Webster Technique for Turning Your Breach Baby

Most babies naturally transition into the head-down position during your last month of pregnancy. If this doesn't happen, your baby is considered breach which greatly reduces your chances of having a successful vaginal birth. What are the different types of breach positions and how can each impact your labor and delivery? When and how are breach babies typically diagnosed? Plus, details about the Webster Technique which chiropractors can use to help encourage your baby into an ideal birthing position.

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Episode Transcript

Preggie Pals
Webster Technique for Turning Your Breech Baby

[00:00:00]

Please be advised, this transcription was performed from a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.

[Theme Music]

Dr.Tyson Perez: Most babies naturally transition to the ideal position for delivery a few weeks prior to birth. If this doesn’t happen your baby could be breech. What exactly does that mean and how can you effectively change your baby’s position? I am Dr.Tyson Perez, a pediatric and prenatal chiropractor at West Coast Chiropractic 4 Kids, here in Carlsbad, CA. And today we are learning all about the Webster Technique and how it helps with breech babies. This is Preggie Pals, episode 76.

[Theme Music/Intro]

Sunny Gault: Welcome to Preggie Pals broadcasting from the Birth Education Center, San Diego. Preggie Pals is your weekly online on-the-go support group for expecting parents and those hoping to become pregnant. I am your host Sunny Gault.

Would you like bonus content after each show, great give aways and even some great discounts? Then you need to join our Preggie Pals club. You will also get a free subscription to pregnancy magazine. You can visit website www.preggiepals.com for more information. And another way for you to stay connected is by downloading our free Preggie Pals Apps. We have several of them. They are available on the Android and the iTunes market place, we are on the windows phone, we are on the Google play. We are everywhere you want to be. You can also subscribe to our monthly news letter. If you do not live in San Diego but you would like to be a panelist on our show, you can still participate through our virtual panelist programme. And our Preggie Pals producer Stephanie is here to tell us a little bit more about it.

Stephanie Saalfeld: Hi, okay. So what we want you to do is to like our page on facebook, follow us on twitter and if you are on twitter, use the #preggiepalsvp. On both sites we will be posting sneak preview questions about the week before our recordings and we want you to be involved in the conversation. So just answer our questions, follow us and if you have any other questions on how to be a virtual panelist, go to www.preggiepals.com, under the community tab, be a virtual panelist and you should find all the information there.

Sunny Gault: Okay, so we have a couple of panelists joining us here in the studio. Actually, it’s really myself and Annie today. So, you guys know me. But I will tell you a little bit more about myself and this pregnancy that I am currently in. I am Sunny, host of the show. I am 35. I was talking to my husband about this yesterday, “Like how old am I!” I can’t even remember my age! I usually have to think of his age and then count backwards which always makes me feel better.

Annie Laird: There must be an App for that, Yes.

Sunny Gault: Yes, there should be an App for that. My occupation, I run New Mommy Media. I am the current host to Preggie Pals. But I am going to be handing those reigns over very shortly. But I will tell you more about in a second. I am currently pregnant. I am pregnant with twin identical girls. I have two little boys at home, Sayer and Urban. Sayer is three years-old. Urban is almost 17 months-old. And the type of birth I am going for; I really don’t have much of a choice, due to some complications with my first born. These are going to be via cesarean and December 2nd is the date for that. So hopefully, that puts me around 38 weeks. That’s a little later for a lot of twins but I am very hopeful and my perinatologist is hopeful that I can hold out until that date. Okay Annie.

Annie Laird: My name is Annie Laird. I am 35 years-old as well. My occupation during the day, I am government contractor and then as Sunny said, after basically the turn of the year, when we both have our babies, then I will be….

Sunny Gault: And then our lives get even more crazy.

Annie Laird: Exactly, because I need the more things on my plate right now. But yes a lot of fun. I have a lot of fun of these. So I am going to be taking over as the host of the Preggie Pals. I have two children right now. Clara is eight and Lucy is one and my due date is sometime towards the mid end of October. I am planning a homebirth with my third child. We are on teen green. We do not know the gender.

