This website was created to coincide with an event at the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital in February 2011.  After several years worth of planning and advocacy, led by women who passionately felt that other women should have the option of a vaginal breech birth if that is what they want, the MSLC (Maternity Services Liaison Committee) hosted a day of training, "Introduction to Breech Birth with Mary Cronk MBE."

The MSLC very much envision a future where women can choose to givebirth to their breech babies, with experienced attendants (whether they be midwives or obstetricians).

If you share a similar vision and want to collaborate with our project, please e-mail us.

BreechBirthUK Yahoo Discussion Group - find supportive mothers who have experienced breech pregnancies and births, and professionals with an interest in supporting breech birth.

What is the issue with breech birth?

Breech babies have always had a higher rate of handicap and perinatal mortality and morbidity, and it is not always easy to tell when this is due to what happens during the birth itself (whether normal or surgical), and what could not have been prevented.  Therefore, for about as long as safe caesarean sections have been available, professionals have debated about the safest way to deliver breech babies. 

In the late 1990's, some research was carried out which seemed to indicate very clearly that delivering every baby by caesarean section resulted in fewer deaths.  After that research was published, the vast majority of obstetric units in the UK changed their policies to one of advising all women with breech babies to delivery by caesarean section.  Since that time, the original research has been heavily criticised, and some more recent research has indicated that with proper support and screening, breech delivery can achieve similar results to elective caesarean section.  In response to this, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists changed their guidelines again in 2006 to recommend that all women be adequately counselled and offered the choice to birth their breech babies vaginally if they preferred.

So why is it still difficult to choose to give birth vaginally to breech babies?

In many units, local guidelines still suggest that a woman should be "advised" to deliver by caesarean section when her baby is breech, and this is the experience of most women in the UK.  The main reason for this advice is that practitioner experience levels, which are one important factor supporting a good outcome, have significantly declined.  Given that only around 3-4% of babies present breech at term, and most if not all of these are being delivered by caesarean section, doctors and midwives have little opportunity to develop skills to support a breech birth, so the lack of experience self-perpetuates.  In addition, most units operate on shift patterns, so those who do have breech experience are not enabled to be on-call for upcoming breech births.