Complications

Types of Breech Births

Near the labor date, most babies will move into delivery position in order to facilitate delivery. This occurs a few weeks before birth, when they move their head near the birth canal. However, sometimes this will not happen and the baby's head is still up and the bottom is down to be delivered first. This position is called a breech presentation.

Breech births occur in about 25% of babies in the 28th week as pregnancy progresses and around 5% at 33 weeks of pregnancy. Once at full-term, only 3 to 4% of babies remain in the breech presentation. Babies staying in breech position are usually smaller than babies delivered in their normal position.

Although the causes leading to breech presentations are not fully known, a breech birth is a common presentation. According to their position, there are different types of breech babies, or breech presentations:

- Complete breech presentation occurs when the baby's buttock is down and the legs folded at the knees with the feet near the buttocks. The baby sits cross-legged.

- Frank breech presentation is when the baby's legs are straight and held flat up in front of the body. The baby's buttock is pointing towards the birth canal, and the feet near to the baby's head. This presentation is a very rare kneeling breech.

- Footling breech only happens when one or both of the baby's feet are pointing down, so they will come out first at birth.

What causes a breech presentation is also unknown, but more often associated to women with subsequent pregnancies, Placenta previa, history of premature delivery, multiple births, and when the uterus has too much or too little amniotic fluid. Breech births are also the result of abnormal shaped uterus or in women with a uterus, which has abnormal growths, such as fibroids.

There are some factors that may contribute to the baby's breech position, including when the baby is born premature, or when the pregnant woman has a septum in their uterus. Septum is a structure that can divide the uterus making it more difficult for the baby to settle into the normal head down position.

A doctor or midwife can diagnose a breech baby during pregnancy, feeling the soft bottom near your pelvis to find the baby's head somewhere in your upper abdomen. Occasionally this diagnose is not possible until a woman is in labor or when she reports feeling a very sore spot or a hard ball under her ribs, which are signs of a breech baby.