Sunny Gault: Do you have both names picked out boy and girl? Not that you have to share it.

Annie Laird: We do. Yes, oh yeah, absolutely. We didn’t have the last time. I didn’t find out the gender either and now. But I was convinced it was a boy and so we had Henry picked out. And then I pushed her out and it was a girl, so ….

Sunny Gault: Henrietta.

Annie Laird: That’s what my friends said, you know, we were with. My grandmother passed away two weeks previous and so she had picked out her name. So we got to go with grandma’s name. So this time around though we moved off Henry and we realized that there is about five Henrys in Rob’s extended family.

Sunny Gault: Okay.

Annie Laird: So we are going with either George, we are royal followers, you know, so we steal their baby name. George if it’s a boy, Stella if it’s a girl.

Sunny Gault: Well, I like Stella. That’s really pretty.

Annie Laird: Yeah, I like it too.

Sunny Gault: That is awesome!

[Theme Music]

Sunny Gault: So before we start today’s show, one of the things that we would like to do on Preggie Pals is review pregnancy Apps. Because as you ladies know, there are a lot of Apps out there. Some are good. Some are not so good. And sometimes you end up paying for these Apps and you are like, why did I waste my money!

So we are going to go through an App today called Pregnancy +, and as with most Apps there is a free version and there is paid for version. We are going to focus on the free version today. But I will kind of a heads up as to my opinion on this App and that is that, you know, perhaps download the free version if you just kind of want to get a feel for a bit. But I don’t really think it is a App that is very useful unless you upgrade. And I think that’s you know, it’s a whole marketing thing. It’s the whole point. But having said that, I think there is some really cool things on this App and actually Stephanie; didn’t one of our listeners suggest this App at one point?

Stephanie Saalfeld: Yeah.

Sunny Gault: Yeah, I think so. So thank you for the suggestion. If you guys have Apps you want us to review, please let us know. Send us an e-mail. But for this App again, Pregnancy +, you download it. It’s pretty easy to do. I have an iPhone so I downloaded the iPhone version. You enter some basic stuff like your due date. I was impressed being pregnant with twins; I was impressed that they did have an option for twins because a lot of times these Apps totally forget the twin parents. But there was an option if I have anything bad to say about that, is that they really didn’t do anything with that information now. You know, because there are areas where you can learn more about your baby. Your baby’s growth, you know, what’s going on? How big is the baby in your belly? But just because I enter twins I don’t see two little babies on my screen! No, my body looks a lot different than those ladies does in month seven.

So anyways, some of the things that I really liked, they do have daily tips, that they give you. it’s kind of on the home page. So mine says, “Hello, Sunny, you are 27 weeks and 5 days pregnant, within the third trimester”. And then it gives me daily tip. This one is about heart burn and how to resolve heart burn if you are currently experiencing that. So that’s kind of cool. They do have a timeline where they go through and kind of lay everything out if you are looking at your pregnancy as a whole. Sometimes you know, for people that are visual learners that really helped me. I really like that. There are some cool tools like kick counter, contraction timer, but all of those you have to upgrade and the paid for version is 299, so it’s probably not going to make a break most of us. But that’s kind of my personal review is if you are going to download it, to make sure just be do I really want the paid version?

Annie Laird: Right.

Sunny Gault: Because the free one, you really can’t use. They have some basic information on there but nothing you couldn’t research online. So I personally didn’t find it that helpful. So …..

Annie Laird: Because now that you mentioned that I think I actually at one point I must have been when I was being (unclear)in church and was drawn you know, the pastor was (unclear), “oh. Miss, you can be with my iPhone.” And I was like, I might have upgraded that because I can’t be the kick counts some way.

Sunny Gault: Okay, okay.

Annie Laird: You know, a lot of the stuff is not applicable. You know, shopping lists and their doctor’s tip and it was like you know, probably what I use it for most is that it is a third baby so I have no idea how pregnant I am and people ask and I go, wait a second, I have an App for that. And then I pull out my phone and I go “oh, I am 35 weeks and 2 days”. So you know, I could have told you know, probably that minute of conception with my first boy and with my third it’s like oh gosh, like I am eight months pregnant. How can I know?

