When is being breech a concern?

[Zee]

Im almost 33 weeks and I had a birthing centre appointment yesterday and was told bubs was breech... she said he was bum down so he would have to be Extended or Frank breech or Flexed breech.

I thought nothing of it as I know there is still plenty of time for him to turn but DH had some questions for me tonight and I had no answers cause I didnt ask.

At what stage would it be abit of a concern? Say he is still in breech position at 36-37?

Does this mean I can elect for a c-section if he is still breech at this point (im going public)?

How is a ECV done? For what I know, I would prefere not to go down this path nor would I like to try and have a breech birth.

[Trillian]

Once you get to 36-37 wks they will start talk of either trying to get your baby to turn or they will suggest you leave as is and have a c/s. The success rates for ECV are negligible and from what I have heard about them, they can be very painful and uncomfortable for you. You could visit Welcome to Spinning Babies! for some tips on how to help bubs to turn around, or you could try some acupuncture or Bowen therapy.

[Cally]

DD was found to be breech at about 30 weeks (can't find my chart now). The ob tried an ECV at 37.5 weeks which was unsuccessful. I was booked in for the c-section immediately after the ECV. I live in a country area and would have had to travel over 2 hours to a hospital if I had wanted to proceed with a breech vaginal birth.

ECV was a bit uncomfortable while the ob was doing it as they are pushing fairly hard on bubs bum and head, but stopped the moment he decided it wasn't working.

[*Efjay*]

I think I wouldn't bother with a EVC & just try all the things suggested on the spinning babies website. For me if bubs was still breech come full term I would still try a vag birth. But only because I am **** scared of the idea of c/section!

[rufalina]

Unfortunately my hospital has a no vaginal breech birth policy... they do c-sects...
I would be trying all the spinning babies techniques to get bubs to turn. Mine has been posterior, and with some good positioning I have managed to get him to turn more anterior.
Good luck!

[Tobily]

I'd be starting to encourage baby to turn in the next week or two if it hasn't done so by then. Most babies are head down by 34 weeks, some will still turn after this but the likelihood starts to really drop off the further along you get.
Spinning babies is an excellent resource, it's pretty much the one stop shop as far as this subject goes.
If a vaginal birth isn't an option either at the hospital, or because you don't want to, then if you want to avoid a caesar you really have two options. Either make a commitment to turning the baby yourself and/or have an ECV. I had a client recently who had a breech babe still at 37 weeks - she had the ECV and it was successful and it was not at all an unpleasant experience for her. Went on to have a normal vaginal birth a few weeks later. ECV has about a 60% success rate which I'd be happy to take my chances on if it was that or a c/s It is considered safe when done by an experienced practitioner.
You can also try accupunture and moxibustion (done by chinese medicine practitioners) in conjunction with any of the above. This also has a pretty good success rate.
Good luck and hoping none of this matters in a few weeks