Breech Baby, Acupuncture, & Moxibustion

Breech is another variation of normal in birth! I know this sounds completely foreign, but hear me out. Throughout pregnancy the baby can be in a variety of positions and can shift at all points during development. As the due month approaches, many women will choose to get an ultrasound to check on baby’s position in the pelvis, though not always necessary as checking yourself at home is also effective (will explain that in another post). Most providers desire the baby to be in an “OA”, or occipital anterior position; which means head down and the baby is facing towards the back because of the “ease of labor”. Sometimes around the 32-week mark, the baby shifts into a Breech position, or bottom down into the pelvis. If you or someone you know discovers baby is in breech position you may feel fear and pressure from friends/family, or even your own provider. It’s not uncommon to hear sayings like “Baby needs to rotate, or else…”, or “I am going to schedule your C-section because you cannot deliver Breech”, and many more statements that are fear based, blaming, and a failure-response approach. I am here to tell you, you are NOT failing. Your baby is NOT doing anything wrong. Breech is a variation of normal because the baby can rotate at ANY point of the pregnancy right up to delivery and believe me when I say there are providers, who are confident and trained, in how to deliver breech babies.

If you desire for your baby to rotate out of a Breech position; I am going to tell you how Acupuncture, Moxibustion, and Myofasical release can and does help move baby from Breech position to head down.

The optimal time to start supporting baby moving into a head down position is 33-to-34 weeks. During the Acupuncture consultation, I will discuss how the pregnancy is going, any symptoms such as back/hip/pelvic tightness, the findings of any recent ultrasounds, ask about emotional stress, and what your goals and expectations are from me with treatment. Part of the exam will be accessing baby’s position through the stomach, checking any tension points of the back, hips, and legs, and do Tongue and Pulse to get see how the internal body is doing. Then, we have mom lay on her side with pillow support and do selected Acupuncture prescriptions points based on the mom’s needs. The Acupuncture points help relax the body, align the pelvis, and support the gentle movement of the baby into optimal position. After 30 to 40 minutes of Acupuncture, I add the moxibustion on the Acupuncture point of UB 67 for 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Moxibustion is the warming of an herbal stick made up of mugwort and other herbal blends. The moxa helps warm the channel, expel cold and tension, and helps move qi in the direction we are directing it. Once the Acupuncture is taken out, I offer a myofascial hip release to help loosen the broad and round ligaments to provide more space for baby to move.

The cool thing about 34 to 36 weeks of pregnancy is the baby usually will go through a growth spurt. Here, they will get big and usually their weight of their head will help keep them head down once they do a rotation. Acupuncture is performed weekly up till labor to support rotation of baby’s position and to try out best to keep them in that position. In between Acupuncture treatments, we provide moxa sticks with instructions in how to do daily moxa on the UB 67 point for a few minutes a day. This helps support and solidify the treatment goal. To see how Acupuncture on UB 67 and Moxa above this point looks like, check out this reel on our Instagram page by clicking here.

To schedule an Acupuncture Consultation, feel free to call 480.690.8933.