A Special Day
Friday the 13th is often considered one of the most cursed days in mankind’s history but for Katie Edwards, that day was pretty special as she was about to welcome a new member of their family into this world. On August 13th, 2021, Katie gave birth to a baby girl named Kaiya but there was something unusual about Kaiya that set her apart from the rest of the babies.
She was born with her legs wrapped around her head and that scared the bats out of Katie! Read on to find out more about Kaiya’s condition and what happened to her next
Pregnant Katie Edwards
One of the major turning points in a woman’s life is when she is about to become a mother. It is a heavenly feeling but it does come with its own set of challenges.
A mother is always worried about her soon-to-be-born child and even after that for that matter! Katie Edwards was no different and her paranoia multiplied when she discovered something very unusual about her expected girl child during her ultrasound.
The ultrasound
Ultrasounds are very crucial during the pregnancy period because they provide the doctors with crucial information regarding the baby.
When Katie went to get an ultrasound halfway through her pregnancy, she was hoping everything to be normal but when the results came out, there was something very unusual about her baby.
Frank Breech position
She kept her fingers crossed, hoping everything to be normal but life and destiny had different plans for her.
“Your baby is in Frank Breech's position.” The doctor informed Katie but at that moment, she had no idea what it meant. Her heart started pounding because obviously, it concerned her little baby girl who was still in her womb!
What is it exactly?
The doctor noticed that Katie started panicking a little so he said “You probably don’t know what Frank Breech position really is and that’s the reason why you’re panicking so much. Calm down and take a seat, I’ll explain!”
The doctor explained it to her that a baby is in a frank breech position when the baby’s bottom is facing the birth canal and at the same time, their legs are sticking straight up in front their body, with their feet by their head.
Katie will have to visit again
When the doctor calmly explained the phenomenon to Katie, she could finally breathe again. At first, she thought that something was seriously wrong with her baby girl.
But she still couldn’t get it out of her head and then the doctor asked her to visit again at 37 weeks to diagnose whether the baby turned around or not. The wait was going to be long and hard but Katie was hopeful that everything would be fine. Days passed by and it was now time to get her checked again!
Didn’t change position
In the meantime, Katie read a lot about breech positions, their implications and corrective measures. She really wanted everything to go as planned and she finally landed at the diagnostic centre for yet another ultrasound.
“I really hope that she has returned to her normal position.” Katie expressed her feelings to the doctor but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Her baby girl named Kaiya, was still in the same position.
Sucking on her feet
It is very crucial for the baby’s head to be positioned towards the vaginal opening but baby Kaiya had something entirely different going on for her in her mother’s womb.
Katie explained to BuzzFeed, “Kaiya was sucking on her toes in the 37-week ultrasound.” It might sound funny at first but if you look at it from a mother’s perspective, it is downright scary to say the least! As if this wasn’t enough, another problem was patiently waiting to knock on Katie’s door!
Large baby
Little Kaiya was rather unique in more than one way. Apart from being in the Frank Breech position, she was also a large baby. What were its implications?
“She was also a really large baby! Due to her large proportions, it became highly unlikely for her to turn into the right position!” Katie told Buzzfeed. Kaiya being in the Frank Breech position and being healthier as compared to other babies was going to pose a problem during the delivery.
Scheduled c-section
Back-to-back visits to the doctor, and deep research compelled Katie to take drastic measures to ensure that she and her baby remain in pristine condition after the delivery.
“The doctors then scheduled a c-section surgery on August 13th, 2021, and I couldn’t have been more skeptical about it,” Katie explained her paranoia. The day that was chosen, is also considered to be unlucky by many and that also added to Katie’s paranoia. What happened next was a big surprise for all the people present there!
Operation successful
They scheduled her for a C-section at 39 weeks on Friday the 13th of August. Despite Katie’s paranoia and the complications that were creating a hurdle in their way, the operation was successful!
Kaiya, the star kid of the whole show, came out as healthy as they expected her to be but there was still something unusual about her. Despite coming out of her mother’s womb, she maintained the same position she had in utero.
Nurses laughing
Katie took some time to get back to her senses but when she did, she was blessed with the most heavenly sight a mother could ask for!
