You'll see your provider twice or more this month as you continue your every-other-week routine. She will check the position of your baby to determine whether he has turned head down in preparation for birth.

If your practitioner brings up the possibility of a breech birth (bottom-or-foot-first), it's because she has felt the head of your unborn baby up near your ribs, or an ultrasound has confirmed that your child is in the breech position. Don't panic. Your fickle fetus is likely to change position again in the next few weeks. If she doesn't, your practitioner may try to turn the baby closer to term using a technique known as external cephalic version, or manually attempting to turn the fetus in the uterus. The ACOG recommends that an external cephalic version be attempted in most breech cases, typically between weeks 36 and 42.

External cephalic version (or simply version) is successful in turning a breech baby in about half of all instances where it is attempted. However, if it is done too far in advance of the estimated delivery date, there is a possibility that the fetus may flip back to the breech position.

Babies can be delivered vaginally in breech position in some instances, but the procedure is more difficult and carries a higher risk for the infant. If your provider has not been adequately trained to perform vaginal breech delivery (and many are no longer), you could be offered a C-section. Currently C-section is the method of choice for a safe breech delivery. If you really want a vaginal birth and a cephalic version is unsuccessful in turning your breech, some practitioners may agree to a trial of labor to see if your contracting uterus helps to turn the child.

Frank

There are three classifications of breech: frank, complete, and incomplete.

Complete

Incomplete

There are three classifications of breech: frank, complete, and incomplete. In frank breech, your baby uses your pelvic bone as a seat and stretches his legs up close to his chest. With incomplete breech, one or both legs will drop down during delivery and will arrive before the rest of the body. This is also called a single- or double-footling breech birth. In a complete breech, your baby has his bottom on your pelvis again, but legs and arms are crossed in front of his little body. A footling breech is not a good candidate for vaginal delivery because the diameter of the legs will be smaller than the head, resulting in an increased risk of entrapment.