Sunny Gault: I know.

Annie Laird: And I do use it with the upgraded version, so I guess I did get the upgraded version. I do use it for the kick counter which is nice because I just don’t deal well with pen and paper and you know, and kick counts are so important, I mean it’s good to know the health of your baby and most care providers will want you to do that towards the end of your pregnancy. Is it is convenient to have it just in this App and I just click at my phone and then its recorded there and it to my midwife appointments and I show her my phone.

Sunny Gault: Yeah, that is nice. I wish they had an option too for being able to download that information because, you are right.

Annie Laird: That would be nice.

Sunny Gault: Yeah, you are right; you could just totally go in and show them your iPhone or whatever but it would be nice if there was a way to e-mail it because I can e-mail it

Annie Laird: That makes sense by making some sort of chatters like that.

Sunny Gault: Exactly! If you are into retentive like me.

Annie Laird: Yeah, of course.

Sunny Gault: I think you like to tell that stuff. But you brought up a really good point and that is that I am on my third pregnancy as well. And you know, by your third pregnancy it’s just like, am I really going to enter all this information about my doctor’s visits and what was the heart beat like of the baby at that visit like, as well as the doctor gives me the “hey, okay”, I am like out of there, whatever.

Annie Laird: It’s should be a like the thumbs up faring or like, was it good or not good? Like, wait there is a 146 beats/minute. No, you know….

Sunny Gault: Right, exactly. Stephanie, I know you had a chance to look at this and you may have even used it right?

Stephanie Saalfeld: Yeah, I used this one in my pregnancy but I know I didn’t upgrade it and I know that there are other features like the kick counter and the stuff available at that point on the free one. So I think maybe they changed what they were given out for free. So but now it has a lot of cool tools and it was my first pregnancy so I had about twenty pregnancy Apps and I would go through all of them. ‘ooh, what does one do!” you know, and just be goof ball. And I probably did put in all the silly stuff the heart beat and everything. But yes, so I mean, as far as I was concerned it wasn’t my favorite one but, like I said, at that point I think it had other tools available for free. So it wasn’t terrible. So I say thumbs sideways.

Sunny Gault: Yeah, thumbs up – thumbs down. so overall thumbs up – thumbs down?

Annie Laird: I would say thumbs down. I mean, there is a lot of pregnancy Apps out there that I think do a lot more and they are free.

Sunny Gault: Now, okay. Yeah, from me I would say thumbs up if again you going to download the paid for version. If you are looking for a free version out there or a free App it’s going to give you your kick counts and all that kind of stuff. Thumbs down, you are totally not going to get this with that. So some mixed reviews from our panel. Okay, thanks ladies.

[Theme music]

Sunny Gault: Let’s face it. The babies don’t exactly do what we want them to do during pregnancy and that includes their positioning. Something you may be more and more concerned about as your due date draws near. The Webster technique is a popular method used to turn breech babies and its something our expert knows a lot about. Joining us here in the studio is Dr.Tyson Perez of West Coast Chiropratic 4 Kids, which is based right here in the San Diego area. Welcome to Preggie Pals Dr.Perez.

Dr.Tyson Perez: Thank you very much. Pleasure to be here!

Sunny Gault: Great to have you on our show! So let’s start by talking more about what it means for a baby to be breech? Before we figure out how do we change a breech baby, I think we need to know what we are talking about, right?

Dr.Tyson Perez: Sure, sure.

Sunny Gault: So what does that mean, when we say a baby is breech what does that mean?

Dr.Tyson Perez: So the normal optimal position for a baby to be in during birth is head down. Breech is the exact opposite of that with the bottom facing down towards the birth canal.

Sunny Gault: So does that mean the feet and the bottom or could it be kind of position a little bit differently. So maybe the feet, maybe it’s more towards the side or …..

