In the following article Karyn (Diary of a busy mum) shares her experiences about trying to turn a breech baby. Karyn is near the finish line of her pregnancy we wish her goodluck and a safe arrival of baby number 2!
I found out at my 34 week visit to my Obstetrician that baby had turned upside down. It made a lot of sense as I was getting kicks that were making me double over and fear that some part of the baby was actually going to come out– cheeky baby has been playing soccer on my bladder and cervix! So for the past three weeks I have been searching for and attempting every possible remedy in hopes of turning this stubborn baby!
First thing I discovered was lying on the floor, with legs up on the couch and pelvis tilted up off the floor. This is a really difficult position to get in and out of and I’ve stopped doing it since the last time I was climbing out of the position I pulled a stomach muscle and wound up in lots of pain.
Next was crawling around on the floor – yep, crawling! I read a post on some website suggesting you scrub your floors on all fours for half an hour a day. Well I wasn’t up for the cleaning part, but I did start playing, ‘tigers’ and ‘puppy dogs’ with my daughter for about ten minutes a day. She thinks it’s fantastic and it hasn’t hurt me so far.
I have also been trying a nightly meditation, where you lie down (propped up with plenty of pillows), place an ice pack at the top of your stomach to discourage the baby’s head from staying there and a warm pack down very low to encourage the head to gravitate towards that more inviting spot. At the same time you try to visualise your baby’s head down in the correct position. I didn’t like the feeling of the ice and warm packs, so replaced them with an iPod playing soft music placed very low on my stomach. It hasn’t worked yet but is so relaxing that I keep doing it every night.
My latest attempt has been a session of acupuncture/moxabustion. This is an ancient Chinese remedy for correcting breech positions that claims to have a 75% success rate. I met my lovely acupuncturist yesterday and had a 90 minute session, during which she stuck several needles in various points of my feet – the most important ones on my little toes.
As I lay back and listen to a hypnotherapy CD she also used a ‘Moxa’ stick on my little toes. A Moxa stick is a cigar- like concoction of a herbal plant that is lit and held close to (but never touching) the skin of the little toe for 20 minutes each side. It is believed that the heat source stimulates the acupressure point which is directly related to the position of the baby. I was given two Moxa sticks to take home and have to do this procedure myself every day for 10 days, finishing with another acupuncture session. I don’t have a clue how it physically works – but I’m willing to try anything – I will keep you posted on the result of the treatment!
(for a bit of extra information and to see the Moxa stick I found an article I found interesting click here to read – Suzie)