We just got home from the hospital, with our baby still inside me. We are probably one of the few families happy to leave labor and delivery without the baby being born yet. The reason I am so happy is that the baby was in a breech position (head up, more dangerous to deliver, usually lead to a cesarean) and we had a successful procedure to turn the baby head down! It was not painful, didn't take very long, and baby and I are both doing great! Husband is napping on the couch, while I am actually full of energy right now.
The procedure, called an external cephalic version, generally has a 50-70% success rate, but I had lots of factors in my favor including the fact that this is my second baby and I have plenty of amniotic fluid.
We found out on Wednesday of this week that the baby was breech, went in to a clinic for an ultrasound to confirm and do an anatomical scan to make sure a version would be safe on Thursday, and went in to the hospital for the version today. In between, we did final preparations for meeting this baby, including setting up the tub and installing the carseat and packing hospital bags. There were lots of possibilities and contingencies to prepare for, but by this morning I actually felt ready. I also have been doing physical movements that were supposed to encourage turning, talked to the baby about turning, got a chiropractic adjustment, and listened to a hypnobabies mp3 track about turning breech babies.
I was anxious about the version, particularly the part where I would have to get an IV, but that ended up being fine. I listened to hypnobabies and felt pretty relaxed during the procedure. I trusted the doctor, the nurse was experienced and kept giving me nods and smiles, helping me feel that everything was going well, and I felt like my body was ready for the baby to move around.
We had discussed trying to get labor going shortly after a successful turn, but now my midwives are both at another birth, and the doctor also felt confident that the baby has great chances of staying head down, so we are waiting on doing any natural induction methods. I am going out for a walk right now, to take advantage of my current energy and get my dog a little bit of exercise and stimulation. I am leaving my daughter watching Dinosaur Train on the couch with her sleeping dad (her choice). So, maybe I will try to do more communing/communicating with the baby during the walk and let it know we are all ready for it!
The procedure, called an external cephalic version, generally has a 50-70% success rate, but I had lots of factors in my favor including the fact that this is my second baby and I have plenty of amniotic fluid.
We found out on Wednesday of this week that the baby was breech, went in to a clinic for an ultrasound to confirm and do an anatomical scan to make sure a version would be safe on Thursday, and went in to the hospital for the version today. In between, we did final preparations for meeting this baby, including setting up the tub and installing the carseat and packing hospital bags. There were lots of possibilities and contingencies to prepare for, but by this morning I actually felt ready. I also have been doing physical movements that were supposed to encourage turning, talked to the baby about turning, got a chiropractic adjustment, and listened to a hypnobabies mp3 track about turning breech babies.
I was anxious about the version, particularly the part where I would have to get an IV, but that ended up being fine. I listened to hypnobabies and felt pretty relaxed during the procedure. I trusted the doctor, the nurse was experienced and kept giving me nods and smiles, helping me feel that everything was going well, and I felt like my body was ready for the baby to move around.
We had discussed trying to get labor going shortly after a successful turn, but now my midwives are both at another birth, and the doctor also felt confident that the baby has great chances of staying head down, so we are waiting on doing any natural induction methods. I am going out for a walk right now, to take advantage of my current energy and get my dog a little bit of exercise and stimulation. I am leaving my daughter watching Dinosaur Train on the couch with her sleeping dad (her choice). So, maybe I will try to do more communing/communicating with the baby during the walk and let it know we are all ready for it!
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