast. DH told me later that for every push she would slide out a little further, but then slide almost all the way back in again. When she got far enough out, the doctor grabbed her hips, preventing her from sliding back in again. During the next push, she first grabbed one leg, did a little twist, and pulled it out. Then she did the same with the other. After baby’s cord and chest was born, she did basically the same with the arms. As far as I remember that all happened during one contraction. During the next one she put a finger in baby’s mouth, tilting the chin towards the chest, and twisted the baby while easing the head out. That was the only time I gave a little squeak, as it felt like I was majorly tearing (although I only got a slight tear that only got three tiny stitches for `just in case’). According to my MW it was a perfect textbook breach delivery.

From the time we arrived at the hospital to Sofie was born at 10:10 pm it was only 9 minutes, and considering it took them a long time to get the ER room ready, I think I actively pushed for no more than 3- 4 minutes. I immediately got the baby on my chest, and the doctor announced that we had gotten a girl! It didn’t take long though before they took her away since she hadn’t started breathing. The NICU team sprung into action, doing their thing and intubated her. It was barely in though before she started to breathe on her own, and although her 1 minute APGAR score was only 3, by 5 minutes it had increased to an impressive 9. The anesthesiologist commented how extremely calm I was, and how moms with planned births are usually more nervous than what I appeared to be.  This is despite my failure of actively using hypnosis during the last stages (but it shows that something must still be working on the unconscious level nonetheless).

Unfortunately they still felt the need to take her to the NICU, so it was actually a few hours till I got to see her again. But at least her daddy was with her for as much as they would let him. When I finally made it down to the NICU I started bawling, but it was tears of utter happiness and relief. Everything felt so surreal, but I knew one thing for sure; if I got to choose to do it again, I wouldn’t have changed a single thing about Sofie’s birth. Although it didn’t go totally according to my plan, it was perfect nonetheless, and I felt truly blessed and incredibly lucky that I got to do it my way despite a few bumps in the road. I truly feel that Hypnobabies gave me the confidence and tools I needed to have the birth I wanted.

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Turning Breech Baby Tips

I just wanted to post some helpful information on using hypnosis to turn breech babies:

While only about 5% of all babies are breech at term, for those planning a vaginal birthing, having their baby in a breech position in the last month of pregnancy can be challenging. There are many suggestions for turning a breech baby physically, such as swimming, using a slant board, massage, moxibustion, pelvic tilt, etc. http://pregnancychildbirth.suite101.com/article.cfm/turning_a_breech_baby

Another excellent resource is the Spinning Babies website at www.spinningbabies.com, which has information on turning babies in several challenging positions.

In addition to these techniques, we have another amazing tool that helps breech babies turn to the head-down position – our own powerful minds! Since the baby in utero is part of the mother, it is registered as so by the subconscious mind, which can be directed to make changes in the mother’s body. Release of fears that can constrict muscles is also used in hypnosis sessions, to help the mother relax and allow her baby to turn. The body is controlled completely by the mind, which is how our Hypnobabies moms can use hypnosis to stop-preterm labor, eliminate nausea and insomnia and of course, create a much easier and more comfortable childbirth experience. Using hypnosis to turn breech babies has been more successful than using other techniques alone. In a study done at a prominent university, 81% of the babies turned to vertex position with the use of hypnosis:

Design: Prospective case series compared with historical, matched comparison group.

Subjects: One hundred pregnant women whose fetuses were in breech position at 37 to 40 weeks’ gestation and a matched comparison group of women with similar obstetrical and sociodemographic parameters derived from databases for other studies from the same time period and geographical areas.

Intervention: The intervention group received hypnosis with suggestions for general relaxation with release of fear and anxiety. While in the hypnotic state women were asked for the reasons why their baby was in the breech presentation. As much hypnosis was provided as was convenient and possible for the women until they were delivered of the baby or the baby converted to the vertex position.

Main Outcome Variables: A successful conversion for the intervention group was scored when the baby spontaneously converted to the vertex position before delivery or successful cephalic version. The conversion rate of the intervention group was compared with the comparison group who received standard obstetrical care without the opportunity for hypnosis.

Results: Eighty-one percent of the fetuses in the intervention group converted to vertex presentation compared with 48% of those in the comparison group. This difference was statistically significant.

Conclusions: Motivated subjects can be influenced by a skilled Hypnotherapist in such a manner that their fetuses have a higher incidence of conversion from breech to vertex presentation. Psychophysiological factors may influence the breech presentation and may explain this increased frequency of conversion to vertex presentation.

