Baby in siege: How to help him turn around?

Does your baby not show up down and would you like to help him turn around? Before practicing a version, medical manipulation which can be painful, try these techniques detailed by a midwife.

In order for a childbirth to be as best as possible, it is desirable that the baby will be placed downstairs in the mother’s uterus, directed towards the vagina. At the end of pregnancy, most of the babies are properly placed. This usually happens between the 30th and 35th week of amenorrhea. In rare cases, a baby can already turn around at 24 weeks, when another will decide after 36 weeks. But what to do if he doesn’t put himself in the right position alone?

What is a baby in a seat?

For 3 to 5% of babies, going downstairs will not be natural. We consider that a baby is in siege when it is his feet or buttocks that point down. There are several types of seat:

• The full seat: the baby’s legs are folded on the belly and the feet are near the buttocks.
• The decomplété siege: the baby’s legs point upwards, his feet are therefore close to his head.
• The seat in foot mode: at least one of the feet points down.

Until when can a baby turn around?

From the 30th week, if you find that your baby is running in a seat, you can test the following options to try to encourage him to turn around and thus avoid the version.

6 methods to help baby turn around

For Clarisse Portela, a midwife in Genval, several methods have demonstrated their effectiveness. Yoga, acupuncture, physiotherapy …

It is often the combination of several methods that bear fruit.

There are many choices, but beware, there is nothing magic: “It is often the combination of several methods that bear fruit.” Indeed, if your baby has found his happiness in siege, it is probably not by making the dog head at the bottom 1 to day that you will dislodge him.

1. Acupuncture

For Clarisse Portela, acupuncture can really be a solution. “It’s purely empirical, but it works, that’s for sure! Some practitioners only do perinatal, head for them,” she advises. The acupuncturist will position fine needles on several places in the mother’s body, which will have the effect of increasing the amount of amniotic fluid in the belly, and thus helping the baby to turn around. Often, we also practice moxibustion, which consists in heating the end of the little toe of the mother. The main function would be to stimulate the activity of the baby and cause its rotation. These 2 methods are highly appreciated, they are painless and safe for mom and baby.

2. Spinning babies

This practice born in the United States starts from the principle that the fetal position is important. Improving or modifying it would therefore be beneficial for both comfort during pregnancy and advanced work, and this would facilitate childbirth. “Some midwives are trained there in Belgium. Thanks to exercises, the mother will be able to” make room for her baby “, explains Clarisse Portela. “We will invite the future mother to make lullaces from the pelvis, move from one side to the other her hips for example, or to work with a scarf. These exercises also help to relieve pain during pregnancy.”

3. Yoga

Yoga can also relieve pain and make the baby find a new place in the uterus. Several postures, practiced 15 to 20 minutes morning and evening, can sometimes bear fruit. All of them consist in raising the basin in relation to the head. The best known position is the “Indian bridge”, or the “small bridge”, taken from Hatha Yoga. Here, the mother is lying on her back, feet on the ground. By lifting the pelvis several times to the sky, the baby could have a chance to turn around.

4. Osteopathy

“In some cases, consulting an osteopath can help a baby to position himself properly. The osteopath can release a certain space in the mother’s belly, this will sometimes require several sessions,” says Clarisse Portela. Thanks to slight pressures, the osteopath will try to give more mobility to the basin and help release the uterine muscle, which will offer more space to the baby to encourage him to place his head down.

5. Physiotherapy

Several postnatal physiotherapy sessions will be prescribed after the birth of your child. But during your pregnancy too, this practitioner can help you. “The physiotherapist works on the diaphragm and the perineum, he can soften the area so that the baby has more latitude to turn,” explains Clarisse Portela.

6. Kine microphone

The micro physiotherapist finds its origins in physiotherapy, but it is very different. Here, the specialist will practice micro palpations manually on the mother’s body: slight pressures, simple affected by 2 hands, no heavy manipulation. The idea is to give “new information” to the body, which would be responsible for tensions created by the memory of possible assaults (physical, psychic, emotional, etc.). These micro palpations would trigger a self-corporate mechanism in the body which, in this case, could help the mother relieve her tensions and thus make the baby find a better position in her belly.

When to consider a version?

To avoid a cesarean, the medical team can suggest practicing an external version. The maneuver consists in changing the position of the baby manually by pressing the mother’s belly. Even if the operation in itself only lasts a few minutes, it can be very uncomfortable or painful for the mother. In addition, the success rate revolves around 40%. The success of the version depends on several criteria, such as the commitment of the baby’s buttocks in the basin, the position of its back, the placenta of the mother and the amount of amniotic fluid.

The seat is not inevitable!

The childbirth that can be more complicated, sometimes gynecologists advise to operate a cesarean. However, a low -way childbirth is often possible. “In Belgium, many gynecologists no longer have a hand to practice childbirths in a seat by low way,” said Clarisse Portela.

Some hospitals have set up dedicated services, such as the Erasmus Hospital in Brussels, which has a headquarters clinic. “Obviously, even when possible, not all mothers are candidates,” recalls the midwife. After consultation, the medical team defines if a childbirth is possible. Then it’s up to parents to decide. This is one of the only cases where parents can choose to opt for a cesarean in Belgium.

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