Finding out our baby was breech.

At my 36 week appointment one of my midwives, Katie, felt my stomach and said that she thought our baby was in the breech position. She said I should go get an ultrasound to check. Jared and I went in that week for an ultra sound and they confirmed that our baby was in the frank breech position. The ultrasound tech said my fluid was a little low as well. This all came as a total shock because everything had been going so smoothly my whole pregnancy. After we found this out we tried everything we could to get the baby to turn over. I tried lying with my hips elevated, chiropractic appointments, acupuncture, moxa (a Chinese herb that stimulates fetal movement), swimming, and handstands in the pool. Finally at 37 weeks I tried and external version. I remember one night I was lying with my hips up, I had and ice pack on the top of my stomach and a heating pad on the bottom of my stomach, Jared was burning moxa on my toes and talking to the baby about turning! We started laughing at ourselves because we felt like we had really gone over to the crazy side! After all our efforts the baby still did not turn. I was feeling defeated and feeling like my dreams of a home birth were slipping away. Luckily for us the sanctuary birthing center also works with an OB named Dr. Fischbein that specializes in selective breech deliveries, so we started going to him to monitor my fluid levels and the baby’s positioning. I went to him twice a week for non stress tests and he told me that I should be resting. He talked to Jared and I about the risks and benefits of a c-section and a selective vaginal breech birth. He went over his 5 criteria that the baby would have to meet in order to be a candidate for a vaginal delivery. He told us that our baby met the criteria and would be a good candidate for a breech delivery. At first I was unsure of what to do. I looked at birth stories online and I talked to some women who had delivered their baby’s in the breech position. It was really a turning point for me when I talked to them because it inspired me and I felt like it was possible for me too. We went to our last child birth preparation class with our teacher Kimberly and she didn’t tell us what to do but she said you should never make any decision out of fear. Sometimes it seems like people are placed in your life to say the right thing at the right time to you. This was one of those cases. It was exactly what we needed to hear. The only reason I would have had a c-section would have been out of fear. Instead I decided to trust my body and in the OB and Midwives care. After this I felt like I came to peace with my baby being in the breech position and felt positive and optimistic about my home birth.