BLOGSILOG

I’m getting closer to the finish line!

But there’s a change of plans — I might deliver the baby via C-section. This is what my OB told me because the last time I went in for my prenatal check-up, we found out that lil munchkin is in a breech position - a footling breech to be exact.

FOOTLING BREECH: A position of the fetus while in the uterus where the feet of the fetus are nearest the cervix and will be the first part of the fetus to exit the uterus, with the head of the fetus being the last part to exit the uterus. Here’s how it looks like:

When Dr. L did an internal examination, he said he felt a hand or a foot so he dragged the ultrasound machine inside the room and voila - peeking through the monitor is munchkin’s foot! I was nervous when I saw how munchkin is positioned inside my womb but hubby and I couldn’t stop from giggling because I sleep in that exact same position. Mana talaga sa nanay. LOL!

Dr. L gave us 1 week to decide on how to deliver the baby because he said I can try the “natural way” but that would mean applying pressure externally on my tummy to turn the baby or what is called the External Cephalic Version (ECV) in the medical world.

External version is generally done around 37 weeks. To be a candidate one must have adequate amounts of amniotic fluid to cushion the baby. The most common way to see this performed is in a hospital with fetal monitoring, ultrasound, and many times IV medications to relax the uterus. Performed prior to 37 weeks and you run the risk of premature labor and many babies may have turned on their own. The biggest risk to the ECV is separation of the placenta which rarely occurs mostly due to the guidance of the ultrasound. There are also potential complications with cord involvement. Recent studies show that epidural anesthesia may actually increase the success rates of external version, which are stated to be between 65-70 in an experienced practitioner.

I already have an idea how the procedure is done because I watch TLC’s “A Baby Story” all the time and based on what I’ve seen, I don’t think I want to go through it. It’s too stressful for me and the baby. Hubby feels the same way too. So we both decided that if munchkin remains to be a footling by next week then we will go for CS delivery. But if by some miracle munchkin turns head down first, then I’ll definitely deliver him naturally.

Will update you on my next check up…