Into the Breech: This midwife says breech births are safe and natural
CBC’s Brian Goldman’s “White Coat-Black Art” presents an update on the state of breech birth in Canada.
“Breech, which make up 4 per cent of total births, means the baby comes out bottom first. A breech birth is difficult because the bottom doesn’t widen the birth canal as much as head-first delivery. It takes more skill and experience to get the head out without injuring the baby and to do it quickly enough for the baby to start breathing on its own.
Daviss believes that breech births are not only safe, but preferable to Caesarian sections. There’s some evidence the medical community is coming around to her way of thinking. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada has published guidelines recommending doctors no longer do C-sections routinely when a baby is breech. That’s a revision on its previous stand.”