My Baby is Breech

My Baby is Breech. And that means... what?

23/4/2015

If your baby is lying in the breech position (presenting bottom-first not head-first), late in pregnancy, you need information that is quick to access, easy to understand and unbiased. You’ll find easy to read and understand information in this book by Fiona McArthur with some quotes from mums who’ve been in this situation too.

The ‘BREECH BABY – A Guide For Parents’ is available on Kindle at Amazon.com.au $5.99 for an ‘instant’ easy to read download to your phone, or from 1st May as a paperback also from AMAZON.com (though the postage is nasty) or Fiona’s website. postage less than $2 but I order them in bundles with slow postage to try to keep the costs down so could be between shipments.

Fiona MacArthur, author, midwife, Mum.

Fiona has been a rural midwife for almost thirty years, still is, though more in the educator’s role for midwives and students now, unless it’s a busy day in birthing and she gets a birthing woman all to herself, which is a joy.

Fiona has been a published fiction author for fifteen years and published in non-fiction for the last five years. Fiona is a mother of five sons, born four in four and half years, and one baby to play with seven years later, so she understands about having babies from the other side too. The boys have all grown and she has the pleasure of enjoying her grandchildren now but she’s still passionate about new mums having the most empowering birth experience possible.

Fiona was co-founder of the TIMTAMs program (Teenage Information Mornings Teens As Mums), for young mums on the mid north coast of NSW, and still has young mums as good friends more than ten years later. Fiona is now a tiny part of a group of doctors and midwives in Australia promoting vaginal breech birth for women who have all their stars in alignment for a safe breech birth. She keeps with the same theme that women are amazing and can do anything and she’d like to help you find the answers you need in this book. Then it’s up to you and your caregiver to have a respectful discussion about your decisions for your breech baby’s birth.

It might have happened like this …

‘Everything was going along so nicely. Your nausea has gone, your baby’s due date is finally approaching, and the nursery is taking shape. Your midwife or doctor is doing your routine antenatal check at thirty-six weeks and baby pokes you.

You watch them warm their hands to palpate your belly, you see an unexpected frown as they feel, a re-check all over again, and then a prolonged listen to your baby’s heartbeat in an unusual place.

Your birth plan of arriving at hospital or birth centre when your body and your baby says it’s time to do so - disappears in a slide of ultrasound gel.

“We think your baby is breech!” The hastily arranged ultrasound confirms it. Suddenly everything is a little more complicated.

You have a breech baby.

So what does BREECH mean–apart from possibly even more of the uncomfortable little hard head under your rib cage that’s been driving you nuts?

What are you supposed to think, expect and do?

The best thing you can do is – be calm – because calm and confidence can achieve great things.

It is so important for you, as the mother, to stay in the centre of the intelligent, informative and respectful conversation about the choices you can consider.

In the past it wasn’t unusual for a mum to be unaware her baby was breech until someone felt her tummy in labour, or even when a bottom or a foot appeared as she gave birth, and we (the doctors and midwives) all carried on as if caring for a woman having a vaginal breech birth was a variation of normal.

The landscape has changed for women who wish to give birth to their breech babies vaginally at this time but it is still a choice you can consider if there is no medical reason to the contrary.’ From the BREECH BABY – A Guide For Parents.

Fiona has also published the ‘DON’T PANIC GUIDE TO BIRTH,’ in the same ‘conversation with a midwife’ tone, published by Penguin Australia in 2009. The DON’T PANIC GUIDE TO BIRTH is mum and dad friendly, and quick to read. It’s great for first time mums or anyone coming close to the end of pregnancy when we sometimes doubt, “What if I’ve forgotten what to do or I miss the start of labour”. Yep, I asked myself that too, Fiona says with a smile. ‘My young mums loved it.’

(Buy the print version from Fiona’s website (because she has 200 copies left from that print run), or the updated version in e-format ) as THE LITTLE BOOK OF BIRTH.

For fiction lovers Fiona finds joy in illustrating ordinary people can do extraordinary things, especially in the Australian outback, and her fiction novel RED SAND SUNRISE was published by Penguin Australia last year to wonderful reviews. Set in western Queensland it is the story of three half-sisters setting up a medical outpost for pregnant women and the way the challenges of the outback brought them together.

Fiona’s next release appears 30th June, THE HOMESTEAD GIRLS, has five diverse and not just in ages, women living together on a drought stricken sheep station. With the two of the women working for the flying doctor there are moments of high medical drama, of course, and Fiona’s requisite illustrations of the strength in women.

And this Message from Fiona:

Thanks so much, Catherine, for inviting me here to share my excitement with my birth books. I love the whole concept of Bellabirth.org and the so important message of ‘Informed Birth’ and that there is no ‘one way to birth’ but there is ‘you and your baby’s way.’ I wish you peace and joy and power in your birth experiences

With love

Fiona