When babies get into breech positions, it’s often because of very important reasons,
mostly medical ones. And when that’s the case, there is really not much you can do about it.
However, many babies get into breech positions because of factors which CAN be addressed:
one is our modern lifestyle and the other one are pregnancy-related complications.
And so, in this video, we are first gonna share with you 4 proven ways to avoid a breech position
during pregnancy by making teeny-tiny adjustments in your daily life and by minimizing the risk
of pregnancy-related complications. Yes! And then afterwards, we are also gonna share with you THE
most effective exercise on a birthing ball which has not only helped many many women at Nathalie’s
clinic turn their baby’s head down. This exercise has even helped turn breech babies in clinical
studies. So, let’s get started!
Alright! So, why can our modern lifestyle prevent a baby from turning and
what can we do about it? Well, the thing is that, nowadays, thanks to technology, we can basically
manage our entire lives from our sofa. You know, we can order groceries and food from our sofa. We
can have jobs that allow us to work from home. And that’s all really cool. But the problem is that
these things often not only result in a lack of movement. It also means that we are mostly sitting
throughout the day. As a result, a pregnant woman may predominantly be in a position which can
make it very difficult for her baby to turn. And that’s particularly gonna be a problem, if, on top of that,
she also assumes a bad sitting position. Yes. Low-slung sofas and bean bags are great examples
because in both cases, you are sitting very low, which basically means that the level of your hips
is lower than the level of your knees. Or maybe, you do sit on a chair but with your legs crossed.
In both cases, you make it unnecessarily difficult for your baby to turn. Yes.
And so, here is our first proven way to avoid a breech position during pregnancy:
whenever you sit, take a moment and check if your baby has enough space to turn. For example:
do not cross your legs when you sit! Instead, open up your legs a bit. Also, avoid sofas and chairs
and sitting positions in general, in which the level of your knees is higher than the level of
your hips. And finally, try not to sit in a car for too long, because the shape of a car seat is
normally not ideal if you want your baby to turn. Although it does depend on the model of the car.
Yes, but it’s not only about the right sitting position. It’s also about the
right sleeping position because most babies turn at night, while their mother is asleep.
So, the next proven way to avoid a breech position in your pregnancy is to make sure that your baby
has enough space to turn while you are asleep. And you would do that by keeping both, your hips
and legs in a slightly open position during the night with the help of a pillow. In fact, we have
recorded a video in which we explain exactly how to keep both your hips and pelvis in an
open position during the night in order to provide your baby with as much space as possible to turn,
no matter if your baby is breech or simply has not turned yet. If you like, watch it
right after this video. Okay, now, as already mentioned, another main cause why a baby may get
into a breech position, are pregnancy-related complications. Examples of such complications
can be, you know, pre-eclampsia which is a condition which involves high blood-pressure during pregnancy,
gestational diabetes, a low-lying placenta and many more.
Now, in MOST cases, even though you may face pregnancy-related complications, your baby is
still gonna be absolutely fine and turn at some point in your pregnancy. So, please don’t worry!
However, SOMETIMES, these complications CAN prevent your baby from turning. And in very very
rare cases, they may cause a pre-term birth. And the chances for your baby to be breech when it’s
a preterm birth are always much higher, simply because your baby may not have fully rotated yet.
Now, of course, it will not always be possible to avoid pregnancy-related complications. But
at least, you can try minimizing the risk of such complications. And the most important thing to do
to minimize that risk is to avoid smoking, alcohol and drugs which is our next proven way to avoid a
breech position. Don’t worry, it’s all I am going to say about this, because I really don’t want to
state the obvious that you already know. Yes and earlier we mentioned that our lifestyle often
means less movement during the day. The reality is that lack of movement can also contribute to
pregnancy-related complications. And so, another proven and in our experience probably the most
effective way not only to a avoid breech position due to pregnancy-related complications, but also
due to lifestyle-related habits is to stay active during your pregnancy. In other words: exercise.
Honey? Knitting is not exercising...
Regular exercise cannot only help minimize the risk of pregnancy-related complications.
