My husband, who I will call Italian Stallion, and I are expecting our third bambino (baby) in December. At my 32 week appointment today, we found out that this little one is still breech and has been for about two weeks now. Since we are planning a natural homebirth, it becomes a high priority to get this little one to rotate, though we still have plenty of time. At the recommendation of my wonderful midwife, I get to try some funny and crazy ideas to turn this baby. Though these suggestions have a high track record of working, they certainly are not easy, fun or attractive looking in the third trimester of pregnancy!
Some of the techniques it is my “homework” to try for the next two weeks until my next appointment are:
- Inversion: I stand(sit?) upside down on the stairs with my arms and head about three steps lower than my legs and butt. Sound ridiculous? You have no idea! Supposedly this works wonders for turning a baby and adjusting pelvic ligaments, though it is not a position I would gladly assume, pregnant or not!
- Pelvic Tilt: Almost as fun as inversion… I put one side of the ironing board on the couch and the other side on the ground, creating an
angle. I then position myself with my head on the low end and legs/butt up. I hold this position for 20 minutes, three times a day. I don’t find this one so bad, at least since I found out that the alternative is doing a full handstand for 20 minutes a day. Can Olympic gymnasts even do that? - Handstands: This one I get to do in water (because there is nothing quite like putting on a bathing suit in the third trimester and standing on your head repeatedly for an hour at the gym pool). I am supposed to swim and perform handstands in water as much as possible. Oh well, at least I won’t look as crazy as all those people doing arthritis aquatics (who am I kidding, yeah I will!).
- Elephant Walk: This is perhaps my favorite. As much as possible during the day I get to walk around on my hands and feet, basically creating an acute angle with my bottom straight up in the air. While this is surprisingly good exercise, my 3 year old and 16 month old find this hilarious and, thinking it a game, chase me around trying to tackle me.
- I will also be trying the Webster Technique tried by a chiropractor and the homeopathic Pulsatilla.
I will update on progress. For anyone else with a breech baby, check out the Spinning Babies website for some good information on turning your bambino.
In the meantime, dear Breech Baby, please turn! Love always, Mom
UPDATE: These techniques did work, and baby successfully flipped after trying the above techniques. Unfortunately, we found out the reason he was breech when I hemorrhaged at 35 weeks because of an undetected placenta previa, but the techniques do work! For anyone interested, check out my full birth saga (of all the kids) here.
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