Breech Updates

The Midwives Alliance conference offered two wonderful presentations on breech. First, Midwife Abby Kinne of Ohio (right, helping a student) taught a day long class emphasizing no-touch but helping midwives get hands-on skills with a wonderful womb-anikin from Australia called Sophie and her Mum.

Thanks to Candace Robinson for the pictures.

I couldn’t sit back! I so wanted to “feel” the models.
This picture could have the caption, “Each one teach one.”
Which is not to say, “caught one; taught one.”

My turn. Hands-off, remember, unless… there’s a compelling reason to go get your child.
For instance, in a class room where resolving the shoulder dystocia of a breech baby is being taught!

I nearly cried when I saw Jan’s expression
– on my face!–

I miss her so and
am deeply grateful that she yet comes to visit me during breech births,
even with a manikin.

No, you can’t get the anterior arm like this. Rotate and get the posterior arm.
You know this from Lovset. 180 then 90 degrees… unless 90 will do it without rotating the baby’s chin to the symphysis.

Now I can get the posterior arm. (of course, if the mother were on her hands and knees, this would be easier on the baby. But this is if the mother has been knocked on conscious and there’s no one to hold her on her hands and knees, I guess! )

Find the “nape” of the neck…

Lift the legs to bring the face slowly out…

And here’s the baby!

I’m laughing in amazement and surprise at how heavy “Sophie” is. She’s 7 and an half pounds and comes out feeling much like a newborn.
Don’t worry, we won’t cut her cord and she’ll pink up very soon!

(I’d love to get a “Sophie and her Mum” —as soon as I can raise several thousand dollars!! I’d love to present the shoulder dystocia training with this set up. We can rig her for hands and knees birth…

It will require a grant from somewhere…)

Next, Betty-Anne Daviss of Understanding Birth Better taught us what recent studies were out, and the news from Frankfort and Tel-Aviv and Ottawa on breech. One of the recent articles on breech is hers and Ken Johnson’s!
Rixa Freeze does a wonderful job discussing the breech articles at her blog Stand and Deliver.
There was much more fun and education at the conference. More later!