ECV

If I’m right… ECV is where they try to move the baby from a breech to head down position? This is something that is definitely more than “just a scan” xxx

@Katie yeah I thought that, they literally gave me no information about risks/benefits just an appointment letter which says I’m having an ECV and the date/time. Online it talks about potential for emergency c section, some hospitals seem to advise fasting, some say you can’t drive yourself… I’m so confused!

Yeah I know my friend was offered one but there are quite a few risks (I THINK) so she decided not to go for it and an elective c section instead but each to their own of course!! I’m sure there is lots of positive stories too. Again, I’ve not been through it myself but I do know of people who have rejected them xxx

I looked into ECV when my last was breech - wasn’t right for us in the end as we had a few extra risks like low weight baby. I went with C section instead. There are risks to ECV, mostly pain, it not working, and yes emergency c section if the baby seems stressed. Definitely phone them and ask for an appointment ahead of time to discuss, it’s important you understand what you’re signing up for. Tell them you need this to provide “informed consent.” It’s ridiculous you were not given proper information of the risks and benefits! If you do want to go forward you need to be prepared to have an emergency c section. So you need your hospital bag with you and someone else to take you to the appointment.

@Francis thank you!! I’ll definitely give them a call tomorrow. I was half expecting it so I had some questions in my head, but I was so thrown off by how casual it all was that my mind went blank and I walked out totally blindsided! I was expecting to go back in and sit down and talk about it with someone 😂

I had an ECV... Its definitely not a scan! They should have spoken to you about the options and the risks and stats and stuff before booking you in, definitely flag this with them. It was successful for me, but I know that they have a 50% success rate of turning baby. When i went for mine they monitored baby for an hour, give you an injection in your thigh, they do the turn which is what it sounds like they are literally turning the baby with their hands. It's sore but for me it was really quick and within 2-3 minutes baby was successfully turned and stayed down! I compared the feeling afterwards of if you get a really pressured massage and you feel a bit bruised for a day or two, but no worse than that. The sore bits for me were the bony bits as they had to get baby's head out from under my ribs. I think they would know pretty quickly if it wasn't going to be successful and you can stop them any time. Then afterwards they scan to check position and monitor baby again for an hour.

There are risks of things like placental abruption where you'd need an emergency c section the same day, however statistically i thought this was pretty low and I had no additional risk factors so felt like it was worth a try as to me breech birth felt like much more of a risk. You need to have the risks with stats explained to you if you can - I was given leaflets to read through before I booked in.

@Amy thank you so much for sharing your experience! It sounds like it was a really positive thing for you. I’m definitely going to ring them tomorrow and ask for more information x