If you are having an external cephalic version then it is important to know what to expect. The following is a summary of the usual procedures used to turn a baby from a breech position, to a cephalic or head down position. The actual turning procedure is the same, but the drugs used (if any), and the way you are monitored will depend on where you are having your ECV and your caregiver's preferences. Obstetricians do most ECVs but some experienced midwives also do them.
Image 6-43 shows how the caregiver manoeuvres a baby for an ECV.
As a guide an ECV involves:
Being done from 34 to 37 weeks of pregnancy
Ultrasound
Being at the hospital
Monitoring your baby's heart rate
Drugs and possibly sedation
Breathing and relaxing
The turn
Close observation
Anti D injection
34 to 37 weeks of pregnancy is regarded as the optimum time to perform an ECV. The reasons for this are:
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The baby is given time to turn on their own before 34 weeks. |
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The baby is not too big and is unlikely to be deeply engaged in their mother's pelvis. |
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The amniotic fluid is only just starting to decrease. (Fluid volume starts to naturally decrease from 37 weeks), and |
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If done at 36 to 37 weeks, the baby is old enough to be born if complications arise. |
An ultrasound is done before an ECV is considered possible. It confirms that the baby is definitely breech, the
type of breech position and may identify complications that would make an ECV inadvisable.
The actual ECV is usually scheduled for another day, unless the breech is not discovered until 37 weeks or later, then it may be performed on the same day. Another ultrasound is done when you arrive for your ECV to make sure the baby has not turned on its own in the meantime.