Breech and Posterior presentation

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It is expected that a baby will settle into a head down position in the pelvis around the 34-36th week of pregnancy. The best position for the baby to be in is an anterior position where the chin of the baby is tucked down towards its chest, the baby is facing towards the mothers back, the pelvic cavity and the spine of the baby is aligned outwards towards the mother’s abdomen.

A posterior baby presents with its spine angled towards the mothers’ spine. Posterior positioning can often be the cause of a prolonged labour.  In addition to the prolonged labour, a posterior presentation can often result in the mother having increased sensations in the back as the baby’s spine is being pressed against her spine.

For mothers with a posterior baby, acupuncture has been found to be extremely effective. Having approximately 3 sessions along with some postural advice can usually rotate the baby and place it in an optimal position for delivery. Acupuncturists at Acupuncture East will also give some advice on how to maintain or turn a posterior baby during labour.

A breech baby presents in three different ways:

  1. Full or flexed breech – where the baby is sitting cross legged over the cervix
  2. Frank Breech – where the legs are extended so they are facing up towards the head (baby in a pike position)
  3. Footling Breech – where one or both feet are sitting directly above the cervix

Usually any mother that has a breech presentation will not be allowed a trial labour, but may be offered an External Cephalic Version (ECV) – which is where a specialist will manually turn the baby by placing their hands on the mothers’ abdomen.  This technique should only be carried out by a specialist, as there are some risks associated with this procedure.

Acupuncture is ideally commenced at or around 34 weeks. That way the baby is not too big and still has room to move around. The treatment used at Acupuncture East is very successful. Your practitioner at Acupuncture East will use a herb called Moxa on one of the acu points located on the foot. This particular treatment is a 10 day course which the patient will be able to complete at home. Your acupuncturist will make sure you are well briefed on the procedure and give you enough Moxa to last for the whole 10 days.