Most babies who make their way into the world come head first. This provides the best dynamics for birth, where the contractions are working on that so-cute little bum, rather than the head, and the legs are out of the way. Babies change positions a lot through pregnancy, but by 36-37 weeks most are head down, and settle in.
Breech babies are those that remain with their head up. A baby who is bottom or feet first can have more difficulty being born. This can cause problems for the mother and baby, and the baby is more likely to be born by caesarean section. One technique to try if your baby is breech is moxibustion.
Moxibustion, or moxa, is the burning of the herb mugwort (Artemisia), to create gentle warmth to stimulate an acupuncture point. It is a traditional technique in Chinese medicine where the final point on the Bladder channel is stimulated to encourage the baby into the optimal position. The point, (Bl67 Zhu Yin, or Reaching Yin), is at the outer corner of the little toe. The Bladder channel carries qi down the back of the body from head to foot, then transforms into the Kidney channel, which runs from the sole up the inner leg and through the uterus. The last point on a channel is often used to increase the flow into the next channel. ‘Reaching Yin’ in the name refers to the moving Yang energy of the Bladder channel transforming into the nourishing Yin energy of the Kidney channel. This then flows straight to the uterus to gently hold and nurture your baby into the position that is best for them.
This is a bit of a weird technique (even for us), and scepticism is natural. A very recent Cochrane review examined the evidence for the effectiveness of moxibustion at Bl67 for breech babies. Cochrane reviews are the strictest standard of assessment of the scientific evidence across all studies that have been conducted, and their conclusions are always extremely cautious.
The Cochrane review found that “Moxibustion plus usual care probably reduces the number of breech babies at birth more than usual care alone or sham moxibustion plus usual care.” In addition, the review also found that “Moxibustion plus usual care probably reduces the use of oxytocin, a hormone used to begin or improve contractions during labour.” This may have been an unexpected (and welcome) finding, but fits in with the idea that optimal position leads to a labour that does not require induction or augmentation.
Moxa is begun around 33-34 weeks gestation, or later when breech position is identified, and is carried out for 15 minutes daily, for 7-10 days. Not all babies will turn; sometimes they are too tangled up, or just comfy.
Moxibustion is NOT used for those with the following:
· Placenta previa
· History of ante-partum haemorrhage
· Multiple pregnancy
· Known abnormality of the uterus or pelvis
· History of premature labour or premature ruptured membranes
· Previous Caesarean section if more recent than 2 years
· Oligohydramnios
· Rhesus antibodies
· Known hydrocephalic foetus
For everyone else it is definitely worth a go to see if your little one will turn, and make their way out a bit smoother.
Jen xx