Update on breech management (CME)
To minimize risks like birth-related trauma and asphyxia, current management stresses early recognition via ultrasound-which allows for an attempt to correct the breech-and reliance on C/S before onset of labor.
Key Points
As you know, breech presentation is a longitudinal fetal lie in which the fetus' caudal end is the presenting part. Sometimes a fetus presents as a breech simply by chance. But otherwise, it's due to the relative amount of space a fetus has available to move within. Breech presentations may also be due to inherent maternal or fetal neurologic or orthopedic problems. Also influencing these issues are gestational age (GA), the presence of fetal anomalies, and the specific type of breech presentation (e.g., frank, complete with hyperextension, or footling).
