Acupuncture/ Acupressure
The Deal:
Acupuncture tries to correct the flow of energy in your body to normalize processes, including the position of your unborn baby. Very thin needles are inserted into your pinky toe. It hurts a little when they stick them in, otherwise it’s kind of relaxing.
How to:
Find an acupuncturist who has many years experience and has turned breech babies before. If you can’t find a good acupuncturist, or don’t like needles, acupressure is like do-it-yourself acupuncture, without the needles. If you have the book Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom by Christiane Northrup, she shows how to do acupressure to turn a breech on p.452 and warns that it is not advisable if you have a history of habitual miscarriage, uterine abnormality, or other major pregnancy problems. She recommends you consult your doctor first.
Acupuncture tries to correct the flow of energy in your body to normalize processes, including the position of your unborn baby. Very thin needles are inserted into your pinky toe. It hurts a little when they stick them in, otherwise it’s kind of relaxing.
How to:
Find an acupuncturist who has many years experience and has turned breech babies before. If you can’t find a good acupuncturist, or don’t like needles, acupressure is like do-it-yourself acupuncture, without the needles. If you have the book Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom by Christiane Northrup, she shows how to do acupressure to turn a breech on p.452 and warns that it is not advisable if you have a history of habitual miscarriage, uterine abnormality, or other major pregnancy problems. She recommends you consult your doctor first.
DIY Acupressure: Use your fingernail to press the outside bottom corner of the pinky toenail. Press enough for it to be sensitive, but not enough to cause pain. Hold it for two minutes, and then do an inversion or breech tilt immediately. Perform 1-2 times per day. Weirder and weirder, I know. Or, do your own hillbilly acupressure. Get a clothespin and put it on the small toe of each foot on the outside corner of the toenail. If it really hurts, it’s a no go. Find something that exerts steady, noticeable but not painful pressure. About 30 min a day. You can also do this with just finger pressure as you remember to do it.
Why it might work:
Proponents claim that the stimulation of bladder 67 (the pinky toe point) relaxes the uterus, allowing baby more room to turn, and also stimulates movement in the baby. If this is the case, I’m not sure why Dr. Northrup would advise you not to do it with certain pregnancy problems. Uterine relaxation and baby movement are both good as far as I know.
Proponents claim that the stimulation of bladder 67 (the pinky toe point) relaxes the uterus, allowing baby more room to turn, and also stimulates movement in the baby. If this is the case, I’m not sure why Dr. Northrup would advise you not to do it with certain pregnancy problems. Uterine relaxation and baby movement are both good as far as I know.
