Hi ladies

My bump is breech at the moment and at 36+6 there is little hope of him/her turning by itself. I've got an appointment with the consultant this afternoon to discuss my options and I'm sure an ECV will be offered. As far as I can tell the success rate for this is very low and I'd love to hear from anyone who had a successful ECV. The last thing I wanted was a c-section but my sister had an ECV with her first and said it was awful (and it didn't work) so I'm just trying to figure out whether it's worth putting bump and myself through that or just settling for the c-section I dreaded.

Many thanks

Serena xxxx

Hi

My friend has a successful ECV but she did say she'd never go thru it again, the pain was unbearable. sorry!
its hard to plan for anything, I planned for a home birth but ended up having emerg c sec after 18hours in a labour, so be prepared for any eventuality as I hadn't and i struggled to get my head around a c-sec

good luck xxx

hi serena
i'm a midwife, and although i have never had a breech baby, i've seen a number of ECV's on the Day Unit where i work.

i couldnt give you percentages on how many are successful, as we seem to go ages without success, then loads with!

as to painful - if it is painful, you need to tell them to stop! if uncomfortable, just see how you feel with that. they should monitor your baby before & after the attempt to make sure eveything is ok for you.

i would say give it a try - if it doesnt work, you havent really lost anything in trying - you'd still have a breech baby, and be strongly advised to have a C/S!

if it does work, then you get the chance for a vaginal delivery!

good luck with whatever you decide, anyway!! - and let us know what happened!!

xxxxxx

Hi, I've got 2 friends who both had an ECV. It worked for one of them who had a normal birth, but it didn't work for the other one who had an elective c-section

Lily was breech and I had an ECV at 37 weeks to try and turn her round. Unfortunately it didn't work but I'm glad I gave it go and I would do the same again. I can honestly say I didn't find the procedure painful, but it was uncomfortable - a bit like someone giving you a chinese burn. You can ask the consultant to stop at any time if you find it painful. I was monitored before and afterwards to check all was OK (fortunately it was) and you are told to go in prepared for a section as in a small number of cases it can bring on labour. As I said the procedure didn't work for me so I was booked in for a section at 39 weeks. It was the last thing I wanted, but after the failed ECV i became resigned to it and everything went really well and I had a very positive experience.
I would recommend you give it a try, but good luck with whatever you decide.

hiya my lo was breech so gave the ecv ago as i was desparete to have a vb,but it was so painfull i had to tell them to stop...i had to have a c section but everything worked out just fine in the end!x

Thanks for your replies everyone. It seems everyone's experiences are very different. Well I've just got back from seeing the consultant and she's booked me in for an ECV tomorrow afternoon. She was very positive about it (I suppose she would be!) and said there was a 1 in 3 chance it would work. Apparently my baby hasn't engaged in my pelvis yet, it's still floating around, so that's in my favour. She also said they would monitor me before, during and after to make sure baby doesn't get distressed. And she also said in rare cases they have to deliver the baby by c-section if it does show signs of distress after the procedure, this scares me a little!!

So I think I'll have to give it a go. Like you say ollier2001 I've nothing to lose really.

Keep everything crossed for me that it's a success!!

Serena xxxx

thats what happened to me they will monitor baby before and after i stayed for about 2hrs after being monitored,im sure you will be fine....gud luk.x

Well I finally had my ECV yesterday (I chickened out on Tuesday, and it was postponed on Wednesday!) and it was a SUCCESS!! It did hurt but it was bearable and my little one turned at the 1st attempt. I feel a little bruised today, as if I've been punched in the stomach, but it was soo worth it and I'm still in shock that it worked! It now looks like I'll get the vaginal delivery I so wanted!

Thanks everyone.

Serena xxxx

serena! that is great news!!

i'm really glad it worked for you!! hope all goes according to plan with your vaginal delivery!!

love nicki

xxxxxx

Hi Serena - I'm so pleased that you finally got your ECV & that it was a complete success!!! I bet thats a weight of your mind..

Nat X x 39 wks + 6 days