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This is the Week 32 post in the series "What you don't expect when you're expecting."
Breech and the old “Wait and See.”
Depending on your provider, you may get little to no guidance regarding your breech babe.
The first thing I want you to know is that your baby is smart. Your baby is choosing the breech position because it’s the most comfortable position for them. While yes, your uterus will expand up to 500 times its original size, it’s still a pretty tight squeeze with organs and muscles pressing in from all sides. Babies will orient themselves in the way that gives them the most space.
For most babies, by the third trimester, that means head down.
For others, it may mean head up. While it may not make sense to you, it makes sense to them!
So why does this happen? Why is head down more comfortable for some and while head up (or even transverse!) is the choice for others?
Again, it comes down to space…space that is determined by muscle suppleness and boney structure. That is to say muscular imbalance, muscular tightness, and the alignment of your skeleton all impact the balance of your uterus and the space (or lack thereof) available for baby. Baby doesn’t want to go where they’d feel smushed!
Balance the pelvis...
to balance the uterus...
to balance the baby.
Our uterus is attached to our pelvis via the round ligaments, pubocervical ligaments, transverse cervical ligaments, and uterosacral ligaments. Basically, your uterus is connected to all 3 major bones of the pelvis; your left hip, right hip, and sacrum.
You know what else is connected to those bones?
A LOT.
All 3 sets of glutes,
6 deep external rotators,
3 hamstrings,
14 pelvic floor muscles,
psoas,
ilium,
rectus femoris,
all 4 abdominals,
quadratus lumborum,
thoracolumbar (low back) fascia.
This low back fascia is an attachment site for…
Latissimus dorsi
Trapezius
3 Erector spinae muscles
Posterior diaphragm
So yeah, much like the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon, you could easily connect any muscle of your body to your uterus in 6 steps or less.
This means that everything from how you’re sitting, to being hunched over a computer, to how you're walking can effect the alignment of your uterus.
And I’m not saying this to make you hyper-aware or cause anxiety over every movement choice your make.
I’m saying this to put the power of YOUR pregnancy back in YOUR hands.
So many times providers will just say “Let’s wait and see.” There's nothing wrong with waiting and seeing because sometimes as you grow and the baby grows they end up getting more space to go into a head-down position.
But why roll the dice?
I would always rather be proactive.
Most providers don't have much information beyond “just go on your hands and knees throughout the day.” Maybe that worked for your sister-in-law (or maybe her baby would have flipped anyways) but every body is different and every body responds to pregnancy differently.
That’s why, as I’m sure you know, I love an individualized approach. Working together we can find where your body would benefit from more space so that baby realizes “Oh putting my head down here is way more comfortable! I’m going to go here”.
However, all that being said sometimes breeches don't flip. Genetics and boney structures in both you and your baby must be considered; sometimes breech is their best position. And breech births ARE possible. If you want a vaginal breech birth, start talking to your provider to understand their policies and determine if they are a good fit for the birth you want.
TLDR; everything is connected.
Sometimes the cause of the imbalance of your uterus is due to an imbalance in a part of your body nowhere near your pelvis. Somewhere you wouldn’t think would have any effect on how much space baby has such as in the upper body, or down in the feet.
Stop the “wait and see” and start balancing today. I’ve got a FREE WORKOUT for you to start balancing your pelvis. After you grab that, hop on the waitlist for Core Before so you can get the individualized birth training your body needs and deserves.