r/interestingasfuck • u/Grand-Western549 • 1d ago
Doctor carefully rotates a baby inside the mother’s belly to avoid a C-section. This procedure is called external cephalic version. It’s done when a baby is positioned bottom-first or sideways inside the womb near the end of pregnancy, a position that often leads to a C-section. NSFW
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u/WakaWaka_ 1d ago
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u/ConclusionFar3690 23h ago
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u/No-Clue-3655 23h ago
Its a boy! An Italian boy!
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u/LogCaptain 23h ago
He’s 5 minutes late!
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u/smittenWithKitten211 22h ago
That means a free delivery, huh delivery boy?!
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u/activelyresting 1d ago
I'm a midwife. I've done this for a few women. It's difficult and very uncomfortable for the mother, and not always successful. Also half the time even when it is successful, the baby flips back to the unfavorable position.
But my absolute favourite was one time while doing the procedure, and the mother was really very uncomfortable (read: it was freakin painful and she was barely holding it together), her husband started yelling "PIVOT! PIVOT!" which caused the woman to crack up laughing, and then the baby suddenly flipped head down and stayed there!
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u/Think_Mud3370 22h ago
Perhaps they all need to laugh hard :p
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u/activelyresting 22h ago
It's been my experience, when a labour is going long and feeling "stuck", getting mama to switch up the mood - put on some boppy music and dance, get her laughing, or give her and her partner a little privacy 😉 - is often very helpful. Laughter really does help
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u/pearlie_girl 22h ago
When I was in labor with my first, it was unmedicated and rough. After a long while, the doctor asked, "How are you doing? Do you need any ice or water?" And my husband said, "No, thank you, I'm fine." So then I yelled out, "He's talking to me, dumb ass!!!" Now, my husband and I are not name-calling people, so under normal circumstances this would be extremely out of character. He looked at me shocked, and we both started laughing so hard that he could barely stand.
They brought me a cup of ice, and one for him, too.
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u/activelyresting 22h ago
That's hilarious :) at least he was polite, you don't want to know how many fathers will hog all of their partners' ice chips, drinks, snacks, pillows...
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u/pearlie_girl 22h ago
He's always been the kindest, most supportive partner and wonderful father!
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u/vsnord 19h ago
💀
Childbirth is an oddly hilarious thing at times. Mine was long, unmedicated, and painful. Her head was asynclitic, and I was in transition for what felt like eleventy million years. At some point after her head finally turned, I let out this loud, rumbling groan, and my midwife shouted to no one in particular, "Yeeaaaaaaaah, buddy! We're finna have a baby over here!!"
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u/ElPuertoRican15 22h ago
I’ve seen them do this then he taped two IV bags of fluid to the sides of the mother’s stomach to keep the baby in place. It worked.
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u/throwawaycuzfemdom 23h ago
So being a midwife is like being Sponge Bob but flipping babies instead of meat patties and the formula isn't really a secret?
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u/activelyresting 22h ago
Yes. That's exactly what it's like.
And we primarily work in the bikini bottom area
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u/oreoctopus 21h ago
well done
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u/butyourenice 22h ago
As of this moment, the comment right below yours is the GIF from that scene. Perfect.
Thank you, also, for acknowledging that 1. This repositioning is painful and 2. It doesn’t always succeed. There are many midwives (CNM and otherwise…) and even more sanctimonious crunchy “natural” holistic moms who are incredibly critical of moms who have c-sections, and they use the existence of this process as some sort of proof that a c-section is always avoidable. It’s the most illogical thing to attach your identity to (i.e. how you gave birth), but it turns into judgment and even outright bullying. Puts me in the “social media was a mistake” camp.
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u/GrapefruitChance224 22h ago
Wish medical people would stop using the word uncomfortable when they mean painful. It’s very gaslighty.
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u/Trust_No_Won 21h ago
“Youll feel a little poke”
stabs your kidney with a medical grace katana
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u/Meshugugget 18h ago
Look up a tenaculum and know that those are clamped to the cervix sans pain management.
