MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia:Breech - series: Correcting breech

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Breech - series: Correcting breech

Breech - series
Illustrations:

Normal position of the baby

Breech presentation

Types of breech presentation

Complications of breech

Correcting breech

Other presentations

If you're near term and your baby is breech, your doctor may try to manually move him into a head-down position for delivery. There are two ways to do this: During an external version, the doctor moves your baby by pressing on the outside of your belly. During an internal version, the doctor inserts his hand through your vagina and cervix and moves the baby from the inside.

If your doctor can't manually reposition your baby, a cesarean section may be needed.

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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