Breech Birth - Which Is Safer - Caesarean Section Or Vaginal Delivery?

In normal pregnancy cases, the babies are delivered with head coming first. However, there may also be the cases where the babies are delivered with buttocks coming first because of the specific position of the baby inside the uterus. The breech birth is a term that is used to define this specific position of the baby in the uterus. These types of delivery cases are also referred to as breech presentation.

The Safety Factors

There are several factors that affect such delivery cases, such as the skills of the birth attendant, progress of labor, maturity of the baby, hyperextension of the fetal head, fetal size in terms of maternal pelvic size, the number of times the expected mother has given birth before, and of course, the type of breech presentation. In case of twins, if the second twin is in breech position while the first one was delivered normally with head coming first, the risks involved in the breech birth defects of the second twin is minimal. However, if both the twins are delivered with bottom coming first, there are larger risks associated with the birth of the second twin.

The different types of breech birth may be put into the following four categories.

Kneeling Breech

This type of breech delivery is extremely rare to find. In this type of pregnancy case, one or both legs of the baby extend at the hips and flexes at the knees – putting the body of the baby in a kneeling position.

Footling Breech

This type of breech birth is also rare to find in case of mature delivery. However, this is relatively very common with premature fetuses. In these pregnancy cases, the bottom remains at a higher position while the one or both feet come first.

Complete Breech

This is one of the most common breech positions, where the baby is sitting in cross-legged position. The feet remain beside the bottom while the hips and knees are flexed.

Frank Breech

Frank breech is perhaps the most common breech position. Researches and studies show that seven out of ten breech birth cases comes under this category. In the Frank breech position, the legs of the baby are extended at the knees and flexed at the hip. This is usually a position where the feet almost touch the ears of the baby. In these pregnancy cases, the bottom of the baby comes first.

In most part of the world, including the Great Britain, Australia, and USA, a breech baby is usually delivered through the caesarean section. However, the risks are still there – like in any other major surgery. What is more, cesarean section for the breech delivery has also been found to be riskier for the mother than the baby in comparison to planned vaginal breech baby birth.