I originally posted this on my Facebook page so I’m reposting it here.
Hey guys, I was going to write this post like two days ago but my baby seems to hate sleeping at night right now and I’m seriously suffering from sleep deprivation. It’s afternoon and I’m still in bed where she’s laying on my chest finally sleeping. Since she made a month she’s been in a growth spurt and I know it won’t last long but for now, it’s rough.
So, today I’m going to talk about finding out that my baby was breech and going for an ECV or External Cephalic Version. An ECV is where they try to flip the baby by pushing on your stomach. ECVs are not always successful and there are risks involved but you can say at least you tried.
I was about 36 weeks when I heard the word siège, I didn’t know what that was so when I got home I googled it. Bébé en siège is the French term for a breech baby, I already knew that she wasn’t head down because I could feel her head on my left side and in my ribs when she turned. Let me tell you feeling the baby’s head in your ribs is not pleasant at all. Sometimes it felt like she was pulling my ribs apart. I avoided laying on my stomach because that made the pain worse.
So my baby is breech, I had four options, try an ECV, wait for the baby to turn down by herself, attempt a breech birth, or go for a C-section.
We opted to try the ECV, I was 37 weeks at that time, I went into labor at 37 weeks with my son so I was a little afraid that I’d go into labor before the ECV. The baby stayed put and we went to the hospital, they had me change into a gown and lay on a hospital bed. I was given pain meds because an ECV can be uncomfortable.
The doctor came in and tried to explain to me what she was going to do, my French isn’t the best so I didn’t get everything but I understood the gist of the situation. She verified that baby was still in the breech position and attempted the ECV. It was painful, she dug her fingers deep into my stomach and tried to turn baby but because the baby was tucked up into my ribs she couldn’t move her. I was so happy she didn’t try again because I didn’t think I could take that pain for a second time.
They kept me for an hour or two so that my stomach could stop contracting. Going into labor is one of the risks of doing an ECV.
With this failed ECV I only had three options left, wait for the baby to turn on her own, attempt a breech birth, or have a C-section.
I was terrified of having a C-section and the risks of a breech birth were scary. I went home and tried all kinds of exercises that were supposed to help the baby turn down but none of them worked. My baby was content to be up in my ribs and I knew that I would most likely end up having a C-section.
Crucianize 