Great news from two of the moms in my moms' group who were on the brink of cesareans:
1. Mom #1 had two conditions that lead to cesarean: advanced maternal age (over 35) and placenta previa. Advanced maternal age is not a legitimate reason for cesarean, but doctors are more likely to push for one when the mother is over 35. However, placenta previa requires a cesarean. Luckily, most instances of placenta previa resolve before the end of pregnancy. Hers did and she delivered her daughter in Germany in an unmedicated hospital birth attended by a midwife.
2. Mom #2 was pregnant with baby #2 and all was well until he decided to turn beech after 30 weeks. She had a midwife attempt to massage the baby around, but he wouldn't budge. Fortunately, an External Cephalic Version (the difference is you can use more pressure to turn the baby and it is with monitoring) performed by a midwife in her doctor's clinic was successful. She delivered her son at home, attended by her OB here in Korea in a very short labor (less than 3 hours).
Just a little birthing inspiration for those of you diagnosed with placenta previa or breech baby. While you can't do anything about placenta previa but wait, you can try to turn your breech baby. Midwives in Korea do vaginal breech deliveries as well. Just know, that you are not out of options.
It also shows the power of sharing information. Several moms in our group had their midwives massage their breech babies back to vertex and I had an ECV in the hospital. My first birth was a scheduled cesarean due to breech because, although I knew ECV was an option, I was told it was terribly painful and didn't work and was discouraged from trying it. Not fully understanding the consequences of a primary c-section (like increased chance of placental issues in subsequent pregnancies and restrictions on labor, etc), I chose not to attempt an ECV with my first pregnancy. I ran into several people who had ECVs and they said they hurt and didn't work. If I had met just one person who said it worked, I would have tried it. I am so glad I did it with my second pregnancy.
3 comments:
Hi Mama Seoul!
Thanks for your great comments in my blog and for promoting it for me in the EMCK forum!! :)
Your ECV was the first one I heard of that worked. Not that I had heard of many before that, but what I had heard (the same as you) was that they were really painful and didn't work. In a couple of threads in some natural birthing forums, it seemed people were saying it was better to forget about the version and just try and find a midwife who would do vaginal breech births.
Your successful version IS an inspiration!
Part of the reason I didn't try a version the first time was of course that my doctor discouraged it, but several of the natural birth supporters discouraged it as well. Problem was that there was no provider in the area that was experienced in breech birth. I think that is the case in many places. Also, many people are not comfortable with breech birth so it is nice to have another option before consenting to a c-section. If you are in an area with a provider with a lot of experience with breech birth and you are a good candidate for breech birth (i.e. butt first, not feet first) then, I think more people would consider it.
Hi Mama Seoul,
To muslim mama - version, by an experienced doctor or midwife, is a something to think about, and that's not just because mine was successful ;-)
If you can see most of what is happened on the ultrasound, so cord wrapping etc is unlikely and the fetal heart rate is monitored than the risk of complication is minimal.
I had mine early, because from the studies I had read, there was some research to show that between 34 - 37 weeks (earlier than the 38 weeks routinely scheduled) there was almost as good chance of being successful than later and only a slightly higher chance of baby turning again.
Though statistics are never totally reliable, also the rate of maternal and fetal complications with c-sections of of nonversion presentations is high enough to at least consider a CVA with an experienced practitioner.
p.s. my versions were totally painless and actually really nice!
Good luck mamma seoul on your unpacking and organising, lots love x
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