Breech presentation at 36 weeks of pregnancy

Hi,

Oh wow, that sounds really tough. I can kind of imagine how you're feeling.
My first daughter (now 17 months old) was born via a planned C-section because she was in breech. I didn't have any issues with the C-section itself (except that it's a bit weird to suddenly have your baby in your arms on a scheduled appointment), but I did have complications from the anesthesia (spinal headache that wasn't immediately recognized or acknowledged by the hospital - the postpartum period was really not fun). My second baby is in a good position now, and the OB prefers a natural birth, but the choice is still mine. Once you've had a C-section, you're allowed to "choose" whatever you want. But I do have to meet a few conditions first, including that the baby drops naturally. And during labor, the dilation needs to progress well and not take too long, otherwise they'll still intervene and it becomes an "emergency" C-section. I'm not really looking forward to that last part. I'd rather have everything planned than potentially going through all the pain/discomfort and hard work only to end up under the knife anyway. For weeks now, I've been going back and forth on what to do. Last week I "gave up" and left the decision to the OB because I wanted to do what she thought was best for my baby.

I had already decided to give birth in a different hospital than the first time. This was recommended by the midwife (it wouldn't have occurred to me on my own) so there will be fewer memories associated with the first time (the baby also had to spend a week on the pediatric ward besides my own "troubles".

Also, just like with the first time, it was stated that the baby's well-being comes first (one hospital handles breech differently than another). The hospital where I gave birth the first time said "with a breech position, with a natural birth you put the risk on the baby, and with a C-section you put the risk on the mother". This hospital takes a very different stance and says for a first baby in breech "if the other conditions are good, we'd prefer you to try for a natural birth". And they have a few reasons for this.

I don't know what the reason was that you had an "emergency" C-section the first time, but isn't it possible that with a natural birth you could run into the same problem again, making the risks even higher for the baby? No matter how hard it is and how much you dread it, try to let go and trust the doctors' decisions. A planned C-section is also very different from an emergency C-section. You can prepare for it much better and let them know what you're worried about, and maybe they can take that into account to make it as comfortable as possible.

Really try to enjoy the last few weeks because it's such a shame to let your pregnancy be affected by this. With my first, they also tried to turn the baby. It didn't work, so please don't expect too much because I think it fails more often than it succeeds. Keep the goal of bringing a healthy child into the world in mind. That's what it's ultimately about, and I think very few people get the birth they originally planned. Resisting it only causes stress for yourself and automatically for your baby.