getting baby to turn head down

Is there ANYTHING I can do to get baby A to turn head down? I am 35+4 weeks with my boy/girl twins and I REALLY wanted to avoid a c-section, but he's being stubborn. My OB said he's seen twins where baby A is breech the entire pregnancy and then on the day they are to be delivered, baby A was head-down. But I doubt it, even he said the further along I get the least likely he will turn. I asked him what I can do to make him turn and he just said there are many old wives tales of making the baby turn, if I wanted to try something (as long as it's safe and not anything drastic) to go ahead. I ACTUALLY did 5 jumping jacks earlier :blush: I have NO clue if that would even do anything, I'm just in desperate mode. I felt so out of breath after doing just 5 jumping jacks!

Also, would I be safe to deliver at this time? Well, as far as my babies, this is not considered too early right? I started to pass parts of my mucus plug 3 days ago, and 4 days ago I was 75% effaced and 1cm. dilated.

 

You are pretty safe at this point for them to be born. They may need some NICU time but if they do it would be more likely as feeders and growers at this point. As for getting him to turn, you can try something cold up near his head, like a bag of frozen veggies and something warm down below. They are suppose to gravitate towards the warmth and try to get away from the cold. There is also this site:

http://spinningbabies.com/spinning-babies-and/twins

 

Check out www.spinningbabies.com for ideas on turning babe. You can also wait to go into labour rather than scheduling a c-birth as some babies will turn with early labour contractions. You could also look into finding a care provider who would be qualified to attend a vaginal breech birth.

As for being 35+4 that's a very respectable gestation & the babes would most likely do very well & depending on their weights would even likely be able to come home with you. :good:

ETA: Slipper beat me to it!

 

Thanks for the suggestions and the link. I think I stumbled upon that website a while back, but didn't see anything regarding twins so I didn't really read it at the time.

 

I'm 30 weeks and both my babies are breech right now, with Baby A having been persistently breech since my 20 week ultrasound. I'm also a bit frustrated as I was hoping for a vaginal birth because my first birth was really easy and uncomplicated and I think if Baby A would just flip over, I would (hopefully) be facing a similar fairly uncomplicated birth situation. Never mind the pain that both their heads being side-by-side up in the narrowest part of my abdomen is causing!

I checked out the spinningbabies.com site, but find I can't physically do a lot of the stuff there. I am spending some time each day in the hands and knees position and doing some pelvic tilts. I've been trying to do some yoga to just loosen up my legs/back, etc. I even tried the hot/cold thing and having my husband talk to them from down low, but nobody seems to want to turn just yet.

Does anyone know if the Webster technique used for single babies is worth trying for breech twins?

La Chava: I hope your Baby A turns, as does mine!

 

Both of mine were head down until 37 weeks the b flipped to breech so theres always time for them to move for you. Best of luck.

 

My Baby A was breech until about 38 weeks, he somehow managed to flip head down even as crowded as it was in there! Baby B was vertex (sideways) for the majority of my pregnancy, but he was born head first.

 

J-squared - I'm not sure how effective the Webster technique is with twins (worth asking a Chiro about though) however, it would be worth seeing a Chiro regardless. Sometimes if your pelvis is tilted or out of line at all it can put babies into all kinds of funny positions. Finding a Chiro experienced in prenatal care & going for regular adjustments through your pregnancy can be very helpful.

 

It's good to hear stories of babies turning late. I am really hoping A will get her act together and turn. My office mate just told me that her sisters twins were both head down until the day of her induction when they checked one last time by ultrasound and found they had both flipped breech in the two days since her last one. So I guess anything can happen.

Rachel#3: I just emailed my brother to find out more about the Webster technique. I swear I have complete and total pregnancy brain since I never even though to ask him (a chiropractor!) about its use for twins before today. ardon:

 

Let us know what he says! Gotta love the pregnancy brain. :laughing:

 

opcorn:

Just joining the wait for baby A to turn--at times I feel it's moot since I'm quite sure my abdomen will pop open on its own soon enough with the pressure they are putting on it! I have baby A breech and B transverse, breech, you name it. I too had a wonderful L&D with DD1 so am really hoping baby A is vertex and I can do this vaginally. I ***really really*** do not want a section.

 

Hi ThankfulMama: Yeah, I'm with you on not really wanting a c-section. I know it will be fine in the end if I have one, but deep down I was just really hoping for head down babies and not having to worry about it at all. It doesn't help that my mother delivered twins with a Baby A breech with no issues whatsoever and nobody even batted an eyelash at it because that's just the way it went back then. I hope both our Baby A's turn.

I talked to my brother and he basically said what I thought he would: that he wasn't entirely sure the Webster technique worked even for singleton babies. Since most breech (single) babies turn head-down eventually and the Webster is often done between 32-37 weeks gestation, it's hard to know if it's the technique that made the baby turn or if the baby just turned on its own like it would have anyway. He also said with twins it's a complete wild card because there's two in there. that said, his official opinion was "It won't hurt anything and it could help." He said anything that helps loosen up the ligaments around the pelvis and uterus could potentially give a baby or babies more room to turn.

I don't want to lose hope, but with Baby A having been in the same position for so long, I feel she probably is not going to turn and maybe there's a reason she isn't turning.

 

Bump

I am checking out spinningbabies.com right now and really interested in it. I am only 19 weeks but like this site so far. Does anyone have any success stories or opinions on turning breech/transverse babies?

 

Hi Moonangel. Well, my Baby A has been breech since 20 weeks and she still has not turned (I am 37+4 right now) and doesn't seem to be trying to turn. I ended up trying as much of the spinning babies stuff I could (some of it was contraindicated for anterior placenta, which I have, and some of it I just couldn't do very well).

I do think maybe I didn't start soon enough (I was 30 weeks before I started really trying stuff). I would think if you can start doing some of the spinning babies stuff, pelvic tilts and work on keeping your muscles as loose as possible now that there is a very good chance your baby A will turn. I'm not sure anything guarantees it, but at least you'd know you tried.