Acupuncture to turn Breech Babies

Breech babies are ideally treated between 32 – 35 weeks. At this stage treatment is 80% effective and may only requires a one off treatment to show you how to continue treatment at home with a moxa stick (a cigar shaped stick of artemisia herb).

The moxa stick is lit and held over specific points twice a day for up to 10 days.

The technique is simple and involves sitting comfortably with your legs raise while someone holds the lit sticks over the lateral aspect of the little toe nails, close enough to feel warm but not too hot (about an inch). This done for 10-15 minutes, twice a day for 10 days. Often the baby moves around during treatment and if it moves significantly at any stage during or after treatment it is important to stop treatment until a midwife verifies its new position.
In some cases using moxa to try and turn a baby is not advised. If in doubt this can be discussed with us and your midwife. These include:

• Twin pregnancies
• Previous caesarian for breech presentation
• Raised blood pressure
• Bleeding during pregnancy
• Rhesus negative blood type