Dr.Tyson Perez: Sure, well there are different types of breech actually. There is what is called - I will go through a few different types. There is a complete breech which if you picture somebody doing the cannon ball into the swimming pool. That’s what a complete breech is with the knees up towards the chest. Okay, there is also things like a footling breech where one foot is stuck down and straightened out where the other leg is put up towards the chest and there is also a kneeling breech where both knees are pointed straight down. There is one more breech that it looks like a pike position where the fetal actually up towards the head…..

Sunny Gault: Those are for the flexible babies out there.

Dr.Tyson Perez: Yes and when they come out, when they are born, it’s interesting they tend to do that position a lot during the first few months after they are born. So yeah, they are used to being in that position.

Sunny Gault: Now do we know why babies, you know, some babies get into this position and how other ones end up head down?

Dr.Tyson Perez: There is a number of different reasons that a baby could be breech. Some of the less common ones could be fibroids in the uterus or an unusually shaped uterus. I had one mom that her uterus was shaped like mikey mouse that’s how she described it.

Sunny Gault: No way.

Dr.Tyson Perez: Yeah! There is other things like too much amniotic fluid or too little amniotic fluid; it can lead to that breech position. Sometimes the position of the placenta like a placenta previa where the placenta is covering the cervix can also lead towards a breech position. But the most common causes of the breech are typically where there is not enough room within the uterus for the baby to actually get breeched down or head down and that’s what I typically say.

Sunny Gault: Now let’s talk about timeframe here. Because I am thinking you know, I am what am I now, I need to look at my App Annie! I think I am about 28 weeks pregnant. So and I am pregnant with twins and still every time I go in she is like well, this one is breech, this one is up and they change still, right?

Dr.Tyson Perez: They do. Yes!

Sunny Gault: So I mean is there, as what point can we really start to pay attention to whether are not our babies are breech?

Dr.Tyson Perez: Right, so babies are constantly flipping, you know, head down, bottom down all the time until about the start of the third trimester. And in the start of the third trimester, the baby tends to start going towards the position that is going to be in for birth. By 36 weeks that’s when the moms are typically given the diagnosis of a breech baby. So if they are not head down by 36 weeks typically the OB or the midwife will let you know that your baby is breech.

Sunny Gault: Then how is that diagnosis made?

Dr.Tyson Perez There is a couple of different ways typically today they use an ultrasound. So they go and look at the position of the baby with the ultrasound but some of the more skilled midwives and OBs can actually use their hand and feel there is a maneuver called the Leopold’s maneuver where they can feel the position of the baby and they can tell just by palpating the mom’s stomach what position the baby is then.

Annie Laird: That’s how my midwife, she determines. I was like you were saying towards the beginning of my third trimester she felt, she used her hand near my pelvic bone basically and she said, “okay here is the baby’s head” and then she could feel the lumps and the bumps and I don’t know, she said everything about it but she could determine, “oh yes you know, here is the baby’s head and here is the little butt and here is the back” and all that.

Dr.Tyson Perez: It’s quite a skill, yeah.

Sunny Gault: So you will never make that diagnosis as a chiropractor?

Dr.Tyson Perez: I wouldn’t personally. No. I leave that to the OBs and the midwives. They are the experts in that.

Sunny Gault: Okay, but you could tell like if someone has been seeing you for chiropractic care throughout their pregnancy, you might be able to at least kind of know, at least personally whether or not you wanted to make an official diagnosis, you are kind of tracking that a little bit.

Dr.Tyson Perez: Yeah, I do have a somewhat of a knowledge on that. I could feel and you know, like with my wife when she was pregnant I could basically get an idea where the baby was. But I personally would never tell the mom “I think you are breech I know”. If I do suspect something and I might suggest that she go to her care provider and check that out.

Sunny Gault: Sure, well the whole point on today’s show is to not just talk about breech babies but talk about the Webster technique and I know that is one method that is used. So I am assuming since we are talking about this that even if our babies get into that breech position that it might be able to be changed. We do have some options here, right?

Dr.Tyson Perez: Absolutely! Yes.

