I've been MIA for awhile. To be honest, I've needed some time and space to focus on myself and my feelings. I've had a lot of fears come up, which we believe have stemmed from some things that happened during my last birth. My chiro always said that the emotions women experience while giving birth are very similar to those men experience at war. I'm starting to believe him. It's amazing how it is ingrained in your mind, and to be honest, a lot of things that have been coming out have felt very much like PTSD, despite the fact that I never viewed my experience as traumatic. When someone mentioned PTSD to me, I wanted to laugh...I mean c'mon it's birth! The truth is, there was a lot of trauma...and I'm doing my best to clean the slate and work through it so I can give this next baby the welcome that is deserved.
It's been one thing after another the past few weeks...first my blood pressure was high...then my son was incredibly sick...then I found out my baby, who I thought was obediently head down this entire time was in fact, positioned sideways. The OB pointed out on ultrasound that his head was up in my ribs (almost breech) and butt was down by my pelvis...I felt his feet in my cervix from time to time. It was a mess. For those who know, my first pregnancy had this happen as well (but not to this degree) the transverse was a perfect side to side. My son turned head down at 36 weeks and was born without complication. People kept saying to calm down and that baby would turn just like my other baby did. It was a logical request.
My hormones had other plans...
I kept telling my husband I was going to be upset if everything I worked for (my anemia, my blood pressure) had been to just jump ship on my birth plans and get a c section for a baby in the wrong position. It is said that turning a transverse baby is actually harder than turning a breech baby. I don't know why this is. My midwives and I discussed the options if this baby happened to turn breech instead of head down. I decided if this was the case I would still opt for a vaginal birth but would most likely attempt it in a hospital with an OB that was supportive. But with baby in the transverse position, there was not much that could be done other than surgery, unless a flip occurred, one way or the other. I was downright devastated and thinking the worst. For many women, a c section is a perfectly comfortable and logical way to deal with this issue...I don't judge those women, and I will say honestly, after the rollercoaster of emotions I experienced...I totally get it. It's predictable. It's something you can control. Sitting back and just trusting that your baby is going to do something because "it's nature" is damn hard. Especially at 33 weeks when everything says "most babies are head down by this point." But the idea of getting a needle in my spine to have to do this (which is the fear behind the reason I'm a natural birth fanatic) terrified me even more...so I jumped on the natural ship and figured I'd try my best to turn this baby. Here are my secrets...
1) Spinning Babies
Probably the most well known baby flipping technique is the spinning babies stretches, which can be found on the website www.spinningbabies.com. A lot of the stretches are inversions so you are upside down, which is kind of funny being super pregnant. All I can say is don't do them right after eating. I think it even says that on the site...but just take my word for it. These excercises do have a great success rate, but the only thing that made me nervous about doing them super often is that if your baby is in a good position, they can flip baby back to a not so favorable position...and since I didn't have an ultrasound machine, it was hard to know if/when my baby had flipped. I was scared to do these too much because I didn't want to flip baby back if baby was head down. But if you are really in tune with your body and can tell how baby is lying, I highly suggest these exercises. And my two year old was entertained by trying to do them with me, so bonus for that. They also have exercises to turn a posterior baby and teach you how to do belly mapping to figure out where your baby is. I couldn't figure this out because I'm pretty sure my baby is an octopus.
2) Moxibustion
This one was kind of fun. You have to call the acupuncturist for this, or order on amazon. I was already going to acupuncture for other reasons, so when I mentioned wanting to try this to him, he was willing and gave me a bunch of moxa to use at home. Basically, moxa is a charcoal stick with special herbs and looks kind of like a cigar. When you set it on fire and hold it up to your pinky toe (bladder 67 point) it is said to be a direct link to the uterus. For whatever reason it gives the message to baby that it's time to turn and most babies do. I have a lot of friends who swore by this. I'm not sure if this is what did it for me, but I did notice I had a lot of braxton hicks every time I did it, so I definitely think it does send a message to try and flip the baby and it's worth a try. The downside is you can totally burn the heck out of yourself, as my husband did when he was helping me one night. But I actually really enjoyed the smell and all in all it was a nice relaxing way to attempt to turn baby.
