History of vaginal breech birth
Research on vaginal breech and caesarean
Considerations for caregivers and the woman
Types of breech positions
Why do babies stay breech?
How do I know if my baby is breech?
Importance of an ultrasound
Birth process of a vaginal breech baby
Health concerns with vaginal breech
Women's breech experiences
ECV- turning the baby
Exercises to turn the baby
Natural therapies to turn the baby
Baby after the birth
Breech babies in Australia
When the baby's bottom is sitting down close to the woman's cervix inside the uterus, its position is called breech, or a breech presentation. Many babies naturally lie in a breech position during the earlier stages of pregnancy, up until 26 to 35 weeks, which is normal. This happens because the baby is small compared to the amount of amniotic fluid around them, enabling them to move freely inside the uterus and change position frequently.
As the baby's head grows and becomes heavier and the room around the baby becomes more restricted, they start assuming the expected head down position, referred to as a cephalic presentation (pronounced keff-al-ick). This happens for 95 to 97% of babies at some time between 26 and 35 weeks of pregnancy. The remaining 3 to 5% of babies remain in the breech position after the 37th week, meaning they are unlikely to change position on their own at this late stage.
If your baby is in a breech position at around 34 to 35 weeks of pregnancy, you should probably start considering strategies or interventions to try and turn your baby into the head down position and / or plan how you would like your baby to be born, if he or she remains breech.
Updated November 2008