A fetus is breech at term. What is a common intervention to attempt prior to delivery, and when is cesarean preferred?

A fetus is breech at term. What is a common intervention to attempt prior to delivery, and when is cesarean preferred?

• A. External cephalic version if no contraindications; cesarean if version fails or contraindications
• B. Cesarean delivery is preferred regardless of version
• C. Vaginal breech delivery is always attempted
• D. Induce labor and deliver vaginally

Answer: (B)

In breech at term, the typical step before labor is to try to turn the baby to head-down using external cephalic version if there are no contraindications. This procedure, usually done around 37 weeks, uses external pressure (often with tocolytics and fetal monitoring) to rotate the fetus to cephalic presentation. If the version succeeds and there are no other problems, delivery may proceed vaginally. But if the version is unsuccessful or if there are contraindications to attempting version (such as placenta previa, uterine scarring from prior cesarean or uterine surgery, placenta abnormalities, or fetal distress), cesarean delivery is preferred to minimize risk during birth.

In breech at term, the typical step before labor is to try to turn the baby to head-down using external cephalic version if there are no contraindications. This procedure, usually done around 37 weeks, uses external pressure (often with tocolytics and fetal monitoring) to rotate the fetus to cephalic presentation. If the version succeeds and there are no other problems, delivery may proceed vaginally. But if the version is unsuccessful or if there are contraindications to attempting version (such as placenta previa, uterine scarring from prior cesarean or uterine surgery, placenta abnormalities, or fetal distress), cesarean delivery is preferred to minimize risk during birth.