booboo mum
Member
Hi jhston, I'm wondering how your wife got on at her check-up this week - I hope everything is OK?Hi jhston,
By any chance is your gynae planning their own CNY holidays? Just check it out - it came to my mind that sometimes their personal agendas can tarnish the advice they give. A C section on Jan 13 might be quite convenient for them.
I would be inclined to seek another opinion, and in the next several days before Tuesday, get your wife to try all the tricks/techniques to get the baby to turn head down. Since it sounds like you are paying for each appointment as you go, maybe you can just arrange to consult a different obstetrician instead of your current one next Tuesday. They should feel the position of the baby (and do a quick scan if there's any doubt), as well as go through all your medical records - you will need to get them all if you don't have copies already, or if you decide to visit a different hospital. If your wife still has a lot of amniotic fluid (they can measure and show you when they do the scan), then that will reassure you somewhat that at least the baby has enough space to turn.
(For the tricks/techniques, go to the facebook link above, and also refer to this other link which I just remembered i found last night when I was researching. You need to scroll 1/3 of the way down the page to get to the relevant section, "How to turn a breech baby": Prenatal Breech Issues - from Ronnie Falcão's Midwife Archives It is very good and detailed.)
FYI - My baby is breech too (now 35 weeks) and I expect I will be having a similar discussion with my doctor about C section if the baby remains breech. My doctor (from NUH) told me at my last check-up that it's rare for them to turn later in the pregnancy and he doesn't advise vaginal delivery if baby is breech. However, my prenatal teacher said they turn any time between 32-37 weeks, and not to worry as babies only turn when they are ready, and some at the very last minute. So I did a lot of reading about how to help the baby turn, and after reading the link here last night, I have used the torchlight shining on my lower belly, along with playing relaxing classical music using the ipod earphones tucked into the top of my underpants! Today I sensed a lot of movement, so I think it is having some effect!
Given the statistics that breech babies in full term pregnancy are only 2-3% of cases, I am quite optimistic for both of us, that we would not be in that 2-3%. Worrying about it too much is more likely to stop the baby turning - I read one theory that babies stay breech when the mother is fearful (they stay closer to her heart to soothe her) so talking gently to the baby and giving it permission to turn can also work.
If my baby hasn't turned by my next check-up, then I will go and see a Chiropractor for the pelvis adjustment (Webster's technique) - described in the links I've given you. You can find it on youtube too. It realigns the mother's pelvis and creates a bit of extra space which can encourage the baby to turn down. Definitely worth a try. Then as a very final resort, before C section, I might opt for the doctor to do ECV (External Cephalic Version), although I don't like the look of it. It would be better than a C section I think: External cephalic version (ECV) to turn a breech baby - YouTube
Here is a very interesting article on Gestational Diabetes which might help you and your wife: Gestational Diabetes: A Common-Sense Approach - iVillage
My baby is on the larger side of average, but I have not been tested for Gestational diabetes. NUH makes us pee on a stick every 2 weeks and so far that has been normal so perhaps they would have only tested me for GD if something had shown up there. So I have read up on "big" babies too (in a general context) as I want to be ready in case anybody tells me to induce for fear it will not fit through my pelvis! But I have learned that "clinically" big babies are defined as 4kg+ (quite unlikely!) , and my doctor reassured that there is usually no such thing as a baby too big for its mother.
I sympathise with your situation and the expenses you are facing. It doesn't seem fair that someone married to a Singaporean be charged the higher rates.
I am a foreigner too, so we are paying the private rates at NUH. We paid about $80-90 per consultation up until week 21, then signed up for the $700 package which covers all visits from 21weeks to labour. Labour is a separate bill, and since I don't have any coverage from my employer, I bought private insurance for that part, expecting to break-even as the insurance was several thousand dollars.
I wish you and your wife the very best and it is great that you are investigating things and questioning what you are being told. No matter how much we like or trust our doctors, it pays to have a healthy skepticism and do our own research as well and get 2nd opinions. Let me know how you get on after next week!
I had my checkup yesterday and the baby has turned down!! Our doctor was quite surprised as I am 36 weeks, and asked what we did to facilitate his turning, as the baby has been Breech for the entire pregnancy. We are very happy. We will never know why the baby turned down, and whether it was because of any of the things I did from those links. It was probably just that the baby decided on his own that he was ready. Just like what I read - they turn down anywhere from 32-37 weeks.