I discovered Teddy was breech at a growth scan at 36 weeks- it was completely unexpected as I had three different midwives at three previous appointments all tell me that the baby was ‘definitely head down.’ One of those appointments was two days before the growth scan! I opted for an ECV which was booked at 37 weeks. I then spent the next week and a half desperately doing anything to try and turn baby. This was probably the most stressful time of my whole pregnancy. I physically and mentally exhausted myself with all the Spinning Babies exercises, handstands in the pool, acupuncture with moxibustion and just generally being terrified to sit down and slouch just in case he had miraculously turned and I did something that made him go back into the breech position. Sadly, not only was I unable to turn baby via these methods, the ECV also failed. Teddy’s bum was too engaged in my pelvis and they could not even start the procedure as he would not budge! The consultant assumed I would be booking in for a c-section and was shocked when I explained that I was still considering a VBB. She went on to list all the reasons why this wasn’t a good idea, but I had already started to do some research at this point and found a number of her reasons contradictory to what I had been looking at. My main fear with considering a VBB was the level of skill of the midwives as I was aware that it wasn’t common practice and, despite training, many of the midwives may have never delivered a breech baby or attended a breech birth. I knew that if I could find someone who had experience, was on the same page as me and who I could trust, then I really felt that I could do it.
I was booked in the following week to discuss options and
come to a decision on whether I was going to opt for the c- section or VBB. My
husband, James, and I spent the weekend researching via podcasts, looking at
the work of Shawn Walker and the Optibreech trial and watching videos of VBBs.
I had also spoken to a couple of local doulas as was considering additional
support in this form if I was unable to find a midwife who was able to
support me. One of the things I did struggle to find was a wealth of positive
VBB stories, which is one of the main reasons I am writing this as I was
desperate for any real life examples which could reassure me and make me feel
like it was possible and that I was making the right decision.
We both felt pretty well informed by the time we met with
the consultant on Monday- which made it all the more shocking when everything
we were being told about the VBB contradicted all of the research we had done.
For example, I was under the impression that the “hands off the breech”
approach was best and that the best way to approach labour would to be in
upright, forward and open positions and to even give birth on all fours. Yet,
in my meeting, I was told that I would need an epidural at 5cm and would need
to be on my back with legs in stirrups. When we questioned this, the consultant
claimed that I would be in too much pain and by the time I am in the
transitional phase, I wouldn’t be aware of what is going on and they would
struggle to help me as I would be experiencing so much pain. I was determined
to not have an epidural as I knew how important it would be to know when to
push. Obviously, having not given birth before, I had no idea how painful it
might be- but I also had confidence in myself that I couldn’t imagine myself
reacting in the way the consultant described.
In my quest to turn baby, a number of people had mentioned a
Kettering Community Midwife, Keeley. They said she had experience of delivering
babies via VBB. I was given her contact details via an independent midwife and
she was kind enough to meet with me. The experience of meeting and discussing a
VBB with Keeley was so vastly different to my experience in the hospital with
consultants, etc. She been trained by Shawn Walker and her view of a positive
VBB was exactly on the same page as mine. She made me feel like I could do it and
I felt really supported by her. She gave me her number so that, if and when I
went into labour, I could phone her and she would be there for me. She also
informed me of another midwife who was also experienced and could support if,
for any reason, Keeley couldn’t be there with me. I was so glad that I was able
to make that contact with Keeley, as it was the final thing I needed to truly
have the confidence to go ahead with the VBB.
My labour started early Saturday morning. I contacted Keeley
when I started experiencing contractions every 5 minutes and by 2am Sunday
morning, I had arrived at the hospital and was 4cm dilated. I was advised to
keep active and they would look to move me into a private room in the next hour
or so. I walked up and down the corridors and used my birthing ball until I was
ready to go into a private room. In the private room, I almost instantly
started feeling the contractions ramp up in intensity and frequency. We had
gotten the room ready with battery operated tea light candles, our birth
playlist playing, lavender scented room spray and alongside using hypnobirthing
techniques (breathing, visualisation, etc), I also had a wave comb. When I was
8cm dilated, I started to have the urge to push but was worried that baby’s
head would get stuck if I wasn’t fully dilated. Until this point, I had been
following what my body was telling me to do and, in a panic, I started trying
to hold in the urge and fight against the contractions. This distracted me from
my breathing and was when the contractions were at their most painful. Keeley
must have noticed that something had changed and I explained to her why I was
holding back. She confirmed that I was ok to push and that was a massive
relief.
As soon as I got onto the bed, into an all fours position,
and started pushing, I felt much better. The pushing stage did not feel long at
all and apparently Keeley and Melissa (the additional midwife who came in to
support) chased the consultants away as they were confident that everything was
going smoothly. Very soon, Teddy’s bottom was making an appearance and I was
able to push more of his body out with each contraction. His left arm did get
slightly stuck, Keeley unhooked it, and as soon as his face and nose were out,
he started crying, which was such as a relief, as I had read that sometimes
breech babies can take a little while to respond after birth. All that was
left, was the top of Teddy’s head (from his eyes upwards) and this was where my
contractions seemed to stop. I knew that I only had so much time to get the
rest of his head out, so I did start to panic a little at this point. However,
with a bit of coaching to push from the midwives and my husband, and some
support with positioning from Keeley, Teddy made his full appearance into the world-
six and a half hours after I had arrived at the hospital. James and I found out
the gender together. It was such a magical moment. And, if anyone had told me
that I would be giving birth to a breech baby on no pain relief, I would have
not believed them. I felt invincible and so happy that I had stuck to my gut
instinct about Teddy’s birth.
I am really grateful to have had the support of my husband
and Keeley throughout the labour. It made me feel secure and confident to know
that I had people who understood and supported what I wanted alongside me
throughout the experience. I also feel proud that I was able to prove that a
VBB is possible and is safe- just a variation of normal! I really hope that my
story can inspire some confidence and reassurance in others whatever decision
they make with a breech baby. I am aware that a VBB may not suit everyone, but
after my experience, I believe that it is so empowering to be informed and to
feel that you actually have a choice without being pressured or coerced down a
route which may not be right for you or your baby. I also find it concerning
how midwives are becoming more and more deskilled when it comes to VBB as it
means more people are put off the VBB route due to lack of confidence. I hope
my story can somewhat normalise a breech birth and show that it isn’t scary or
massively riskier than any other type of birth- and that it can in fact be an
equally wonderful and positive experience.
Listed below are a few of the links that I used to help inform
my decision- thought they might be helpful for anyone who is interested/ going
through a similar experience as I know they really helped me:
https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1471-0528.14465
https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1471-0528.14466
https://www.instagram.com/breechbabystories/?hl=en-gb
https://www.facebook.com/groups/371624862918154/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxtxEvasoTA&t=233s
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4xD2S9bPNaBKE2VuTcYhDC?si=6ieduY0gQ8yb7TVgf8KyIQ
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4HHIf2urfsU0YbqsTvmQ2t?si=v28sXb6aRb6OPFBENf-fTQ