From Archives of Family Medicine, Vol. 3, Oct. 1994 Hypnosis and Conversion of the Breech to the Vertex Presentation Lewis E. Mehl, MD, PhD Dept. of Psychiatry Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington

At Hypnobabies, we suggest all women consider how powerful their inner mind is and use it during pregnancy, birthing and postpartum, to enhance their own safety, comfort and health, as well as that of their precious babies. Your mind can direct your body in such a positive way – use it! If the baby is breech, it is wise to find a well-trained hypnotherapist in the area for sessions to help turn the baby, or visit our Hypnobabies website for information on our Turn Your Breech Baby Cd and Mp3 tracks.

Turn, Baby, Turn!

Kerry Tuschhoff, HCHI, CHt, CI

Founder/Director of Hypnobabies

714-952-BABY (2229)

www.Hypnobabies.com

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Successful External Version with Hypnobabies!

When I was 37 weeks, 5 days, my midwife discovered my baby was in the breech position.  For me, this was especially disappointing, as I am desperately hoping for a VBAC.  I was really upset to think my chances for a VBAC were flying out the window because of a breech baby.

For a week I tried everything:

•Moxibustion (did everyday for 6 days)
•Chiropractic – Webster technique
•Knees to chest position multiple times per day
•Headstand, shoulderstand, down dog
•Laying on ironing board at 45 degree angle
•Hypnosis daily – Turn Your Breech Baby script
•Visualizing and talking to baby
•Using flashlights, music, talking and having 2-yr old sing through TP tube at belly
•Pulsitilla homeopathy
•Swimming – handstands, somersaults, deep dives
•and some good emotional releases (I think I cried a box of tissues)

None of the above worked (although I think it was all helpful to send baby a message and give her more room), so at 38 weeks 5 days, I went in to have an external version done and it was successful!

In the morning, I did one more moxibustion treatment at home, then on the way to the hospital, I listened to the Fear Release.  When it came to the part about creating my bubble of peace, I was thinking about all the comments I received from friends/family in response to an email I sent out the day prior requesting their good thoughts, good vibes, and prayers for this baby to turn.  I took those comments and visualized them typed on strips of paper and I pasted them to the outside of my bubble.

When we arrived at the hospital at 7:30 AM, we luckily got a very nice nurse who got us settled into the triage room.  They hooked up the fetal heart rate and contraction monitors and baby was very active, which was good for establishing a baseline.  I listened to the beginning of the Turn Your Breech Baby script and tried to get relaxed into the setting.  My doula arrived around 8 AM.  I listened to more HB while we waited for the doctors.  Just before 9 AM, the perinatologist I consulted with arrived with one of her colleagues, who the nurse later informed me was the `one to have for this procedure’.   I had explained to the doctor during the consult that I was planning on using my hypnosis practice for the external and she was very excited and supportive.  So, they asked me what I needed and I asked them to just give me 5-10 minutes, if possible, to get relaxed.  The nurse gave me a shot of Terbutaline, a smooth muscle relaxer, to relax the uterus.

About 10 minutes later, the doctors came back.  I made sure that I was listening to the part of the Turn Your Baby script where you visualize your hands reaching into the uterus and gently stretching it open, making more room for your baby, and then reaching your hands around your baby and nudging her around when they did the procedure.  I wouldn’t say that I was in a hypnotic state, because it was difficult with all the interruptions, but I was staying relaxed and focused on the script.  I kept my headphones on the whole time, and my eyes closed and I didn’t listen to what they were saying, or watch what they were doing.

It was SO intense, but I stayed totally relaxed and calm the entire time, even though I swear my diaphragm was in my ears and I could barely get any breath into my lungs, and I was sure my xiphoid process (little bone attached where your ribs come together) was going to pop off!  I did want to scream out “STOP!” but I just focused on the script and was talking to my baby the whole time.  I finally opened my eyes after about 2 minutes when I felt the hands come off and looked at one of the doctors and she was smiling, so I removed my headphones. It was good news!

I was really surprised at how forceful it was and I never felt the baby turn on her own.  I guess I thought they’d give her a little nudge and she’d turn herself around.  The doctors said they couldn’t believe how relaxed I seemed and they said, “We need to find out what that is you are listening to!”  [Of course, I told them all about HB.]  They also said that a big part of her getting to turn was because I was so relaxed. I figure if it took four hands to move her, she doesn’t have room now to flip back on her own. I’ll be 39 weeks tomorrow.