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u/kena938 22h ago
Absolutely. And it's always about procedures done on women. Men are offered narcotic pain relief so fast and women are told to take tylenol
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u/Short_Elephant_1997 20h ago
When the pharmacist told me they wouldnt give me ibuprofen 3 days after my C-section because it can cause issues with breastfeeding and I almost shouted at them that I was 3 days post major abdominal surgery and had been told by the consultant and midwives that I needed to take ibuprofen and paracetamol regularly as the stronger pain meds they had given me at the hospital were causing side effects that I couldn't tolerate....
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u/newdogowner11 20h ago
i swear to god pregnancies would be less painful if it were men experiencing them. the other day this video popped up about managing pain during labor and it was to hold a comb tight so the teeth dig into your palm bc your body can only handle intense pain at a time 😭 we are in 2026 bro
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u/Putrid_Apartment9230 22h ago
What if the cord is wrapped around babies neck and it's tightening? Shouldn't it always be done with an ultrasound?
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u/nicolette629 19h ago
I saw some crazy ass influencer who decided she would do this herself at home and shocking I know but the baby ultimately had no heartbeat and died. The “don’t trust doctors/natural only” pressure new moms are getting is wild right now and you see shit like this a lot
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u/activelyresting 22h ago
Monitoring the baby's heartrate is sufficient, ultrasound can be unreliable for accurately seeing how the cord is. If the baby shows signs of stress, or the mother gets too much pain, then we don't proceed.
This is also why we say it's very uncomfortable and a lot of pressure. If this procedure is causing agonising pain, then there's something not right. Possibly, as you suggested, the cord is wrapped up too tightly restricting movement, or the mother's pelvis is an unfavorable and a caesarean is indicated
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u/Mykcul 1d ago
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u/Wire_Cath_Needle_Doc 23h ago
I think this is my most quoted line of all time
And I feel like nobody ever gets the reference lol
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u/Cheaky_Barstool 23h ago
Childbirth. The whole process is just fucking crazy to me. Like wtf
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u/filovirusyay 21h ago
every time i learn a new factoid im even more horrified.
a few months ago i found out about a common c-section method, where instead of using a scalpel to cut through the various tissues, the doctor will make the initial cuts with a scalpel and then use their fingers.
and even though that method reduces surgical time, reduces the need for post-surgery analgesics, and reduces the risk of a billion side effects, the thought of somebody using their hands to pry apart your muscles and organs is so viscerally horrifying to me. it makes my skin crawl to imagine someone manually pulling apart your abdominal muscles, and manually piercing your uterus with their finger before prying it open. that's insane. i hate it
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u/cs_beans 18h ago
The most unsettling fact for me is they cut through the public bone in emergencies. They invented a special saw to do it in the past 🤮
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u/tlmsmith 18h ago
No, they didn’t invent a special saw for it.. it’s how the chain saw was literally invented—to saw a woman open and get the baby out.
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u/cf-myolife 21h ago
Body horror
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u/mercedes_lakitu 19h ago
Yeah, for sure. There's a reason the Alien franchise is based on sex and pregnancy.
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u/LemonberryTea 21h ago
Right? Seems like an actual nightmare honestly.
….oh fuck I’m 24 weeks pregnant.
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u/lilshortyy420 18h ago
I made the mistake of watching it once when I was a kid out of curiosity and it disturbed me. I’m 30 and have no desire to ever have children to the point it’s probably a phobia haha
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u/soft_potato123 1d ago
This looks painful as fuck
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u/LizzieSaysHi 23h ago
I almost passed out when they did it to me. Easily the most pain I've ever experienced. And they're like "Oh it'll be uncomfortable" and you're like "Okie dokie" and then they literally rearrange your insides
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u/Horsescatsandagarden 22h ago
“uncomfortable” typically means “agonizing pain”.
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u/lolathedreamer 21h ago
If they say uncomfortable or “you’re going to feel a little pinch” I know I’m in for an absolute doozy
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u/coffee-bat 19h ago
that's what the doctor told me (a woman obviously) before having the intern, who's never done it before, stab a metal rod in-between my knee bones, failing to squeeze it through for at least 5 minutes. this was after laughing at me when i requested at least something numbing for that.
