Breech or Posterior Babies – How To Get Them to Turn

Is your baby Breech or Posterior?

When your baby isn’t in the ideal position.

Most care providers would like your baby to be in the optimal fetal position – head down, however, this is not always the norm.  Some babies don’t get that memo by 34 weeks!

A baby may sit posterior – spine to spine, rather than spine to the belly.  Others present in a breech or transverse position with the bottom first, hips and knees flexed.

Most babies turn spontaneously before they are born, some move in labour!

There is a procedure called an External Cephalic Version (ECV), this is where an obstetrician/ Doctor places their hands on the mother’s abdomen to try and turn the baby. 

In Chinese medicine we have a safe and very effective way to turn a baby, using a combination of acupuncture and moxibustion on certain points on the outside of the little toes. 

We see the root cause of breech presentation involving kidney energy,  the Yin energy of the kidney nourishes the baby from conception.  Yang takes over this role at the end of pregnancy to provide the energy for labour.

This Yang energy (warmth) moves the baby into the desired position.  When Yang is deficient due to a blockage or deficiency within the mother’s body, the baby does not move into the optimal position. 

It is in the winter months Yin (cold) is abundant energetically and Yang is dormant, this can be the reason why breech presentation is more prominent.

If your baby is not in the ideal position by week 34, I would recommend you book an appointment for acupuncture and moxa.

Doing moxa on the point on the little toe, stimulates the adrenal glands, located above the kidneys, increasing oestrogen in the placenta, changing prostaglandin levels too.  This changes the basal tone increasing uterine contractility, encouraging baby to move and aiding with correcting their position.