Sunny Gault: Okay, alright, and can we use these methods multiple times to change because I know sometimes we change them and then they change back!

Dr.Tyson Perez: Sure.

Sunny Gault: We do this back and forth with them.

Dr.Tyson Perez: Absolutely! Let me put something all together. There is a big conception out there by not only the public but a lot of chiropractors as well, that the Webster technique is specifically to turn breech babies. That is not the case. The Webster technique can be very effective with moms that have a breech baby. But it’s used for all pregnant moms. So I use it in all pregnant moms that come to my practice. It’s a very very good technique. So it’s not specifically for breech babies or to turn breech babies. So just a little kind of laded up there.

Sunny Gault: Sure.

Dr.Tyson Perez: There is an external version that treatment is specifically to turn a breech baby. And that’s not what we are doing with the Webster technique.

Annie Laird: So it sounds like you are trying to get optimal baby position?

Dr.Tyson Perez: Exactly! We are letting the body do its things. so I am not actually when a baby goes to breech to head down after Webster technique, it’s not me turning the baby, it’s the mom and you know, the baby working together to actually turn it down.

Sunny Gault: There are more factors than just that.

Dr.Tyson Perez: Yes definitely!

Sunny Gault: Got it. Okay, when we come back we are going to talk specifically more about the Webster technique. What is the process like and even though it’s not the only reason that people use the Webster technique, how effective is it at turning breech babies? We will right back.

[Theme music]

Sunny Gault: Welcome back everyone today. We are discussing breech babies and the Webster technique. Dr.Tyson Perez of West Coast Chiropratic 4 Kids is our special expert. Okay so we started talking about this a little bit before the break, Dr.Perez. But what is the Webster technique? When you say Webster technique, this is something I do for my pregnant patients and people are liked why, what is that? What is your elevator pitch for this?

Dr.Tyson Perez: So the Webster technique as a chiropractor technique that was developed by a chiropractor named Larry Webster. And what it does? It bounces the pelvis. So if there are misalignments in the pelvis, the Webster technique is used to bounce the pelvis and what that does is it takes torsion of the ligaments that are surrounding the uterus and it also optimizes the nerve flow to the uterus. So it’s essentially just to bounce everything out down there for birth.

Sunny Gault: What would you say are some of the additional benefits? I know today’s episode we are focusing on breech babies and that could be one of the benefits.

Dr.Tyson Perez: Sure!

Sunny Gault: What are some of the other benefits of having this technique performed on you as a pregnant woman?

Dr.Tyson Perez: Sure. Well, there are benefits for both mom and baby. So, some of the benefits for the mom would be a more comfortable pregnancy and also a more comfortable labor and birth. Some of the studies actually, Dr.Fallon did a study where she found that first-time moms had a 24% shorter labor following Webster technique and moms that had multiple babies had a 39% decrease in labor time.

Annie Laird: And as a labor due like that you know interests me as far as would this Webster technique, does it help with posterior babies, getting babies to move.

Dr.Tyson Perez: Yes.

Annie Laird: Because I do know that posterior and so basically a baby’s sunny side up, facing up the easiest way for a baby to come is with the baby’s face facing back towards mom’s backside basically. So yeah, that definitely if a mom is laboring and the baby is facing up like that gosh, it can take a while.

Dr.Tyson Perez: Yes, it can and so moms come and see me for not only breech but they, you know, occiput posterior babies where the baby is actually facing towards the belly button and the head is facing back towards the spine. Also transverse babies and all the different positions. So, yeah, it could be effective in all those cases.

Stephanie Saalfeld: I wish I had known ahead of time that my daughter was posterior occiput post….. however you say that occiput posterior?

Dr.Tyson Perez: Yes.

Sunny Gault: I wish I had known, you know, because my labor was 28 hours and then I still ended having a C-section.

Dr.Tyson Perez: Yeah, I recommend the Webster technique for all pregnant moms whether, you know, especially early in the pregnancy. The earlier you start in the pregnancy the less likelihood you can have an abnormal position during the birth.