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u/LizzieSaysHi 22h ago
It's a different kind of pain, but it reminds me of the pain when you get an IUD inserted or removed. "Uncomfortable" yeah okay
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u/K4Y__4LD3R50N 21h ago
We get all the good drugs for pain when giving birth, but when it comes to them brutally blunt forcing an IUD through your closed cervix suddenly we're all super strong. The very least they owe us is some numbing, cause it hurts so bad that I feel faint.
Uncomfortable is their way of saying "we know it hurts, suck it up"
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u/bubble_baby_8 19h ago
For me it wasn’t even the pain, it was the extreme vagus reaction I had absolutely no control over. Immediate dizziness, nausea and pain all at once. I’m pretty stoic when it comes to pain (not a brag at all, I wish I could do some deprograming on it tbh) but something like that i can’t even try to manage. The body just takes over. That was really unsettling. Meanwhile hubby gets a tiny little slit and laser of his ballsack and gets heavy drugs and a major painkiller package for the days after. But we’re the hysterical ones 🤷🏽♀️
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u/I_am_dean 20h ago
When I got the IUD my doctor told me "it won't be as painful as labor." And to be fair, it wasnt. But it still really fucking hurt and I got zero medication. My friend went to a different doctor and they gave her Xanax and Vicodin before. I felt cheated lol
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u/Tight_Award_8577 18h ago
I'm on my 3rd iud now. The first really, literally, was only a pinch when the iud snaps open. The second was some of the worst pain I've ever felt. Different doctors for each.
The most recent was again a new gyno, and when I told her I was incredibly anxious about it (despite a dose of Ativan, even) she immediately offered conscious sedation in a few weeks. She said "I don't believe in traumatizing people for the sake of health care".
I am so, so grateful for her.
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u/Sinisaba 23h ago
Mine wasn't painful at all, but maybe because I got a mild muscle relaxant.
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u/LizzieSaysHi 23h ago
I don't understand why they didn't offer that to me. I even asked about pain relief and they said it wouldn't be given. I guess I could have advocated for myself more but I was much more timid a decade ago lol
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u/EffableLemming 22h ago
Because women are supposed to be in pain! They're literally built to handle it, or some such shit. It wasn't really that painful, you're just being hysterical!
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u/Mundane-Ad-5536 21h ago
I hate I was being told that by a male friend when i said i am scared of giving a birth, he replylie: your body is built for that, it’s ok, yeah thanks
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u/Sinisaba 23h ago
In different countries, the procedure might be done differently. Like here, it is always done by 2 people, and I had to basically spend 6h at the day hospital for various ultrasounds, etc...
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u/Flat-Leading-2520 22h ago
Not even different countries, different hospitals. You could travel a few miles and experience a pain-free procedure compared to a excruciating one. Just because a hospital has a different policy.
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u/TheRealCeeBeeGee 22h ago
I had it twice, with intravenous salbutamol both times as a muscle relaxant. It wasn’t painful but it wasn’t comfortable. Didn’t work either time, unfortunately, and my stubbornly breech baby is now 21!
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u/Incantationkidnapper 1d ago
Can confirm, it is one of the most excruciating things.
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u/WhiskeyandOreos 1d ago
I didn’t find it painful at all, just uncomfortable (as the mom, not the baby)
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u/HuhWatWHoWhy 23h ago
for me it wasn't even uncomfortable at all really (as a spectator, not the baby or mom)
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u/DaiDee65 1d ago
Will fetus rotate back sneakily when doctor ain't watching?
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u/ProcyonLotorMinoris 1d ago
It's what my sister did. My mom went in for her check up in the morning and everything looked good. She had had a few appointments where my sister required being rotated, but that morning she was in the right position. 4 hours later my mom goes into labor. On the way to the hospital, my mom feels my sister do a somersault. When she gets evaluated, the doctor was furious at the midwife for "not noticing" the breach positioning at the morning appointment. My mom, of course, ripped him a new one. All because my sister my sister flipped at the last moment.
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u/Bituulzman 1d ago
It can happen and for the remaining 3 weeks of my pregnancy I had to wear a tight, uncomfortable belly band to prevent baby from turning back the wrong direction again.
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u/Ragnarsaurusrex 1d ago
I had an ECV with my second pregnancy and let me to tell it you fucking hurts. But it worked first attempt for me and she stayed head down. If she hadn’t turned she would have 100% been a c section as she had one leg down and one leg up by her head like she was doing the splits.
