Breech births

Introduction

Breech births can give rise to serious complications for both mother and baby, and very often necessitates caesarian section. Two recent research studies have revealed that both acupuncture and hypnosis are useful complementary therapies which can help to correct a breech.

Acupuncture and moxibustion to correct breech births

 

Moxibustion is a treatment commonly used by acupuncturists to stimulate the acu-points. The Moxa (which is the herb ‘Mugwort’) is heated and then either placed on acupuncture needles inserted on acu-points or alternatively it is held above the skin to produce a focused radiant heat. Laser acupuncture by contrast uses laser beams focussed on acu-points.

Researchers at the Hebammenlehranstalt Luisen hospital in Germany monitored 55 pregnant women with breech presentation who were given moxibustion to the Zhiyin acupuncture point during pregnancy to promote conversion to a cephalic presentation. Results at different gestational weeks were recorded and then compared with a similar observation series of 615 other pregnant women with breech presentation which converted spontaneously and with a Chinese laser-acupuncture study.

The results revealed that although Chinese laser-acupuncture studies have shown a significant increase in breech corrections, moxibustion produced a significant lower rate of conversion. Sonographic results revealed no significant differences between the converted and the non-converted groups treated with moxibustion and two patients developed early uterine contractions. The researchers therefore concluded that moxibustion should be indicated only under medical care.

Hypnotherapy to correct breech births

 

A study conducted at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, USA evaluated the efficacy of hypnotherapy in converting a breech presentation to a vertex presentation. One hundred pregnant women whose fetuses were in breech position at 37 to 40 weeks' gestation were analysed and a matched comparison group of women with similar obstetrical and sociodemographic parameters derived from databases for other studies from the same time period and geographical areas.

Hypnotherapy was given in the form of suggestions for general relaxation with release of fears and provided whenever it was convenient and possible for the women until they were delivered of the baby or the baby converted to the vertex position. A successful conversion for the intervention group was scored when the baby spontaneously converted to the vertex position before delivery or if there was a successful external cephalic version. The conversion rate of the women receiving hypnotherapy was compared with a control group who received standard obstetrical care without the opportunity for hypnosis.

The results revealed that eighty-one per cent (81%) of the fetuses in the intervention group converted to vertex presentation compared with forty eight per cent (48%) of those in the control group, demonstrating a considerable and statistically significant therapeutic effect of the hypnotherapy treatment.

The report concluded that motivated women can be influenced by a skilled hypnotherapist in such a manner that their fetuses have an increased frequency of conversion to vertex presentation.