Breech baby - help with reflexology?

[whenallwasgold]

Hi there,

one of my friends is due to have a baby in a couple of weeks and has found out that it is breech at the moment and may have to face having a c-section.

I wondered if any of you out there had experienced a client with this situation and if you had any good results with Reflexology - making baby turn etc... As i would like to try and help her out as she was a bit upset about the thought of a section.

Thanks

 

[rat_girl87]

hi swilks,

how many weeks is your friend? reflexologists dont normally attempt turning techniques until about 38 weeks as the little blighters often turn back.

there are truning techniques... tweeking the outside edge of the little toe nail (B 67 acupoint). sort of tweek tweek tweek stop... tweek tweek tweek stop for about 5 mins.

there are also things she can do herself like crawling around on all 4s so that her bum is higher than her head... possibly washing the floor to make best use of this ridiculous position!!!

having said that... is there any reason why the hospital/ midwife arent attempting a turn? i hear its not as bad as folk think and could save a C section?

above all, reassure your friend that a C section is not the end of the world, help her to relax and accept nature and a lovely new baby as a wonderful thing!

 

[LiveLaugh]

Rosie do you do it on both left and right or will the babe then turn the other way again. Sounds a daft question but I'm sure you will know what I mean.

You are so right about the beautiful healthy baby being the most important thing. Although not ideal C sections seem a lot safer these days.

Jan x

 

[Kevin Z]

HI There
sometimes there is a reason why the baby is in the breech position, and it is not always a good idea to try to turn them. when they are turned in hospital by the doctors (midwives do not turn babies) the woman is given a muscle relaxant and led head down for a while then they attempt to turn it. this is done on delivery suite as it can cause problems, ie if the placenta is in the way it can
get damaged and bleed. the cord can be wrapped around and around the neck, if there is any problem they go straight to theatre for a section. So I would be wary of trying to turn the baby at home.
best wishes Glynis

 

[ruPerdoncD]

hi jan,

both at the same time. yes i did know what you meant )

hi glynis,

i understand and accept what you say. i would suggest though, if a late scan has established no foreseeable complications with cords etc, reflexology can be attempted. as we all know, its a natural therapy and works in balance with the body. if its not right for the baby to turn, it wont. just like refeflexology inductions wont work unless baby is ready (nor will medical ones).

in reflexology, the word encourage is used a lot. the technique can encourage a baby to turn... but not if a big placenta is in the way!

 

[FireElementNinja]

Hi Rosie
yes you are right. if a scan shows no problems, it may be ok. but personally I would not attempt it.
love Glynis
[sm=wave.gif]

 

[felix]

Hi Rosie
Moxibustion has had good success with breech babies and often there will be someone at the hospital who can do this, alternatively acupuncturists often have this in their repertoire. See http://www.medical-acupuncture.co.uk/journal/2002(1)/026.shtml or http://www.nctpregnancyandbabycare.com/page.asp?page=773 or http://www.babycentre.co.uk/expert/2063.html.

My friend was in the same position to yours last year and wanted to go for a trial of labour, in the end she had a c-section because she didn't go into labour naturally. In breeches it's safer to go into labour naturally for a trial of labour, rather than induction. She tried moxibustion which didn't work for her, but when she had the baby the cord was quite short and they thought this was the reason why he hadn't turned. Many Dr's are still old school and will oppose someone trying for a trial of labour and will come out with a whole host of horror stories. It can be difficult to sort out the truth from the not so truthful when faced with a statement like "Well, you could harm your baby/yourself" when there is no evidence for such a statement - sometime of course it can be truthful and other times not so much so.

Good luck to your friend and try to take a critical view on what you're told - difficult I know!

Sonia

 

[Everybody loves me...]

as it happens, my first baby (17 years ago.... eeeeks!) was breech and i had high blood pressure, so spent the last 2 weeks in hospital, being monitored in case it was pre eclampsia.

my consultant was all for natural births but many werent and one did say, as i had a host of students round me as i was so interesting <g>, that he'd c-section me asap!

i did have a late scan and it showed baby had extended legs (feet up by her ears), and so it was decided that i could go into labour, with an epidural to control BP and labour.

so when the time came, thats what happened and i delivered naturally. she was about 8 days early and only 6lbs BUT her brother, born the right way round, was 8lb 3oz... both with the same head circumference! go figure!!

i dunno if turning was not in vogue back then but it was decided not to try... i suppose cos the legs were extended.