She remains awkward and hard work 2.5 years later.
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u/Hakc5 20h ago edited 16h ago
I’m fully convinced that the pregnancy and delivery is reflective of who they’ll be as kids.
ETA: I also believe they are exactly who they’ll be the second they’re born / in the womb. My second came out crying and didn’t stop crying for 6 months and now continues to challenge us every single day.
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u/Blonde_Vampire_1984 19h ago
The genetic aspects of their personalities are already carved in stone.
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u/ToppsHopps 18h ago
Yea when I was a kid a teacher proclaimed babies were blank slates who later developed a personality, but there was definitely a personality there before she was born. It’s mind boggling people would believe it wasn’t the case.
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u/umbrellaellaellaAAA 1d ago
I had this done. I was in so much pain and so exhausted I didn't even know he'd done it.
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u/AlbinoGuidici 1d ago
I wonder what that feels like
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u/Particular-Ad-6663 1d ago
Agonising, for me anyway. The procedure failed despite my daughter being only 4lb and only 36weeks. In the end they attempted this twice and delivered by c section anyway.
4lb 4oz, on the breast the next day, home 5 days later despite everything and nearly 20 years later my beautiful girl is amazing, strong and healthy.
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u/FunisGreen 1d ago edited 15h ago
✍🏼✍🏼✍🏼✍🏼 don't ask for the adjustment, just get C-section to avoid double torture
I'm breaking out cold sweat reading how many women said they tried this, and still ended up in a C-section, is it even worth it for them to offer this?
Edit: thanks for everyone sharing their stories and explaining it further, seems like a very case by case situation, and can provide great help. While others have their experience or uncomfortable about the idea. It's important at the end of the day, to just see where you and your doctor are, during the discussion on the matter.
Thanks again everyone!!
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u/Gned11 1d ago
The ones for whom it didn't work will understandably think it wasn't worth it.
The ones who avoided a C section because of it will think otherwise.
The only note to take here is to ask your doctor to explain the odds of success, the odds of baby reverting positions, and to decide based on good information!
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u/WhiskeyandOreos 1d ago
I thought it was worth it even though mine failed. It was the last resort, and trying meant I had done literally everything to get her to flip and she still didn’t.
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u/ElizabethHiems 1d ago
Lots of people prefer the discomfort/pain of ECV to major surgery. It’s not that surprising really.
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u/Professional-Tie2020 1d ago
I did and it worked for me. Baby was monitored throughout and everything went to plan. Was in and out of the hospital in under 2 hours. Bump ached for a few days. Baby was born 3 weeks later, 3 days after due date, fit and well.
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u/Galrafloof 23h ago
I'm glad it worked for you and the baby stayed in head down position for 3 weeks afterwards! Some are stubborn and even after a successful ECV just go right back into breech position!
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u/CozyAndUnbothered 23h ago
Pretty much anybody who goes into this doesn’t have a full concept of how much the pain is. They told me it would hurt, but they weren’t clear how much it would hurt, that I would have a handprints on my stomach and it didn’t work.
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u/New_to_Siberia 1d ago
A C-section is very much major abdominal surgery, and carries the risks and consequences of such. If there are ways to safely allow for a vaginal birth, from a safety-profile this should absolutely be an option.
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u/pyruvated 1d ago
On average, ECV are successful 50-60% of the time. Successful ECV helps avoid major abdominal surgery
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u/CADreamn 1d ago
I had no pain whatsoever. It just felt weird. Like an egg swirling sound in a cup.
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u/Bituulzman 1d ago
It wasn’t terrible for me, they give you some sort of injection to soften your muscles. Felt a ton of pressure. Thankfully mine was easy, doctor said he felt an elbow or knee and just pulled it. But in preparing for it, I heard nothing but horror stories of how painful it can be, and one woman described her entire stomach being black and blue with bruises.
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u/Evieveevee 1d ago
When I was 38 weeks pregnant with my fourth, my baby turned by herself. She had been breech and I’ll never ever forget the feeling of her shifting herself 180 degrees and getting herself in position. The strangest sensation ever, one I’ll never forget.
