MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia:Breech - series: Breech presentation

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Breech - series: Breech presentation

Breech - series
Illustrations:

Normal position of the baby

Breech presentation

Types of breech presentation

Complications of breech

Correcting breech

Other presentations

If your baby is breech, his bottom is the part of his body closest to the birth canal. No one is sure what causes a breech presentation, but it happens in 3% to 5% of single-baby deliveries.

As your pregnancy nears full term, your caregiver will check your baby's position during regular prenatal visits. Common methods for assessing fetal position include vaginal exams, feeling your abdomen, and listening to the baby's heartbeat with a Doppler device.

Update Date: 5/26/2008

Updated by: Susan Storck, MD, FACOG, Clinical Teaching Faculty, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington School of Medicine; Chief, Eastside Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, Redmond, Washington; and . Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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