Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Dec
29
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“…We’re Worried The Head Will Get Stuck In Your Pelvis…”
“If this wasn’t your first baby, we’d be more ok with you doing a vaginal breech birth. But since it’s your first, we’re worried the head will get stuck in your pelvis since your cervix has never stretched that much before.” - OB to mother with a breech baby
There are 63 comments to this post.
Hippiemama had this to say,
Dec 29, 2012 @ 7:41 am (Quote)
One of the big risks with breech isn’t just the whole first time mom thing… In fact that should be the encouraging part. This mama needed encouraging and relaxation to birth a breech baby. In my midwifery course,we discuss how to comfort and soothe a mother for breech delivery. Why can’t OB’s learn the same… It was a 3 hour course… The key to birthing a breech baby is to NOT stress out the mama after the birthing process (pushing) has begun. The cervix can close involuntarily if she is scared or made to feel inadequate… I hope this mama got everything she needed to have the birth her and her baby deserved <3
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Samantha Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 8:01 am (Quote)
Oh, you took one 3 hour course and you have breech birth all figured out. Guess those YEARS of advanced education and training were worthless for the OB.
If the baby’s head gets stuck for whatever reason, no amount of comforting and soothing words will get it out. Woo.
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Dreamy Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 8:14 am (Quote)
Yeah, the 3-hour course isn’t impressing me, either, but most OBs have next to no training in or about breech birth. So.
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Dreamy Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 8:19 am (Quote)
In her (possible) defense, though, it sounds like the “3-hour course” was about how to handle a breech mom emotionally… not that she only got 3 hours of education on vaginal breech birth.
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Brittany Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 8:34 am (Quote)
Think you’re attacking the wrong person here. I mean seriously. . . Think before you speak.
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Karma Reply:
December 30th, 2012 at 8:03 pm (Quote)
Wow! A lot of these ‘women’ are here to support birthing and women’s rights to being respected… I can’t believe how these ppl act! You should feel ashamed. It sounds like HippieMaMa just went through a course of how to support a breech delivery, Not how to manage one herself.
Like I tell the kindergateners I teach, don’t say anything you wouldn’t want said to yourself.
Dreamy & Samantha are just Bullies!
You attacked a midwife student because she said she took a 3 hour course (probably just the basics) & didn’t understand why and O.B wouldn’t/couldn’t take the same course?!?!?
….WoW….
A Plea From A Fan Of Tee;
Do you see anything wrong with these actions from women on here?
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Brittany Reply:
December 31st, 2012 at 12:55 am (Quote)
Reply to the wrong person. =( im on your side LOL
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Jane Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 8:35 am (Quote)
Actually, how much education do most current OBs get on how to deliver a breech? I’m not being snippy: aren’t they taught that a breech is an automatic C-section, to the point where most of them have never caught a breech baby even when the baby is in a favorable position and the mother is a favorable candidate?
Ina Mae Gaskin in her second book (forgetting the title, sorry) says that it’s important for OBs to learn how to deliver breech babies because sometimes, it’s going to happen. An undiagnosed surprise breech discovered at crowning, for example. Or a friend of mine who showed up at the hospital in labor and whose baby was coming so fast that the doctor said, “Well, we’re doing this thing, aren’t we?” Or a baby delivered during a power outage or other crisis where the surgical suite is less safe than the L&D room. Her point in that book was that most OBs section automatically and have never even seen a breech delivery, let alone attended one themselves. 
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Jane Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 8:36 am (Quote)
My long-winded question being (and maybe Goldilocks can answer this) how much training in breech delivery is standard for an obstetrician?
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Goldilocks Reply:
December 31st, 2012 at 1:09 pm (Quote)
I’m not done with school, so I don’t know yet for sure.
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mommymichael Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 12:54 pm (Quote)
Exactly this. At 35 weeks my daughter was footling breech. (having turned DURING the NST from head down to footling breech.) I had to be induced for high risk reasons, and they were going to “let me try” an ECV in the OR with a spinal… if it didn’t work, automatic c-section. Even though this was my third and my previous child before her was 9.5 lbs with a 38cm head – no complications, no tears. soooooo why couldn’t we have just tried???
