Thursday, April 05, 2007

Movement, sort of

This morning, I awoke to rather painful machinations occurring in my pelvis. Could it be? I wondered. Did the baby flip? I began to feel lots of sharp pains near my cervix, which caused me to wonder whether those were his little hands down there now, punching away.


Well, it appears he is still breech and may have just unfurled his legs - ie, he has moved from the frank breech position (which is considered the least bad of all breech positions) to complete breech. See pirated image at right. This is my OB's best guess, based on her palpation and my description of cervical/vaginal pains.



I made the mistake of asking her why some babies are breech. She said no one really knows, but perhaps it could have to do with an anatomical abnormality (like his possible clubfoot) or maybe it's related to his tris0my 20 mosaicism. I've penciled "worry constantly" into my calendar for the next five to six weeks.

If he hasn't magically turned by my next appointment (two weeks from now), we will be scheduling a c-section to take place between 39 and 40 weeks. While I am attempting various DIY turning techniques, I am not going to try the external cephalic version; I realize this decision may seem foolhardy to many. But the issue is that they give you a uterus-relaxing drug, and it makes your heart race like you're having a panic attack. This is my least favorite feeling in the entire world, aside, perhaps, from what I might feel if I were forced to tell Dick Cheney that I esteemed him greatly and considered him a paragon of virtue. And also it doesn't work that well for first pregnancies, and if anything goes wrong (e.g., cord compression), you have to have a c-section right then. Anyway, I hope not to regret this decision, if it indeed comes to that.


In other news, I was up three pounds in two weeks, which pleased me, even if it may have been partially due to the fact that my appointment was later than usual, giving me more time to stuff things down my gullet. My blood pressure seemed higher than usual - 118 over 62 - but they said it was fine. Uterus is measuring at 32 weeks; it's behind but growing at a steady rate. I don't think she told me the heartrate, now that I think of it. I also got a swab for strep throat, since one tonsil has been sore for a week, but I don't really think I have it.

One of my close friends was due April 17, but it was decided yesterday that she should be induced today for a variety of reasons (large baby, swelling, dilation, doctor going on vacation next week). She's running around doing last-minute logistics today. Luckily for them, they already have a name picked out, unlike us.

4 comments:

C. said...

Pardon me, but that is crap. I was breech, and so were both my sister's were also breech. Cause: the only thing I can think of is we are all stubborn. I know hard not to worry, but you made it this far and youre doing great.

Anonymous said...

Or maybe he just wants to be breech because it has a better view. Or maybe it is just more comfortable for him. Try not to worry too much. I know, easier said than done.

velo girl said...

My little guy was frank breech right up until my water broke (3 days before scheduled c-section). We labored, but ended up having a c-section anyway because things didn't progress.

We decided not to do the manual version because it sounded stressful for him (and me) and because I was told they often flip back around (particularly for first-time mothers). I did do moxa which may or may not have helped.

Good luck!

Midwifette said...

Stubborn little guy! have you explored moxabustion and psyllium remedies? Maybe worth a try. It is really is worth a go to get himk to turn - I'm sure I don't need to list the benefits of a normal delivery over a seciton, both for you AND for Stubborn Baby. Good luck!