3 Principles & Breech

Chiropractic care to prevent and correct breech presentationSometimes just doing the Breech Tilt isn't enough to flip a breech to head down. That's why we start with the 1st Principle of Spinning Babies: Balance. Balance means to help the soft tissues of the pelvis and abdomen become symmetrical. 

 


Using the Three Principles of Spinning Babies we begin with Balance.

The First Principle, Balance

To balance, we must release muscle and ligament tension and help the pelvic joints to be aligned.  The wrong twist in the wrong place can make the lower uterus less roomy and prevent a baby from being head down. Releasing the twist gives more room for the head to settle downward.

There are several things you can do at home. For some women these activites work quickly, for others, professional help may be needed. 

  • Release the Psoas (or better yet, come to a psoas resolution!)
  • Release the Round Ligaments
  • Do a Myofascial Standing Release (Sacral Release, Buckled Sacrum Maneuver).
  • Forward-leaning Inversion daily or more often (this one is so good, I have it in both the 1st and the 2nd Principle)
  • Breech Tilt Inversion daily
  • Rebozo Sifting or Jiggling for relaxation of broad ligament
  • Prenatal yoga to help with psoas relaxation and hip openers (probably not enough without the other activities listed here)
  • Professional Help such as:
    • Chiropractic, neck and pelvic adjustments, including sacrum and pubis symphasis
    • Webster maneuver
    • Craniosacral or myofascial releases including
      • Abdominal release (Diaphragmatic release)
      • Sacral Release (Buckled Sacrum maneuver)
    • Homeopathic remedies as prescribed by a trained and experienced Homeopath
    • Acupuncture, a licensed Acupuncturist typically has more training than a certified Acupuncturist and may be more effective, but this varies.

    Exercises can be used together.

     

 

The Second Principle, Gravity

Get into the position you want your baby to get in. The mother goes head-down. There are some ways to go upside down that are better than others. The "Breech Tilt" position is quite familiar. 

I like doing the forward- leaning inversion first for 30 seconds and then do the Breech Tilt for 10 minutes. For breech repositioning, you actually can do the forward-leaning inversion longer than 30 seconds (the length of time you'd do an inversion for a head down baby). But it may be better to do it frequently during weeks 32-birth rather than longer. You can do the Breech Tilt for 20 minutes if you like, but that, too, is more effective if you do it 3x a day rather than once a day. 

  • Forward Leaning Inversion
  • Breech Tilt
  • Good Posture
  • Rest Smart 

Going upside down in the forward-leaning inversion helps the lower uterine segment become more symmetrical (helps it untwist if its got a little twist from crossing the legs or leaning your weight to one leg when you stand, etc).

Going up side down in the Breech Tilt helps the breech baby tuck his or her chin, the first step in flipping.

  • Having good posture, including the Rest Smart positions, is not enough after 21-34 weeks. Of course some babies could turn head down even in labor, but chances are that the later in pregnancy you are, the more your baby needs you to balance your womb and use gravity to help with the flip.

 

The Third Principle, Movement

What would I say about movement to help a breech baby flip head down?

  • Rebozo sifting
  • Myofascial unwinding
  • External Cephalic Version

 

The small jiggling motions of the Rebozo Manteado, sifting; and myofascial unwinding are ways to help overcome restrictions in the muscles and other soft tissues and create more room and flexibility in the womb for baby to flip on their own.

External Cephalic Version 

In ECV, the doctor manipulates the baby into a head down position in late pregnancy, is also a type of movement, if you allow me to categorize broadly here. The baby is moved, rather than the mother.

 

 Read the Breech Timeline to see when to do what. Read About Breech for general information about breech issues. Find a description for the Breech Tilt in the Techniques Section. And, read Flip a Breech for practical steps and exercises.


  

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Spinning Babies is facing an immediate "migration," new software installation for the behind the scenes portion of the website at cost of $680. This massive update is crucial for security and functionality. Alternatively, I could take the 100+ pages down and restart the site with new software at a lower cost, but much less content. Would you be ok with a 10 page site carrying only an outline of information? That's about how many other websites treat their content.

 Are you a woman or a loved one of a woman helped to avoid a cesarean by Spinning Babies Website? Has Spinning Babies helped you serve birthing families with techniques for labor progress? Do you have a little time to help Spinning Babies in return? If the migration costs $680 and 100 of my loyal users gave $68 dollars each, we'd get it covered. 

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Several years ago a grandmother donated $150 after a visit to Spinning Babies Website helped her daughter avoid a cesarean. Once a woman sent $50 because exercises on Spinning Babies stopped her hip pain and she was able to sleep well for the first time during the end of her pregnancy. Today, just a few dollars a year come through donations. Ever since the booklet went on sale donations dropped off. Could it be that people think sales income is significant to carry the website? I wish it were so, and do hope to boost the store soon.

Right now Spinning Babies is in need and so I'm asking those of you among my 4000 daily visitors to give something back. "Wait, Seriously?" you ask, "4000 people a day and only a few small donations a year!?" Yep, that's true.  If 400 of you, 1/10th of one day's visitors, gave $20,  or 15 Pounds,  we could get this job done and secure the website. 

 

Could it be that Spinning Babies has become such a part of the childbirth education scene that its taken for granted? Spinning Babies doesn't get grants. Spinning Babies isn't a nonprofit (But my husband will be surprised to hear that.)  I love giving this information as a gift to the birthing world, I'm rather delighted to help a woman understand she doesn't have to accept a cesarean before labor just because her baby is posterior! Or, help a woman flip her breechling head down. But with the cost of web maintainance increasing, I have to rethink how I might support my work.  

If you aren't able to give such a chunk of change, can you send your sympathy for $5? Or, are you a loyal Spinning Babies user who gives their undying support for $100? 

 

What ever you can send now will be seen as a huge message of support to keep Spinning Babies safe and online. Protecting one woman's birth just takes 4 minutes.

 

 


 

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