They kept me for 3 hours to monitor my contractions and baby’s heart rate. She was just fine – never wavered outside a normal range. I was having some pretty strong contractions (according to the monitor) although I never felt any sensation beyond strong tightening of my uterus. I also had some mild cramping, but after about 90 minutes it all normalized, although I was still crampy, which I’ve been feeling for a few days anyway. The nurse called the doc to see if she could release me, and the doc wanted her to do a cervix check before they sent me home.  I politely declined and assured the nurse I was not in labor, as I have labored before. She was okay with that, just smiled and said, “Okay”.

I kind of struggled with the fact that this was a bit of an invasive procedure, but I figured it’s a LOT less invasive than another cesarean and I truly did try everything else I could to get her to turn on her own.  I’m glad we tried it and now I am confident that it will be smooth sailing from now until the birth…

~Karen
39 weeks, VBAC

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Amber’s Extrenal Version Attempt

I wanted to share my story about our external version attempt on Monday. We weren’t successful in the traditional sense, but I personally consider it a success…I’ll explain.

Our little one has been breech since at least 31 weeks, though I’m pretty sure he’d been in that position for at least two weeks before. We found at our growth ultrasound that he was breech (and big and healthy! Daddy is 6’5″ so no surprise!)

I immediately began breech tilts, acupressure on my little toes, some swimming, and the Webster technique with the chiropractor. The Webster definitely made him more active, but he just couldn’t seem to turn on his own. By 36 weeks, he seemed to begin settling into my pelvis, making it even harder for him to flip. He was, however, able to flip side to side (he’d face my right side, then my left), so we had hope.

At my 36 week appt, I asked the OB to check placement. He was still frank breech. I asked about an external version then. The OB was really relunctant to do one for the following reasons: 1. this was my first birthing (tighter uterus than someone who’s blessed with 6!), 2. I had ‘OK’ fluid, but not plentiful, and 3. I had an anterior placenta. He gave me a chance of success of 10-15 percent, and said that if I hadn’t suggested it, he wouldn’t have because he didn’t want to put me through the pain of one. I told him I felt that 10-15 percent chance was better than nothing, and I was willing to try. We scheduled the version at the hospital for the following Monday.

Sunday night I did a fear release and listened to the turn your breech baby track. Hubby and I also talked to our baby, telling him that the doctor was going to try to help him turn and not to be afraid. We also told him, like we had before, that if for some reason he couldn’t turn, that would be ok.

Monday morning I did another fear release and listened to some of Deepening on the way (shorter ride than I expected!). The doctor’s office told me to be at the hospital at 10am, so we pulled into the lot around 9:30 just in case. As we pulled in, labor and delivery called wondering where I was! They had been expecting me at 8am for monitoring. Thanks for letting me know ;).

Once I got in the room, I got dressed in a gown and had the monitors placed. IV wasn’t too bad, but I have terrible veins from being stuck a lot in past years. When the doctor came in after I had been monitored for awhile, he had to bring in the buzzer to startle the baby – he was just too relaxed as well! My OB asked if I had been having contractions or anything, and I told him I hadn’t. Apparently I was while I was there on the monitor! The OB even commented that I was “as peaceful as a spring morning.” Once we confirmed we had good heart tones for everybody, and the whole group of nurses was there (4 nurses, the OB, and a resident, plus hubby), I got the shot of terb and we were ready.

My husband pulled close to me, and everyone gathered around. I didn’t have a lot of time to relax (I was I had done a finger drop before the doctor got in, but I wasn’t expecting him then), but my husband was able to reach over, put his hand on my shoulder, and say “relax.” That was enough to get me in hypnosis, and I felt myself just release. There was a lot of pressure and I was uncomfortable (I think I would have been more comfortable if I’d been more prepared), but overall it wasn’t painful. The baby was facing my right side, so they tried to turn him that way first. They got him to almost halfway, but couldn’t get any farther. I could feel that it felt like he got stuck there.

They regrouped and tried to backflip him to the left. This didn’t work either, and they couldn’t get him as far as they had to the right. Sometime during this, the nurse asked my husband how I was taking it so well, and he told her I’d been preparing for this all along. The OB commented that he was amazed that I wasn’t “cussing him out,” and joked that he was a little dissappointed.