It ended up she turned head down again, and FELL OUT when I was 8cm. She was just 6lbs and sooo tiny. She probably would have fallen out as a footling breech too.
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Carrie Reply:
December 30th, 2012 at 5:05 am (Quote)
The problem is there are more potential complications with a footling than with frank. Cord prolapse is a very serious complication, life-threatening, and much more likely to happen with footling breach than frank. Which is why alot of footlings are c-section birth, or attempted ECV.
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mel Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 8:42 am (Quote)
Seeing as an OBs training on breech birth amounts to “if the baby is breech at 36 weeks they WILL not turn, attempt EXCEPT and if that doesn’t work schedule c-section…. ” The OBs years of training in everything else isn’t going to help him when the only thing he’s learned about a woman presenting breech in labor is ZOMG PANIC!!!! I NEED AN OR NOW!!!!!!
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Krista Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 10:01 am (Quote)
Yeah, my son was breech until 38 weeks. When I went in for an ultrasound to confirm the breech at 36 weeks the OB told me to schedule a c-section for 38 weeks to be safe. I was with a midwife at the time that was very experienced in breech birth so we just planned for that.
I AM happy my son turned, because I don’t think that breech is ideal, but I was shocked that the OB just offered automatic section EARLY rather than just wait and see what happens.
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mel Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 12:07 pm (Quote)
My SIL had real fun. Hers was also a VBA2C (she’d had 1 previous vaginal birth). The one OB, as she related to me, seemed to think that her uterus was going to explode and the remnants tighten around her baby’s neck for just THINKING about a breech VBA2C. She finally found a supportive provider just days before giving birth. And then her daughter flipped during transition, lol. Her OB said he saw that OFTEN, but most just never have the chance.
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Kasondra Reply:
December 31st, 2012 at 5:24 pm (Quote)
I read a story about a woman with a breech baby that flipped when she got in a warm tub of water during labor…
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Tee Reply:
December 31st, 2012 at 7:15 pm (Quote)
It’s actually somewhat common depending on how engaged the baby is! The water helps because you become more weightless.
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Carolyn Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 12:10 pm (Quote)
I wish the medical professionals attending my son’s birth had training in comforting a frightened patient, even just a 3 hour class. I might have had a better outcome.
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HippieMaMa Reply:
December 30th, 2012 at 1:26 pm (Quote)
I guess people didn’t see where i even said the 3 hour course covers how to support (comfort&soothe) a mother with breech delivery. Most midwifes risk out of delivery breech and remain as doulas so a medical attendant with surgical training can help deliver and if neccessary perform a c-section.
So now a lil personal note. I love this page. It is what inspired me to be a midwife. Thankyou to the nice ladies. But seriously, 3/4th of you are rude bitches.
Yeah, i am talking about You, ‘Samantha’. Fuck This Shit. Oh and Fuck You.
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Samantha Reply:
December 31st, 2012 at 3:36 am (Quote)
HippieMaMa I’m not trying to be rude, but it’s the truth. You have no formal medical training. An OB does. Perhaps they don’t have training “comforting” a mother through a breech birth and perhaps they jump right to a Csection because they’ve never seen a vaginal breech but the fact is, by so doing they avoid a potentially catastrophic risk (DEATH by head/cord entrapment) and all by guarantee a live baby. Their goals are different. They aren’t all that worried about the baby going through the woman’s vagina, but that they can ensure a LIVE baby at the end of the day.
I had a homebirth with a CNM. I’m pregnant now and expect to have another homebirth with another CNM. But I would never hire a CPM for a homebirth. They have no formal medical training and could be licensed in NO other industrialized nation in the world. A friend of mine had a birth center birth last year with a CPM who failed to recognize the baby’s malposition, pushed against it for 45 minutes, transferred and was immediately corrected by an OB. What ELSE is that CPM going to miss in a delivery?
You do a disservice to women and babies to suggest that by knowing more about supporting a mother through a breech birth (or any aspect of birth) supercedes an OB’s years of training and expertise just because they haven’t seen a vaginal breech.
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HippieMaMa Reply:
December 31st, 2012 at 7:13 am (Quote)
Guess you didnt read my post x-(
I Never Once Said I Know More Than An O.B. NOT ONCE.