Kaiya was right beside her and she looked as healthy as any other infant, in fact, more! Her weird position became a source of amusement. “The nurses were laughing all the time while cleaning her up because she remained in the same position at the table as well!! Katie told BuzzFeed.
Posted video on TikTok
When Katie finally gave birth to Kaiya and after she got to know that her baby girl is absolutely fine, Katie relaxed a little. She even posted a video of her newborn baby girl on TikTok!
Her caption read “This is what a Frank breech baby looks like LOL this is why I had a c-section she was in my belly like this." Needless to say, it didn’t take leap years for her video to go viral!
Public reaction
The video spread on TikTok like a freaking wildfire! As of September 24th, the viral video garnered over 30 million views on TikTok. Little Kaiya became famous even before she could learn how to crawl!
A lot of people were concerned about Kaiya - whether she would turn out to be normal or stay like that only. Thankfully, they didn’t have to wait for too long to get the answer.
Normal Kaiya
Even though Katie was sort of amused by Kaiya’s weird posture, she was a bit concerned as well. The doctors told her to relax and that Kaiya would be back to normal soon but Katie was patiently waiting for that moment.
“She would get in that weird position when she wanted to relax but after one week, her legs were back to normal even when she was relaxed,” Katie explained to BuzzFeed.
Dr. Nicole Rankins
BuzzFeed got in touch with Dr. Nicole Rankins to dig out more information regarding Frank Breech babies. For the uninitiated, Dr, Nicole Rankins, according to her official website, is a Board-certified, practicing OB/GYN and mom of 2.
Over the last 15 years, she has helped thousands of women learn how to advocate for the experience they want as they bring their babies into the world.
More about Dr. Rankins
Dr. Rankins has delivered more than 1,000 babies and has demystified childbirth for thousands of more women through her All About Pregnancy & Birth podcast.
She also runs her own free online Birth Plan class and her signature online program: The Birth Preparation Course. She was born into a family of educators and felt the pull to medical school the day she looked in the mirror and saw a vision of herself in a white coat.
Dr. Rankins Podcast
Dr. Rankins is majorly famous for her podcast that goes by the name All About Pregnancy & Birth podcast. According to her official website, this podcast is a place for supportive, evidence-based information from a practicing OB/GYN and other innovative experts.
One can hear stories of strength and resilience from parents and moms-to-be experiencing the same overwhelm and excitement as an expecting mother.
Babies move around all the time
BuzzFeed got Dr. Rankins on board to shed some light on this strange phenomenon that Katie Edwards and Kaiya experienced.
This is what she had to say about the breech position “It isn’t that way that a baby gets into a breech presentation and automatically stays that way. They move all the time and they can flip in and out of the breech presentation.” She also explained the reasons behind the breech presentation and they were quite interesting!
Fibroid distortion
Dr. Rankins explained that doctors most of the time have no idea why a baby settles into a breech position but there are some explanations for this.
“In some cases, it can happen due to the shape of the uterus. To give you an example, if there is a fibroid that distorts the shape of the uterus, it prevents the baby from turning into a head-down position.” Dr. Rankins explained. But there was one more explanation that majorly concerned twins.
Twins breech position
Dr. Rankins is a certified expert when it comes to all things pregnancy and she has a deep insight into things related to birth and infants. After shedding some light on the reasons behind the breech presentation, she gave one more explanation.
“When it comes to twins, they have a low amniotic fluid and that can result in breech presentation.” Dr. Rankins explained further.
The probability
You might have been wondering all this time that what could be the probability of a child ending up in a breech presentation, right? Well, it seems like Dr. Rankins has all the answers for us!
“In full-term pregnancies, breech presentation at birth occurs in about 3% of the cases. And out of all these cases, the frank breech is the most common position.” Explaining this, Dr. Rankins put every doubt to rest. And as it turns out, Kaiya Edwards’ condition wasn’t that rare but still, Katie’s paranoia is quite understandable!
Cesarean birth
Dr. Rankins also explained that breech presentation only matters at the time of the birth. Otherwise, in most cases, it doesn’t pose a problem to either the baby or the mother.
Women can get understandably frustrated that the doctors have to resort to cesarean birth but she also explained the reason behind opting for surgery. And once you get to know the reason, even you wouldn’t opt for normal delivery in the case of breech presentation.
