When Head Over Heels is a Problem

For those of you who know us personally, you may have heard that our newest baby was sitting in a breech position in the womb. Given that she was 38 weeks in utero, it was getting pretty close to the delivery and being in the breech position makes things a little more complicated. God's design for delivery works most naturally when the baby is head down, and it is quite amazing all of the things that happen in the womb as the baby descends down the birth canal. This 3D animated childbirth video is pretty cool, showing the normal motions of a baby as it is born. (no real people, no nudity in the video)

In most situations doctors recommend a cesarean section to surgically deliver the baby when it is breech, but my wife is minimalist when it comes to intervention, so a c-section was the absolute, utter last thing she wanted to do. There are also a collection of "old wives tales" on the Internet which purportedly help to encourage a breech baby to turn. My favorite is one that our kids dubbed "The Pineapple". It involves propping up the pregnant mom on a negative incline as much as possible to keep the baby from settling into the pelvis. We called it The Pineapple because my first thought when I saw it was a pineapple upside down cake The kids seemed to like that, so it will forever be remembered as The Pineapple.

It was really quite humorous as we placed plywood ramp on the edge of the couch to create an incline. A 38-week pregnant lady isn't quite at her pinnacle of maneuverability, so my job was to lift her legs and pelvis up onto the ramp so that she assumed a head-down position herself. Besides having problems with her stomach falling "down hill" into her throat, it really wasn't very comfortable for her at all! Just imagine doing a headstand for 20 minutes 2-3 times per day.

After a week and a half of The Pineapple, we decided it was time to see a doctor about doing an External Cephalic Version. This is a procedure where doctors resort to physically pushing on the baby through mom's tummy in order to move the baby into a head down orientation. Many moms report that this is a very painful experience, even more so than normal labor. Our doctor, in particular, wouldn't schedule a Version unless the operating room in Labor and Delivery was unscheduled. (It's also possible for the baby to crash during this maneuver or even for mom to hemorrhage to the point of needing an emergency c-section.)

After visiting with the doctor and scheduling a Version, we went to the midwife for a normally scheduled appointment. As my wife was laying on the exam table, our midwife began to massage my wife's tummy. As she stroked, she realized that she could slowly and gently guide the baby into a new position. She continued to massage until the baby had turned a full 90 degrees. At that point, I thought if she had a few extra hands, she might be able to turn the baby all the way. So, I got up and added my own pressure to "encourage" the baby to slide around to a head down position. In the end, it worked beautifully, and all the while, my wife felt no discomfort. The midwife checked the baby's heartbeat and then we went to the ultrasound facility to double-check the baby's position. Everything turned out great, and we are very releived to have a baby headed in the right direction now.

Update (8/31/2007): It turns out the doctor who would have done the Version in addition to being willing to breech delivery has been injured. I recently found out that he had a ladder accident and seriously injured his hand/wrist and some vertebrae. My heart grieves for the pain this kind man is in, and I am also amazed at the providence of my God. If the baby didn't end up in a normal, head down position, I'm not sure what we would have done given the injury to the doctor. I am such a small, small person in the hands of a big, big God.