I even said that we risk out of breech deliveries, have an OB assist and we stay around as a DOULA. We go through the 3 hour starting course on breech so we dont freak out ourselves or the patient. This 3 hour xourse is tailored by the One And Only Ina May Gaskin.
You are so quick to ASSume Arent Ya?
P.S: i stand by what i said. F.U. & BTW i am a RN that decides to repurpose my medical training.
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Karma Reply:
December 31st, 2012 at 7:20 am (Quote)
You must be one of those Horrid O.B’s here to haunt us :-\
Thats my only reasoning for why you,Sam, is so damn nasty.
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Goldilocks Reply:
December 31st, 2012 at 1:05 pm (Quote)
Never once did Samantha say she was or wasn’t an OB! Don’t just assume she is one because she is catty. She could be a CPM, CNM, or just some women with google.
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Details Reply:
December 31st, 2012 at 2:23 pm (Quote)
No doctor can gaurantee that mom or baby won’t die in a c-section. It is major surgery. If you can’t keep that in mind then you know nothing of balance and are only basing decisions on fear and lack of control. If saying to yourself when a mother dies after/during a c-section that “We did everything we could do.” is justification in your mind for having forced her into a c-section she didn’t feel was necessary then you don’t belong in medicine.
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Goldilocks Reply:
December 31st, 2012 at 1:14 pm (Quote)
It is kind of fun that I am running into another student on the webs. The goals are very similar in the end if you think about it (learning to be baby catchers), but I suspect the paths we take will be very different. I was inspired to go into OB by reading Midwifery Today, its funny the things that change our path.
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Let’s not be nasty to one another. She took a 3 hour course in how to comfort,soothe,and encourage. That most likely wasn’t her entire education,just a very important part. Her post simply said that OB’s aren’t known to encourage and soothe. I agree. As far as noone being educated in breech births, blame the insurance companies that told hospitals that they’d lose their funding if they didn’t stop performing “dangerous” procedures such as breech births.
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Well, I know from my personal experience with my first baby being a frank breech, that you can have them safely vaginally. I think a lot would depend on your doctor. Since we have a family history of having breech babies, I told my doctor and said that I would want to try to turn the baby. Well, she never said anything and at the very end of the pregnancy said, “well, still breech. We will schedule your c-section for next week.” WHAT???? What do you mean STILL breech!?!?!? <– My response. Well, this office in known for c-sections and they did make my whole pregnancy miserable. I switch to a high risk doctor who only does breech babies, multiples and high risk situations. He took one look at me, at my baby and said I would have no problem delivering. I was in labor for less than 5 hours and that was with them slowing me down a week after the switch.
So, my suggestion is to find a doctor with the experience to work with you. They will know if it is going to work for you and your baby or if it isn't. I believe that with experience, a lot can be done safely. I also believe that not all situations will allow it. So do your research and feel your instinct.
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disclaimer: limited knowledge on breech birth
Wouldn’t the concern be the pelvic bones moreso than the soft cervix? And correct me if this is stupid, but in the incredibly rare event that the cervix DOES reverse dilate some between the birth of the body and the head, in this type of emergency as a last resort (this is hypothetical, because I have no idea if this even happens, it sounds so obscure) could the attendant reach up and cut through the cervix to free the head? Since being trapped by the cervix IS a “soft tissue” thing, is that possible? Course great care would need to be taken to avoid cutting the baby’s neck! (eeek!)
One potential (rare) complication I’ve heard of is if the baby startles after the body is born, they tilt their head up instead of tucking their chin like they need to to be born. And that can cause entrapment. I think thats part of the reason for “hands off the breech” because touching the baby (or YANKING) could trigger the startle reflex.
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Krista Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 8:44 pm (Quote)
Amen to hands off! But there are ways to get a un-tucked chin out, primarily reaching a finger into the baby’s mouth and pulling the jaw/chin out of the cervix.
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Rachel Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 9:20 pm (Quote)
Right, I’d heard of that method! But the point is, when the head is stuck in that manner, its not stuck on the cervix!