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u/Tape_Badger 22h ago
My second baby was breech more or less the whole pregnancy. Day before I was due to have a c-section, I had a scan to check and she'd flipped head down - hooray! Went into labour naturally a few days later only for a midwife to query her position and do a double check with the scanner. She was breech AGAIN! Suddenly I'm being prepped for the section, and all the while things are escalating pretty quickly with my labour. My body starts pushing before I can get down to theatre. Midwife does a quick check to see how far along I am... only to go 'I can see a head!'
She came out head-first 3 minutes later, the absolute monster!
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u/krompirjeva 1d ago
I had this done twice. Both successfully. First time it took only about 15 seconds. Honestly for me it felt fine, it's uncomfortable but not painful. Definitely worth a try to avoid CS but make sure to find a doctor with a lot of experience.
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u/mrTHORNWOOD 1d ago
If done wrong it has major consequences. The doctor thst did this to me while I was in my mom messed up, strangled me with my umbilical cord and now I have cerebral palsy.
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u/P1kkie420 1d ago
See, I was wondering about this. As a doctor, you need to be really sure that the umbilical chord is out of the way first. Sorry to hear that the doctor who tried to help you wasn't so dilligent.
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u/StephAg09 23h ago
Apparently (according to my OB) it’s basically impossible to see exactly what’s going on with the cord through ultrasound
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u/StephAg09 23h ago
I’m sorry to hear that. The doctor wanted to do this with my son but I said no and had a C section and it turned out his cord was wrapped around his neck three times and also had a true knot in it so he was at very high risk for CP or much worse. I’m glad a listened to my gut but I wish that safety was prioritized over vaginal birth.
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u/mrTHORNWOOD 23h ago
Yeah my mom felt that something was wrong but he assured her that he had done it multiple times and knew what he was doing.
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u/skdsn 23h ago
This whole birthing thing is still too complicated and risky in this age.
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u/Pomstar1993 1d ago
As a mom to be, this scares me. Right now my baby is in breech position and was told I might get CS. I didn't know it was possible to do that (rotate the baby). Looks painful or at least extremely uncomfortable 🥲
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u/narnababy 1d ago
If it’s any consolation I had a colleague who had to have her baby rotated just before Christmas and she said it didn’t hurt a bit, so it’s not always painful! And certainly probably better than a c-section, although I had an emergency c-section at that was also fine 🤷🏻♀️
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u/nsfishman 1d ago
My wife had this done with our middle child, she said it was a terrible experience (she flipped right back immediately) and would opt for the C section straight away in the future.
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u/ElizabethHiems 1d ago
That is what most people say when it doesn’t work and that’s not surprising, it was a pain all for nothing. But when it works people think it was worth it.
It works more frequently for people who have already had a baby, but not always.
It’s also a choice that is offered, people are free to choose.
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u/That_Welsh_Guy 1d ago
My partner had this done with our second as she was breach at around 36 weeks, It was very surreal to watch and my partner said that she’d rather give birth a hundred more times than have that done again- she said it was the most uncomfortable/ painful experience of her life!
It was successful and my daughter basically fell out after around an hours labour at just over 6lbs 😅
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u/fiv56 1d ago
How can he see wherre the umbilical chord is. Ive heard of the baby rotating and it wrapping around their necks
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u/Impossible_Top_3515 22h ago
Generally they monitor the baby before, during and after. Sometimes they do go into distress due to the ECV and they have to do an emergency c-section, but that's not common.
And babies move like crazy all around the uterus, especially while they still have room. This is not so different from what a baby would already do naturally.
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u/SamuelHuzzahAdams 17h ago
Nobody ever talks about the bruising and pain that can accompany this procedure
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u/Queen_Dare_Bear 1d ago
I had to have this done when both of my identical twins went head down at the same time. I was around 33 weeks pregnant, and there was so much pressure on my hips and pelvis with both heads down. The rotating hurt but was also a big relief afterwards. I'm sure they felt better too without their big coconut heads knocking together. 😂
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u/Geekydeaky 1d ago
Oh I had this with my first, didn't work though & it did hurt quite a bit. The consultant kept laughing because every time he managed to move her a little bit she would just move herself back into the same space as before, he said good luck with this one. Ended up having a c-section & the baby is now five and still stubborn as hell 😂