3) Swimming
When you go in a pool of water, you can increase your amniotic fluid. I didn't do any head stands...no way. But I did swim a lot of laps and stayed horizontal quite a bit. If anything, I think it helped to keep me sane about the whole process. Exercise can never hurt!
4) Hypnobabies Meditation to turn breech baby
Hypnobabies is a form of hypnobirthing. Though it's not the kind that I did (The Mongan Method) the website has some great meditations that you can buy and download. There is one to turn a breech baby. It's super relaxing, and basically gets you to communicate with baby and tap into yourself about whether or not there are any reservations you/your body/your baby may have about turning into position. I realize this seems hokey, but when I was losing my mind, it did keep my calm. It was only 16 bucks, so I figured it was worth a try to clear my mind in the process of doing all this baby flipping, if anything. It was really sweet and I felt very bonded to baby while doing it.
5) Essential Oils
They say you can put peppermint oil where the baby's head is, and it will coax baby to turn, because babies can feel the cold sensation in the womb and don't like it. I tried this, but I didn't notice my baby respond to it too much. You can also use an ice pack. This was one of those "why the heck not...may as well."
6) Pulsatilla
Pulsatilla is a homeopathic remedy that a lot of women swear by. You buy the supplements, which taste like sugar and cannot eat or drink for 15 minutes before or 15 minutes after doing this. You then put the granules under your tongue and let them dissolve completely. The idea is that this remedy loosens the muscles in a gentle way and allows baby the space to get into position. It is said to work within 3 days. This may have done it for me, but I am not 100% sure. Either way, it was pretty easy, apart from the no eating/drinking time constraint. That was hard as I'm always guzzling water!
7) Rebozo
A rebozo is a piece of fabric that you can use to do lots of different exercises with, and many women even use it in labor to help the laboring mom be more comfortable. In my case, we used it to attempt to loosen my abdominal muscles, which were freakishly tight, so that baby could have some space to come down. This was kind of awkward, but it did loosen the muscles, and even if this isn't what got baby to turn, the benefits will still be there for birth. You can also do these exercises with a bed sheet...youtube search for ideas on different ones you can do. You will need a partner to help you.
8) Chiropractic (The Webster Technique)
If I had to say what truly helped me, of all the things I tried, I honestly believe this is what did it. I had to find a chiro whose specialization was turning babies. Upon calling him he started to explain the webster technique to me. Since I was already familiar with it, I didn't need much convincing. Basically this technique focuses on the sacrum, pubic bone and round ligament. When all these things are aligned, it gives space so the baby kind of "gets it" and goes into the place where there is more space. This technique used to be called "The baby turning technique" (but had to be changed for the very few who don't have success) and the success rate is in the 90% range. Upon getting this done I quickly learned my body was very out of whack in these few areas, so I do believe it may have kept my baby from going into my pelvis. Babies are smart and don't want to be cramped up. They want to be comfortable. I was also told not to cross my legs (SO HARD) or lock my knees (EVEN HARDER) as this can limit space for baby and cause problems. I also noticed after my first adjustment I experienced a huge emotional release, so I wonder if maybe there were emotions I was holding onto as well that were making it difficult for baby to go head down. Either way, I know this helped me so much, even if it wasn't what ultimately turned my baby, and I recommend it to everyone and anyone.
And so these are the big ones I tried...I want people reading this to know though, that I have no idea what got my baby to flip. It could just be that my baby just decided to flip and none of this actually worked. I'll never know, because I have no idea when this baby actually did flip. I'm just grateful it happened! And to those mamas out there who were not successful in this department, I want you all to know many of the specialists I worked with told me that ultimately if baby doesn't flip, there is a reason...usually safety related. Sometimes scar tissue or placenta placement can be an issue as well. So just know that what worked for me may not work for everyone, but I definitely wanted to exhaust all my options, and I'm so happy that baby is finally head down in the pelvis. Stay baby, stay!
