AIMS has been exploring the Optibreech research work of Dr Shawn Walker into offering a new care pathway, including physiological breech birth, to women who plan to birth their breech baby vaginally. Physiological breech birth is being diminished as a choice for women as being too dangerous or going against the guidelines. Less physiological breech births lead to a reduction in skilled, knowledgeable staff. Less skilled staff leads to a reduction in physiological breech births.
The Optibreech care model promotes specialised staff training to provide a dedicated Breech Clinic with a breech midwife working alongside an obstetrician. When a baby is breech, caesarean is often presented as being completely safe with no risks. Women know this is not true and cherish having continuity of care and counselling from a breech midwife who supports their choices. Women are then able to compare the benefits and risks of vaginal breech birth and caesarean birth, and be offered a personalised care plan to accommodate her own individual circumstances.
A more detailed case study can be found in AIMS journal here: https://www.aims.org.uk/journal/item/aims-breech-care
References:
Management of Breech Presentation (Green-top Guideline No. 20b) | RCOG
https://breechbirth.org.uk/2021/01/23/what-is-physiological-breech-birth
We hope that this page is of interest, especially to our colleagues in the maternity services improvement community.
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