Midwives magazine: August
2010
Subject: Breech birth
Authors: Karin Ecker
Web: www.abreechinthesystem.com
Reviewed by Nicola Wales
I suspect many midwives after viewing this DVD will have a range of emotions. It is the story of a woman’s journey in pregnancy and the delivery of her baby in the breech position. On one hand it addresses the difficult path facing women and their care-givers when a baby is breech, with midwives, doulas, partners, obstetricians and childbirth educators all involved in the tale. The eventual result is a heart warming story, as is claimed on the front, of natural birth against all odds.
Inspirational elements of the DVD include the woman’s honestly told search for a normal birth and the way the multidisciplinary teams worked together safely, respectfully and professionally. However, the complexities of the reasons for the meteoric rise in caesarean sections for a breech baby are scantily dealt with. This means this DVD only tells half the story of a breech delivery in the western world.
So, although it has educative value for women, students and midwives, it needs to be seen against a wider evidence-based context to give a proper view of the choices women face. Additionally, the 'new age' elements jarred with me, but that is just my personal viewpoint.
Have you seen this DVD? What did you think?