 

[Djanti]

I agree with Rosie,

I think that reflexology will help a breech or posterior baby to turn. I think if there is any clinical reason why it shouldn't turn then a gentle and natural therapy like reflexology won't make it turn so I'd have no qualms about trying.

As far as the toe tweaking technique goes, I think you should repeat hourly - get the client or her partner involved.

Love

Sulis xx

 

[Billy W]

I cant give any reflexology advice hear, but my son was footling breech til week 38. He turned the day I visited the consultant to arrange a c-section. I was really anti turning, because I felt there was a natural reason why the baby was that way round. I scrubbed the kitchen floor, crawled everywhere, did shoulder stands and even played music to my groin! Something obviously worked.

 

[LittleB]

Mine turned my second twin.

She actually muttered 'I am getting this baby out NOW!' and did it. The doctor wasn't around at the time but he came in and took over and I had both of them have a go. OUCH!

My twins were head down throughout the pregnancy (had monthly scans) so it was a shock after the first was born to be told 'this baby is breech'. In my confused state I couldn't make sense of it, but he turned as the first one came out.

Thankfully I delivered naturally, but the difficulty in the birth I believe made him a difficult baby, his brother was much easier.

 

[Karpanas]

I have been asked to perform reflexology on a pregnant lady who has a history of one stillbirth and two successful but difficult pregnancies. She is 36 weeks gone, the baby is breech and not showing signs of turning. She seems convinced I can help her not only turn the baby but induce labour at 38 weeks to save her needing a C-section. HELP!!! I am going to begin by simple relaxation, nothing fancy or clever. I'd be obliged for any helpful techniques or experiences anyone else has to share. Thank you to anyone who can help.

 

[Leppy]

Hi Richard

Before you treat this lady you need to make it very clear that you cannot guarantee anything, since you believe she has unrealistic expectations. None of us can guarantee any outcome to our clients and we aren't magicians. Doctors and nurses can make few guarantees about things like childbirth either. What have her obstetric caregivers said about the baby being breech? Are they planning to try and turn it? A C section might be the best thing for this lady, in their book.

If she (and you) wants to go ahead with treatment I suggest you let your intuition guide you. Have your worked with maternity clients before, or done mat reflexology training? There is some excellent training out there and it is well worth doing. Finally, I must say that at 36 weeks it is early to be priming labour. This is for full term.

 

[Medic]

hi richard,

i have to agree with siobhan on this. if you are inexperienced with maternity care and havent done any extra training in that field, you will be feeling out of your depth. as reflexologists, part of what we do is knowing when to refer and working within our own limits.

of course, if you dont try you wont get the experience, but sometimes its easier to start with straightforward cases!!

we could also say, that had this lady been coming to you throughout the pregnancy, she may well not be in the situation she is now! and even if she were, she would probably be much calmer and less stressed about it.

i think the best way to treat this lady, is give gentle, normal treatments... lots of reassurance that the birthing process will go well, either way. emotional charge can have a big effect on events... maybe her stressing is causing the breech? know what i mean??

suggest she do lots of floor cleaning on all fours, lots of bum higher than head stuff!!

i wouldnt suggest you do the priming... you dont want to be working the wrong points as its quite specific process, imo. do you know any experienced maternity therapists near you? if you have to refer, your client will appreciate it.

 

[Your Southern Can Is Mine]

Hi Richard

Apart from agreeing with Siobhan and Rosie, I feel I should also point out that she doesn't have to agree to a section if she doesn't want one. It seems to be the norm now that anything other than a completely normal presentation has a section recommended for it. Breech is unusual, not abnormal, and the stats for things like obstructed labour, foetal distress and so on are only very slightly higher than for normal vertex presentation.

There is a procedure called ECV (external cephalic version) which is done by the obstetrician and which has about the same success rate as acupuncture or reflexology. It's a process of manually turning the baby by manipulating the bump. Things that she can do herself include:

her partner talking to the baby (when the baby is kicking) through a tube, like the inside of a toilet roll positioned where they want the head of the baby to go - the baby needs to turn to hear Dad properly!

putting a bag of frozen peas on the baby's head because they don't like that and often turn round to escape the cold... (again when the baby is awake and kicking)

whenever the baby is kicking, the mother should go on all fours and drop her head to the floor. This encourages the baby towards the top of the uterus and gives them more space to turn around.

But unless you've had a fair bit of experience in treating pregnant women I really wouldn't do any more than a normal complete treatment.

Hope that helps