Primary Care. Mental Health. More Button Icon Circle with three vertical dots. It indicates a way to see more nav menu items inside the site menu by triggering the side menu to open and close. Ashley Laderer. Your baby is likely to turn head down after the 20th week of pregnancy. As you get closer to the due date, it is increasingly likely that your baby will turn head down.
You may be able to tell if you feel discomfort in your pelvis, and your doctor can check with an ultrasound. If the baby doesn't move into a head-down position, it increases the risk of a breech birth, which can be dangerous for you and your baby.
Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Ashley Laderer is a freelance writer from New York who specializes in health and wellness. Follow her on Twitter ashladerer. If it works, an ECV allows women to try for a vaginal birth. Turning a baby with an external cephalic version involves your practitioner placing his or her hands on your stomach and pushing the baby into the head-down position using firm but gentle pressure.
ECV tends to be uncomfortable but not painful, and more than half of all attempts are successful. Sometimes, however, babies flip back into the breech position after being successfully inverted.
You may have heard of other alternative ways to try to get a baby to turn, including chiropractic techniques, relaxation techniques like professional hypnosis or moxibustion, where an acupuncturist burns mugwort herb near your smallest toe to stimulate an acupuncture point. Some say moxibustion increases fetal activity, making your baby more likely to wriggle her way to a head-down position. Keep in mind that these methods may not be particularly effective for you, and few physicians actively recommend them.
If your baby is still breech by week 37, you can try to coax her into a head-first position yourself with these at-home methods. Although research shows that about 85 percent of breech babies are delivered by C-section, some doctors may attempt a vaginal delivery, especially if some of the following factors are in place:. Your odds are good that your baby will be in the head-down position by the time delivery day arrives — but if she remains bottom-down, you may need to be flexible in your childbirth plans.
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Learn how we keep our content accurate and up-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy. The educational health content on What To Expect is reviewed by our medical review board and team of experts to be up-to-date and in line with the latest evidence-based medical information and accepted health guidelines, including the medically reviewed What to Expect books by Heidi Murkoff. This educational content is not medical or diagnostic advice.
Use of this site is subject to our terms of use and privacy policy. Registry Builder New. Medically Reviewed by Sarah Obican, M. There are no long-term effects on children who were in a breech position during pregnancy.
The birth process , however, is often more challenging when babies are still breech at the start of labour. Some breech babies turn themselves naturally in the last month of pregnancy. If this is your first baby and they are breech at 36 weeks, the chance of the baby turning itself naturally before you go into labour is about 1 in 8.
If your baby is in a breech position at 36 weeks, your doctor or midwife might suggest you think about an ECV, or external cephalic version , after 37 weeks. This will increase your chances of your baby turning to a head-down position. Some people think that you might be able to encourage your baby to turn by holding yourself in certain positions, such as kneeling with your bottom in the air and your head and shoulders flat to the ground.
Other options you might hear include acupuncture, a Chinese herb called moxibustion and chiropractic treatment. There is no good evidence that these work. Talk to your doctor or midwife before trying any techniques to be sure they do not harm you or your baby. Women are often encouraged to have a caesarean birth if their baby is breech. But a breech vaginal birth might be possible, depending on your individual circumstances, the type of breech position your baby is in, and the skills of the doctors and midwives available to you.
Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content. Malpresentation is when your baby is in an unusual position as the birth approaches. An episiotomy is a procedure performed during labour to assist with the delivery of your baby. The cut is usually made low and around the level of the bikini line.
Advice on choosing where to give birth, including a midwifery unit or birth centre, hospital or at home, and what to expect from private and public care.
The pelvis helps carry your growing baby and is especially tailored for vaginal births. Learn more about the structure and function of the female pelvis. Twins are more likely to be born early, often before 38 weeks, so it's important to understand your birth options.
Read more on Better Health Channel website. Giving birth doesn't always go to plan.
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