The following are a few short stories from women who have had a breech baby and their birth outcomes. It aims to provide some possible points of view associated with breech babies.
"When my doctor advised me to have a caesarean because my baby was breech I was disappointed. I had devoted so much time and energy to preparing for my labour and birth. It was my first baby and after talking with my husband we decided not to try for a vaginal birth. I was too worried something would go wrong."
"My second baby was breech. I had had a 6 hour labour with my previous daughter and the thought of having a caesarean and looking after a toddler was not a pleasant one. I arrived at the hospital nearly fully dilated. The doctor on duty was not keen to let the birth progress but I was determined to give it a go. The doctor said 'You have 30 minutes to have the baby, or we will have to intervene' my son was born 20 minutes later."
"I was shocked to find out my baby was breech. I was initially keen to try for a vaginal birth, but the staff at the hospital felt it was not safe and my family were not supportive. I had the caesarean, but I am not sure how happy I feel about it."
"I was planning a homebirth but as the pregnancy progressed and all the natural methods I tried did not turn my baby I realised that I was going to have to make a decision. My midwife gave me lots of books and information and we decided to see an obstetrician to try and turn the baby in the hospital. The doctor gave me the option of a breech birth in the hospital, but I felt that if the ECV were not successful, I would have a caesarean. I was all geared up in my mind for this to happen but to my surprise the ECV worked! I had my baby at home two weeks later (head first!)."
"I was quite relieved when my doctor recommended a caesarean. A friend of mine whose baby was breech ended up with a broken arm. This was something I did not want to risk."