Light turning, moxibustion, haptonomy: turn the baby

If your baby is still in the breech position and you and your doctor do not yet want to resort to the so-called “ external turn ”, you can still try some alternative methods, such as light turning, moxibustion, haptonomy. The so-called Indian bridge is also one of the alternative methods of turning your baby. However, many babies roll over on their own up to the 36th week of pregnancy. You can support it with the following methods.

moxibustion

With this method from traditional Chinese medicine, the midwife or alternative practitioner heats the acupuncture point “Zhiyin” on the little toe for 10 to 20 minutes with a smoldering mugwort cigar. Depending on the individual pain sensitivity, this can be somewhat uncomfortable due to the heat development. Since this acupuncture point is directly connected to the uterus, the child’s movements often increase significantly during the “moxing” as desired, but sometimes only in the night following the treatment.

haptonomy

The so-called haptonomy is ideal for making intensive contact with your baby. It enables you and your partner to move your child with an external stimulus. To do this, put your hand on your stomach as often as possible and speak or think consciously: turn, turn…

light turn

Show your child the way down with the light of the flashlight: Start at the top of the child’s head and place the switched-on flashlight directly on their stomach. Guide the light beam very slowly over the point where you regularly feel the child’s movements to the pubic bone. The aim is for your baby to follow the beam of light, turn around and put its head in the pelvis. Repeat the flashlight movement for five minutes. You can do this exercise once a day until you give birth.

Chances of success of the alternative methods

Unfortunately, none of these methods can guarantee that your child will roll from breech to skull position. Reasons for this can be an anterior placenta, a short umbilical cord, a narrowed pelvis or the size of the child. As with the Indian Bridge, there are no clinical studies that have examined the effectiveness of these methods, unlike the external approach. You can still try these methods, because they usually cannot harm you. However, it is best to ask your doctor or midwife before trying them.