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jen Reply:
December 31st, 2012 at 8:36 pm (Quote)
this is precisely what i picked up on. the cervix stretching (or dilating as most ppl say) has nothing to do with concerning women about an “untried pelvis”. seems this ob was in a hurry to disuade the mum and got a bit mixed up….perhaps the woman wasn’t given quite enough information to make an informed decision?
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I don’t know for sure, but I’ve heard it helps to deliver most of the baby in a standing position and then squat to deliver the head to give the widest pelvic opening at the point in time when it’s needed most.
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A first time Mom is just as capable of delivering a breech baby as anyone else. There are two problems here. First of all, OB’s have little to no training in regards to vaginal breech births. The reason behind the first problem is the second problem… we live in a cover your butt society. (Especially in regards to medicine!) Doctors flip out at the first sign of anything “abnormal” because veering off the beaten path opens things up for complications and complications open things up for lawsuits. Does that make their attitudes towards it right? Of course not! But I do think it helps explain it.
(Yes, I know I’m speaking in generalities.)
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Carolyn Reply:
December 31st, 2012 at 7:00 am (Quote)
Glad to see you posting Tee. I’ve missed seeing you here.
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Tee Reply:
December 31st, 2012 at 7:13 pm (Quote)
Ach, thank you! It’s nice to know that someone missed me. Honestly, the fact that my comments kept getting eaten just became a little too much. This is a wonderful site and I love participating here but it wasn’t worth the stress! I’m glad I’m able to post now. ::knock on wood::
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The biggest problem with breech delivery is head entrapment. After the first baby the birth canal is stretched so it would be easier to delivery a breech on a multip. Due to the risk of perinatal death a c section is recommended for all breech deliveries. It’s not saying that it can’t be done but its not as safe.
I am CERTAIN that there will be a ton of arguments that its totally safe and OBs just like to cut. BUT this is a choice that a mother has to make and live with. Be sure that you are WELL informed if all the risks and benefits. Personally I wouldn’t risk head entrapment. I’ve done well over a thousand deliveries, and believe me entrapment does NOT end well.
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Details Reply:
December 31st, 2012 at 3:09 pm (Quote)
I agree with you 100%. I’ve seen the numbers: 1 out of 40 breech babies die. That is 2.5%. Way higher than the 0.7% of VBAC that rupture. Higher even than the 2% of amnios that are followed by miscarriages. I wouldn’t do it. Now if another mother is feeling like she is on the 39 out of 40 side that is her right. But I wouldn’t risk it. But, and this is a big but, this conversation should not be taking place before labor starts or water breaks (whichever comes first) Any doctor who tries to schedule a c-section for 38 weeks because baby is breech at 36 weeks is an a$$hole who is completely ignoring that baby could flip before 41-42 weeks! And any doctor who breaks a woman’s waters without realizing that baby is breech and then goes screaming for an OR because he/she caused the freaking emergency is an a$$hole. (yes, we had one of those on here about 1 1/2 years ago.) Sometimes midwives do stupid things because they don’t know everything doctors know and sometimes doctors do stupid things because they don’t know everything midwives know (palpitation for one and keeping things calm for a possible second.) And they really should stop fighting and starting working together! Act like professionals and lay out the risks. Most moms are reasonable and baby centered enough that they will make the decision the doctor wants without the BS and manipulation.
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LaborRN Reply:
January 1st, 2013 at 11:52 am (Quote)
They shouldn’t be doing a c/s at 38 weeks anyways! They are very serious about the new guidelines of nothing before 39 weeks unless medically indicated. It’s not much but it’s a step in the right direction!!
I hope the OP got to make her own decision!
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Add Your Comment.
Isn’t this… Relatively reasonable? I don’t think she should necessarily be risked-out, but I thought head entrapment was more of a concern for first-time moms for this very reason.
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Jane Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 5:27 am Jane(Quote)
That was my thought too. Granted I know next to nothing about breech delivery, but this is what I’d heard.
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Mama Wrench Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 5:37 am Mama Wrench(Quote)
It seems to me (from a layperson’s knowledge) that cervices don’t necessarily “stretch out” like a pair of old jeans; they either dilate or they don’t. It also depends on the type of breech; if it’s a frank breech I’d imagine that the body would more than “stretch” the cervix beyond what the head would need to pass through.
