Breech Births
While the majority of babies are positioned to correctly exit the womb during birth, some are turned in a way that can complicate a delivery. Babies are supposed to come out head first, but if they are in breech position, they are located in a way that they would come out feet or bottom first.
Types of Breech Births
Some estimates say that a baby is in the breech position in 1 out of every 25 pregnancies. While a fetus is smaller, it has room to move around in the womb and repositions itself easily. However, the closer a woman comes to delivery, the smaller the womb space becomes for a baby. Therefore, a baby can get stuck in the breech position. There are three types of breech positions:
- Frank breech – a baby in frank breech is in a type of pike position. The bottom is positioned to come out first, with the feet up by the head.
- Complete breech – like the frank breech, the bottom is pointed downwards to come out first. However, the knees are bent with the feet near the bottom, or the legs can be crossed Indian-style.
- Footling breech – in this form, a baby is poised to have a foot or both feet exit the mother first.
What Happens in Case of Breech
When a healthcare provider realizes that a baby is in breech position, he or she may decide to press on the womb externally to reposition the baby. This is called an external cephalic version, or ECV. However, an ECV is not guaranteed to work.
In other cases, a woman’s doctor may want to plan a c-section to remove the baby. Sometimes, though, if the breech is not detected until too late, the woman may have to try a regular delivery if her pelvis has enough space.
Contact Us
Doctors and researchers have found that babies in breech position are slightly more likely to have birth defects. If you your healthcare provider did not correctly handle your delivery if your baby was in breech position, leading to birth defects, you may be entitled to financial compensation. For more information on birth injury law, contact the Philadelphia birth injury lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., today at 215-238-1130.