After they were done, my OB explained that he just couldn’t get a good grip underneath the baby’s head because of my placental placement in the front. He actually seemed surprised that he couldn’t do it, despite what he had said before. Also, at previous appointments, whenever I made the comment that the baby still had time to turn, my OB would say “well, I’ll cross my fingers” and get a look that seemed to say “there’s no way.” However, after the version attempt, he told me that the baby still had time to turn and we’d talk more about everything at my next appointment.

I only had a little bit of pain the whole time – when they tried to turn him to the left, a buzzer started going off and worried me. I don’t know if they lost him on the monitor that way or what, but I lost concentration for a bit and had pain then.

The nurses asked me afterward if I had a “really high pain tolerance.” I told them that no, I didn’t, but I had been using self-hypnosis to prepare for birthing. One nurse almost jumped forward to ask what it was! They were really impressed. One of the nurses also commented that it was really good to see someone who didn’t just want to schedule a section, who understood that vaginal birth was best for baby and mommy.

It took awhile to get released, lots of monitoring and busy nurses. I’m sore now and I’m going to try to go to the pool and see if the bouyancy will help my soreness. We even laughed afterward while I was getting dressed that I had a big scratch at the top of my stomach where they had really been digging into me.

I feel that it was all successful for a few reasons. First, I had a peace going into the procedure, and a peace afterward. I had been afraid that I would be devastated if it didn’t work, but I wasn’t and I’m not now. I also feel that it went really well after seeing my OB’s reaction. Overall, he’s a pretty permissive OB – you can talk to him like an adult (!) and make a case for doing or not doing something and he’s usually good about it. However, he seemed more hopeful, and I think seeing me give it a go showed him that some women are willing to go for the difficult things in order to have a healthy birthing. I’m hoping he’ll be more willing with other women in the future to try. Also, I think it was really great for the nurses. One of the nurses in particular (all of the are surgical, so they only see c-sections) told me that she had two sections herself and didn’t want either one. She really coached me throughout the procedure, and I think it was a big encouragement for her.

My husband told me that it was amazing to see the procedure and see how I did with it. I could tell beforehand that he was nervous. He told me that you could really see the baby’s back and everything as they tried. He thinks now that there’s a chance this little guy will end up bigger than he is, and like I said hubby is 6’5″. Maybe I should start saving money for shoes now. I’m just glad the little one is good and healthy. 😀

sorry it’s so long!
-Amber
almost 38 weeks with a big boy!

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Rachael’s Successful Version

I posted a couple of days ago about scheduling the an external version after all sorts of crazy attempts to get my baby girl to turn on her own.  Short version is successful hypnosis and successful external version.  The long story is below:

We were scheduled for the procedure at 12:30 pm, but had to be there at 11.  Before I realized which day I would be heading in, I had scheduled an appointment with the chiropractor.  She was still hopeful for having success through her methods, but the doctor was going on vacation and then it would be too late.  I followed the doctor’s advice to go ahead with the procedure because he really thought it would be successful.  The chiropractor stretched out the ligaments in the front of my uterus and worked more on my sacral joint.

We arrived to the hospital and did all the paperwork.  My doctor was of course late.  He always is, but we love him anyway.  My husband and I were starving by 11:30 am and he showed up after 1:00 pm.  At noon, I did the deepening track and then talked with my husband until the nurses wheeled in the ultrasound machine and told me the doctor was on his way.  I then listened to turn baby turn.  My husband was great at talking to them all and describing what I was doing.  The doctor was excellent at waiting until I was ready and then introduced me to a student midwife and student nurse that he asked to come along.  (It is part of my birth plan to allow student nurses… I aim to impress everyone with the success of hypnosis).

I think that actual procedure took about 20 minutes, but it was hard to tell.  I was able to stay under hypnosis the whole time, but would have to constantly tell myself “peace.”  The experience was very intense.  There were only a couple of situations were there was pain, but again when I remembered to say “peace” to myself or “relax” it moved from painful to merely intense and uncomfortable quickly.  At one point, my husband could tell that I was having difficulty returning to a relaxed state so he supplied the external cue which was very successful.

I’m glad that we decided to try it this week because she has moved from tushie on my left side to tushie in the center.  I think she was close to being wedged.  The doctor had to push her tushy out, though she fought him the whole time.  After the successful turning, the doctor and nurses praised me quite a lot.  My husband told me that they were seriously impressed with my relaxation throughout the procedure.  I didn’t even hear them.

We were able to go home a couple of hours after the procedure.  We would have been able to leave sooner, but my uterus did a little bit of practicing for my birthing time.  Bonus: we already took care of most of registration for when the baby comes!

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