Alison Thorburn
“Katrina provided me with reassurance and education on having a baby in breech position and what labour may look like to be safe for both baby and me.”
I met Katrina through chance after being told at 35 weeks that my 3rd baby was in breech position. I was told about the risks of going into spontaneous labour whilst a baby is in breech position and that this would most likely result in an emergency caesarean. Having had two previous early spontaneous labour’s I was quite worried that this could occur at any time. An ECV couldn’t be booked until 37 weeks and 4 days, this being beyond the gestation that I had my older two children at.
I had been told to look online at Spinning Babies but the instructions of lying upside down on the ironing board was incomprehensible to me. Lying upside down off the couch also seemed impossible when getting off the couch at 37 weeks was hard.
On a panicked visit to the pregnancy assessment centre prior to the ECV I met a midwife who reassured me that plenty of women birth in breech position and that plenty of babies also move into the right position before labour.
This midwife gave me Katrina’s number and I saw her in the days before the ECV.
Katrina provided me with reassurance and education on having a baby in breech position and what labour may look like to be safe for both baby and me. Katrina provided External pelvic release work - making the lying upside down on the Breech board make sense and providing me exercises to attempt to move this baby into position.
The day of the ECV arrived and I had now come to sit comfortably that my baby may not turn and that was ok! On one push my baby turned into position at 37 weeks and 4 days.
Having had two early labours’ that both resulted with me not being with my babies for those golden hours my goal with this birth was to get beyond 36 weeks and to have those golden hours.
At 39 weeks and 4 days I went into spontaneous labour. On that Christmas Eve when I arrived in birth suites nothing comforted me more than seeing “that midwife” that calmed me in the pregnancy assessment centre and introduced me to Katrina.
I believe that it was through these two women that I reached those goals of going beyond 36 weeks, having those golden hours and having a turned baby.