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Jane Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 7:52 am Jane(Quote)
I can’t speak for everyone, of course, but I can tell from my cervix checks for NFP that it feels different. That may or may not have anything to do with its stretchiness during labor, of course, but since multips dilate at a faster rate than primips (on average) I would assume that once the cervix has “learned” how to open, it does so better.
I’m not, however, sure what that has to do with head entrapment, since the cervix is going to open as wide as the presenting part no matter what birth it is. It may take longer for a primip to reach complete dilation, but it seems as if once she’s reached complete dilation, she should be complete, breech or vertex. It’s not as if a primip’s cervix is waiting like a steel-jaw trap to clamp down on the baby’s shoulders once the buttocks pass through, whereas a multip’s cervix is floppy and saggy.
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Dreamy Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 8:22 am Dreamy(Quote)
Without re-researching it, I think the issue may be that the cervix might be just a bit stretchiER on a multip, meaning in the case of possible head entrapment, instruments or other outside assistance to get the cervix from “as wide as the presenting part” to “as wide as the head” might be more effective. IDK if I’m remembering it correctly, and I’m completely open to learning new ideas about the subject, but that was my vague understanding.
Again, not sure it should rule out vaginal birth for all primip breeches, but it was at least my understanding that the risk may be higher.
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Jane Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 8:31 am Jane(Quote)
Thank you — that makes sense. “Easier to stretch during dilation” would seem to lead to “easier to stretch manually in the event of an emergency.” Now whether that’s a false parallel I can’t say, but it passes the “initial logical hypothesis test.”
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Teresa Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 5:45 am Teresa(Quote)
I’m pretty sure this is crap. The largest risk of head entrapment in a breech birth is when baby is premature. Basically with a premature baby the shoulders are more narrow than the head so baby’s body may slip through before fully dilated and the head can be left behind, vs. a full term baby where the shoulders are more broad and if the shoulders can get through the head can. Being a first time Mother should not play into this at all.
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Goldilocks Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 7:23 am Goldilocks(Quote)
The cervix does change after a birth, it is never just as tight as it was before, so that is part of the statement is true. What is more concerning is breach type, if this is a footlong breach then, she should be risked out (because I think everyone is for footlongs for head entrapment)
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Dreamy Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 8:18 am Dreamy(Quote)
Okay? Your point is, then? VERY few people support vaginal footling* breech* birth for that reason. What in the OP in any way indicated footling breech? The fact that the OB said “we’d be more okay” if she were a multip implies a more “reasonable” breech position, like frank or complete.
*proper spelling
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Jane Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 1:13 pm Jane(Quote)
Autocorrect nabbed you, huh?
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Dreamy Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 2:44 pm Dreamy(Quote)
Ah, good point, Jane. I admit, I am more likely to correct a misspelling from someone who irritates me than from someone with whom I generally agree. Terribly unfair, occasionally hard to resist… usually comes back to bite me.
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Goldilocks Reply:
December 30th, 2012 at 6:20 am Goldilocks(Quote)
I got an Iphone for Christmas….
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Jane Reply:
December 30th, 2012 at 6:37 am Jane(Quote)
Ah, and it thinks it’s smarter than you when it comes to spelling little-used words?
When Safari upgraded, I permanently disabled the autocorrect because there were some words it wouldn’t let me spell no matter how often I fixed them, and sometimes it would all be written fine and when I hit “post” it would helpfully fix them for me. :-b I got nabbed on this site a few times for that. 
Enjoy your phone!
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Dianne Reply:
December 29th, 2012 at 5:41 pm Dianne(Quote)
As someone who had a vaginal breech first time round, the most important thing i found is position position position. Both for bubs and mum. This is why footling is more risky than the other positions, because with feet first the baby can start coming out before the head can fit through the cervix and get stuck, also the cord can slip out easily (however footling can still be managed by SKILLED attendants, just wouldnt be my personal choice) where as with complete or frank (at term) their butt/hips/legs are pretty similar in diameter to the head in terms of fitting through the cervix
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