Only trained doctors can do it
When asked why doctors don’t prefer performing normal delivery if the child is in a breech presentation, Dr. Rankins calmly explained that only a few doctors are trained to do vaginal breech birth.
“You seriously don't want a doctor doing something that they are not fully trained to do, especially when not only one, but two lives are at stake!” Dr. Rankins calmly cemented her fact.
Dr. Phil Boucher
Apart from getting Dr. Rankins on board to provide some consultancy regarding breech presentation, BuzzFeed also got in touch with Dr. Phil Boucher.
For those who are wondering, Dr. Phil Boucher, is a pediatrician based in Lincoln, Nebraska, and also runs a podcast named “The Raising Good Parents Podcast “. According to the official website, it is the place to hear the questions, struggles, and victories of real parents in the trenches. His practice is focused on empowering parents to be present, confident, and productive—to worry less and enjoy parenthood even more.
Issues with hip development
While the breech presentation isn’t that big an issue but still it requires some attention. As Dr. Phil Boucher explained – “Frank breech babies are usually fine but still, they sometimes need to be monitored for hip development issues.”
“Sometimes the hip socket and femur do not form a deep-enough connection which can further result into hip dislocation. It should be monitored closely in the first months of life. This phenomenon is called developmental hip dysplasia.” He further explained.
Babies who are at higher risk
Dr. Phil Boucher also shed some light on the probability of some children being more prone to such issues. “First-born babies, among other babies, are at a higher risk because of the more compact uterus.” He explained.
“Because of higher estrogen levels causing loosening of the joints as well, female [infants] are at a higher risk. It can cause lifelong hip issues, walking issues, and can be very detrimental, if not detected.” He continued.
Different types of breech positions
There are basically three types of breech positions as we found out by digging some more information about breech presentation:
Complete breech happens when the buttocks are pointing downward with the legs folded at the knees and feet are placed near the buttocks. Frank breech happens when a baby's buttocks are aimed at the birth canal with its legs sticking straight up in front of his or her body. Footling breech is the phenomenon where one or both of the baby’s feet point downward and will deliver before the rest of the body.
Complications
As we found out, there are several complications that can be associated with a breech birth. Take this for instance, when a breech birth is happening, the baby’s head is the last part of its body to emerge.
This makes it more difficult to ease it through the birth canal. In some cases, sometimes forceps are used to guide the baby’s head out of the birth canal.
Cord prolapse
Another major complication that can occur in the case of breech birth is Cord Prolapse. What happens in this situation is that the umbilical cord is squeezed as the baby moves toward the birth canal.
This slows down the baby’s supply of oxygen and blood. If it is found that the baby is in distress, doctors have to resort to cesarean delivery.
External version technique
There are several medical techniques that can be implied to try to turn a breech baby between the 32nd and 37th week of pregnancy. Among them is the external version technique.
It is basically a non-surgical technique in which a medication is given to help relax the uterus. To turn the baby into the head-down position, the doctor gently pushes on the lower abdomen. Although it becomes more difficult as the due date gets closer, external version has a high success rate.
Chiropractic care
International Chiropractic Pediatric Association’s Larry Webster developed a technique that enabled chiropractors to reduce stress on the pregnant woman’s pelvis. It led to the relaxation of the uterus and surrounding ligaments.
How does it help, you ask? Well, it is a widely accepted fact that a more relaxed uterus makes it easier for a breech baby to turn naturally.
Breech tilt
Breech tilt is more of a ‘natural’ technique than being a ‘medical’ technique. It requires using large, firm pillows to raise the hips 12″ or 30cm off the floor for 10-15 minutes.
This should be done three times a day and it is also advisable to do it with an empty stomach when your baby is active.
Music heals everything
It is out in the open that babies can hear sounds outside the womb. This process requires placing headphones on the lower part of your abdomen and playing either music or sounds of your voice can encourage babies to move towards the sounds and out of a breech position.
Music heals everything but we had no idea that it could heal breech presentation as well! All hail the Lord Of Music!
Homeopathic remedies
If you don’t want to go the modern way or radical way for that matter, people have successfully managed to find some homeopathic remedies.
If you’re interested in correcting a breech position, you can contact your local holistic practitioner about the possibility of using Moxibustion or Pulsatilla. So, what did you think of this story cum guide? Don't forget to comment down below!