# What are the chances of a second breech baby??



## g&a (Dec 15, 2004)

DD was breech, and we are ttc #2







, and it just occurred to me that I have no idea if the chances of subsequent breeches goes up or not. They couldn't find any good reason for her to have been breech at the time - I remember them telling me that in my half-drugged state.

Also, if anyone knows any ways to prevent a breech I'd be interested in knowing about that too. I'm trying not to be paranoid but have my heart set on a VBAC, and am not sure what I'd do if it was another breech.

thanks!!
gisele


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## maxmama (May 5, 2006)

Dealing with this now.

There's no data showing that only having had a breech in the past increases your risk of a future breech (no other breech risk factors -- obviously, preterm babies are higher risk, certain anomalies, etc.). It's considered a non-repeating reason for section (don't get me started). But -- there are women and families who seem to have more than their statistically-mandated 1-3% breech at term, and I do wonder if something subtle is going on.

I have my second breech now. My version is tomorrow. I've done pretty much everything under the sun to get this baby to turn, just as I did with her brother, with no results. I was breech until labor, when I turned (my mom has a great story about that), and I have congenital hip dysplasia, which is associated with breech presentation. So does my son. My sister, who was not breech, doesn't. Since CHD tends to run in families, I do wonder about its effect on presentation in our cases.

Most likely, you will not have a second breech. But my second breech hit me just like the first one, because I hadn't prepared for even the possibility of it.


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## Electra375 (Oct 2, 2002)

www.spinningbabies.com

Sit Up and Take Notice by Pauline Scott

Chiropractic webster technique.

Breech babies happen about 1/3 of the time from what I've read (can't remember why I have that figure in my head) it is is completely a normal occurance. But isn't it funny over the last 4 years the c/s rate has climed to nearly 1/3 it is 29.1% and it was 24%.

So statistical chance of another breech is still the same as the first time.

Many OBs are not trained in breech births (the older ones are), nor are some midwives (CNMs or CPMs). Many hospital malpractice insurance companies will not permit a doctor or CNM to preform a breech birth, just like the no VBAC issue is malpractice insurance supported. Most lay mws I know can and do attend breech births.

My suggestion is if you plan on a hospital birth, find out what the hospital policy is before finding a provider that has priviledges at that hospital.

There was a medical journal study released in the last 6 months that stated maternal and fetal survival rates were not affected by whether or not the birth was breech vaginal vs breech c/s. The study basically was saying that current policy of breech being an automatic c/s needed to be removed as standard care. It was a move in the right direction, it was posted on a local mw advocacy yahoogroup.


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## OnTheFence (Feb 15, 2003)

My second baby wasn't breech but malpositioned due to a uterine anomaly. I firmly believe babies are breech for a reason and if they can't be turned naturally, like what you find on spinning babies, then you need to respect their position. Literally.


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## erin_brycesmom (Nov 5, 2005)

Try not to worry mama. You don't want to will your baby into being breech! My last was breech but my first was not. We have had a lot of breech babies in my family so anecdotaly it does seem to run in the family but most of us have had vaginal deliveries even so. Breech is just one of those things that I am not worried about anymore. Webster almost always works and in the off chance that it did not I would think the baby was breech for a reason.


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## Sagesgirl (Nov 22, 2001)

I had two footling breeches (and, thus, 2 c-sections) and then a posterior baby. I was so happy to hear after having my first that breeches are very rarely repeating. And then it happened again. Of course, Linda was born a bit early (a month early), so in theory that was an aggravating factor, but then she had _never_ turned head-down, and though her sister had done so & then flipped back up, that happened before the time Linda was born. So I don't know.

Esther was born head down, but posterior. Shortly after her birth I came across some information that suggests women with scoliosis (which I have) seem to have a greater chance of posterior babies than women without. So I have to wonder, if that is true, if in fact it might not have played some role in my two breeches as well.

There is really no reason to expect that you'll have another breech baby, though.


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## Electra375 (Oct 2, 2002)

http://www.birthingway.com/footling_breech.htm

Vaginal births happen for breech babies - prior to the advent of the c/s what did women do? They birthed their breech baby (more morbidly they did in fact die in childbirth, but our stats today on mother and infant mortality are no better than they were prior to the medicalization of birth, for an industrialized country our stats are not even in the top 50, we are below several Less Developed Nations -- I've got that report somewhere, it's also been posted here on MDC in the last year or so).


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## g&a (Dec 15, 2004)

Interesting about the scoliosis - I have that, though my back was doing great until DD was born.

Having a breech baby in itself wouldn't be a big deal except that there is no one near me that would deliver it vaginally (it's against policy, etc....). We were in the middle of "trying everything" to turn her when I went into labour after the failed external version.

Also interesting about the hip displacia as dd had that too. Very mildly, though, and I came to understand it as overly flexible hip joints. I always thought the breech caused the displacia, not the other way around. dd had dropped when they tried the version and had wedged her little bum down into my pelvis, getting ready for birth. I wonder if she wouldn't have been so deeply wedged if her hips weren't so flexible (and thus turned easier...).

I know I am worrying for nothing, but I think VBAC mamas tend to do that! The second time around your eyes are a little more open.

thanks for the reassurance!

gisele


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## maxmama (May 5, 2006)

The research on dysplasia is interesting, because it shows an association with breech presentation, but not a causal link: so is it the chicken or the egg?

FWIW, I went in for my version today and she had spontaneously converted to vertex @ 37 weeks! Surprise!

A PP had mentioned a 1/3 chance of breech presentation, but this isn't true at term. At term, the incidence of breech is between 1-5%, but for preterm babies, of course it's much higher.


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