Breech Birth: A Guide to Breech Pregnancy and Birth [Paperback]

Waites' exploration of the available evidence is thorough, clearly presented and clearly evaluated making it easily accessible to non-medical people.

This work on breech birth is for parents, obstetricians, midwives and all who come into contact with women carrying breech babies. It addresses the whole experience of breech from causes to turning techniques to the options for birth. It engages with the controversial debate on caesarean versus vaginal breech birth and provides a powerful critique of recent evidence which has led to an increase in caesarean section. The book encourages parents to make an informed choice about the birth they want. For professionals this book is an essential resource on breech, deepening knowledge on breech, encouraging a critical examination of their own approach to breech and improving the quality of care they are able to offer to parents of breech babies.

I wrote this book as a result of my own experience of finding out my baby was in the breech position. I was shocked by how difficult it was to access good information, and by how rife speculation and opinion presented as fact seemed to be. Using my background in the health service, and my familiarity with critically evaluating medical evidence I set out to write the book which I wanted to read when I was 36 weeks pregnant. The book provides the most thorough review of the literature on breech currently available, and also includes interviews with a range of highly respected obstetricians and independent midwives with specialist experience of breech pregnancy and birth. Every chapter contains an introduction and summary to enable skim reading for anyone in a hurry! The book also contains plenty of illustrations and photographs of two vaginal breech births.
If you are clear that you will have a caesarean if your baby remains breech, the first two sections of the book are devoted to the causes of breech, the emotional impact, and turning techniques. If you are undecided as to how you want your baby to be born, later sections will give you invaluable help in weighing up the pros and cons of your options and thinking about how you might navigate your way through the health system.
The book aims to take an objective approach throughout, with emphasis on this being a decision making process in which you have a right to play an active part.
Although the book was initially written with parents in mind, it became increasingly clear that it was equally valuable as a resource for professionals (see reviews). It is now regularly sold at training events for midwives and obstetricians on the subject.

Benna Waites is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist. After working in London for ten years, she now lives in Herefordshire with her partner and three sons.