It can also support the whole process of your baby turning, as we are going to see. Now, if
you are not up to doing anything fancy, going for a 30 minute walk every day during your pregnancy
could already help you get a big step closer to avoiding a breech position,
given that your doctor allows you to exercise. However, if you are open to using a birthing ball,
then there is something that we consider to be the most effective exercise to avoid a breech
position in pregnancy. And that’s because in clinical studies, this exercise has not only
helped babies turn head down. Scientists also found evidence that it can help correct a baby’s
position in the womb. And indeed, it has helped many women to correct
mostly an oblique position of their baby, not only in clinical studies, but also in Nathalie’s clinic,
by the way. Therefore, this exercise can be a great way to avoid a breech position. So,
let’s have a look at what you need to do. Right! The exercise that we are going to show you is
called “pelvic rocking” and it actually consists of three separate exercises. And you can do them
on a daily basis throughout your pregnancy, BUT, only if your healthcare provider allows it, okay?
You must get the approval of your healthcare provider first, before you try these exercises,
because maybe there are good reasons why you should not do them, okay? Right! So first of all,
you are going to need a birthing ball. And please make sure it’s the right size, because remember,
you want to avoid that you sit too low. But you also want to avoid a size that is too large,
because you would not be able to keep your balance. If you haven’t gotten one already,
this is the model that I recommend to all women at the clinic. It’s not expensive and
it has been stress-tested by our son. Yeah, he really loves doing that. He could do this all-day-long! Again daddy, again!
Okay! The first one of our 3 pelvic rocking exercises
is called “ROCKING”. So, please make sure that you sit with your knees bent at a 90 degrees angle,
back straight and both feet planted on the ground! Moreover, keep your legs in an open
position to give your baby a bit more room and to make it easier for you to keep your balance.
Now, once you are in that position, all you need to do is gently rock from one side to the other
side. And while you do this, make sure that you keep your feet planted on the ground at all times.
You can also place your hands either on your legs or your hips to support your movements and
to help you keep your balance. Also, try to keep your shoulders still during the entire exercise.
Do this about 4 times. And then repeat the exercise another 4 times, but this time, rock forward and
backward. However, please be extremely careful not to lose your balance when you do so.
Just rock back and forth VEERY gently, putting the weight on your tailbone first and then on
your pelvis. The second one of our three pelvic rocking exercises is called “DRAWING CIRLES”. So,
first of all, I want you to go into the same starting position than you did before, i.e. legs
in an open position, knees bent at a 90 degrees angle, feet planted on the ground, back straight.
And then all you have to do is draw nice big circles with your hips in a clockwise direction.
Try to do 4 rounds and then try another 4 rounds, but this time, go into the opposite direction.
Again, make sure to always keep your feet on the ground to keep your balance. If anything
feels awkward or uncomfortable or if you are feeling dizzy, stop the exercise immediately.
Okay, and then the last one of our three pelvic rocking exercises is called “FIGURE 8” and it
involves moving your hips in circles too. However, this time, we draw the figure 8 with our hips.
And we start by drawing them sidewards. So, simply start on one side and draw the figure 8 with your
hips. Try to keep your hips nice and stable. And simply focus on the movement of your hips.
Keep your feet on the ground and your legs open so that it is easier for you to keep the balance.
You can also hold on to a chair or something else while you are doing this exercise
to help you with more stability. And then after 4 rounds, do another 4 rounds,
but this time, do them back and forth. So, simply draw the figure 8 by moving your hips back and
forth. However, please be very careful when you go backwards so that you don’t lose your balance!
Okay, so the exercises that we just showed you are the exact exercises that scientists used
in THEIR studies to help babies turn head down and to correct their position in the womb. And
they also worked for many many women at Nathalie’s clinic. However, please always keep in mind that
just because they have work for other women, does not necessarily mean that they will work for you too. Again,
sometimes there are very good reasons, often medical reasons why a baby simply cannot turn. With
that said, we really hope that this video helps you avoid a breech position in your pregnancy.
But if it does NOT help you and if your baby is still breech by week 34,
then there is something else you can try. It is a simple approach which involves breech baby
turning exercises and a tool from Traditional Chinese Medicine, which is called moxibustion.
If that’s something you wanna try, check out the video that we have recorded for you. Yes! Thanks
so much for watching! And if you have found this video helpful, we would be super grateful if you could
leave us a like or even a comment in the comment section below! And for more useful tips and
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