Sunny Gault: Okay so let’s talk a little bit about the treatment and we are going to start to focus in more now on moms that they want to try to use this, to turn a breech baby. Again I realize that’s not the only for but you know, what is involved in the treatment and is it, sounds like something because its not just used to turn breech babies. It’s something that you would get throughout your chiropractic care and pregnancy, right?

Dr.Tyson Perez: Definitely! First of all it’s not a painful technique. It’s a very gentle technique and what I do personally is I use what is called pregnancy pillow. So the mom comes in and is that pillow with hook it out in the middle and she put her belly in the hole and she goes face down.

And what I do, the classic Webster technique is you take the mom’s ankles and you put them up towards her butt and you look for any kind of differences if one is tighter than the other and if one is tighter than the other on one side, that’s the side that’s typically considered the restricted side and you will do and adjustment on that side of the pelvis. And what I do is that I have, what is called the drop table, so a little piece of the table lifts up and then I can drop her gently down that of the pelvis to help realign and position that pelvis.

Sunny Gault: How quickly could you see the result if you were trying to turn a breech baby?

Dr.Tyson Perez: I have seen the breech turn after the first adjustment that doesn’t always occur. You know, sometimes it takes a few adjustments. Sometimes the baby never turns for whatever reason and once the baby is born and the mother doesn’t have a misshaped uterus, no fibroids, she has been getting adjustments throughout pregnancy and for whatever reason the baby is still born breech. So it really depends on the individual. But sometimes it happens right away.

Sunny Gault: Yeah, wow, have you ever noticed like a literally that appointments not over yet and the baby has turned?

Dr.Tyson Perez: I have! Yeah, sometimes I have notice when I am doing the Webster technique is when I have the mom face up, because part of the Webster technique is face down. The second part of it is face up. And I am actually feeling the mom’s round ligaments which are down towards the bottom of the belly and I have felt the baby turn. Make a lot of movement during that part of the technique, so yes, I have.

Sunny Gault: Yeah, but unfortunately they can turn right back.

Dr.Tyson Perez: They can, they can and that’s why I recommend getting the Webster technique throughout the entire duration of the pregnancy because if you just go in, get the Webster technique done and the baby turns and then you go away, they baby can still turn the bottom down again. so….

Sunny Gault: But it is, and maybe Annie you can chime in on this it is less likely that the further along you get in your pregnancy the more the baby is going to be turning because they do run out of room at some point.

Dr.Tyson Perez: Yes

Sunny Gault: So does that mean that getting, you know, of course you could do this throughout your pregnancy but is, would you say it’s even more important if you are think your baby is breech or whatever you do it more towards the end?

Dr.Tyson Perez: Well, I would say it’s more important, yeah. If you are coming out of that point of view, yes. Ideally towards the beginning of the third trimester, let’s say you haven’t been getting care throughout your pregnancy, towards the beginning of the third trimester, prior to your 36 weeks or prior to 37 weeks maybe, by about 37 weeks that baby really gets into that comfortable position where ever it is. So, yeah, the earlier the better.

Annie Laird: Well, I think it’s very important to see a chiropractor who knows what they are doing with Webster technique, you know, if that’s going to be what’s applied. In my case I saw a chiropractic care at the very beginning of my pregnancy and the chiropractor wasn’t used to dealing with pregnant ladies and did ….

Sunny Gault: Well that’s awkward.

Annie Laird: Well yeah he was just a regularly you know chiropractic care a lot of the military folks went there and she torqued my leg over to the side and I got like a uterus in the way and like I was just like “Ooohhh” and she was like “oh, what? Because I didn’t look pregnant, but it was just that real sensitive time beginning of the ligaments are losing up and she was like, oh, that hurts? Oh my god. And so then I saw a different chiropractor. And it’s worked out a lot better. I told that chiropractor and she was like oh my goodness, yeah, you shouldn’t be in pain during chiropractic care. It should feel good after an adjustment. So yes, I mean, I would urge people that are seeking chiropractic care, find someone that knows what they are doing.

Sunny Gault: Yeah, because Dr.Perez will never do that. He will never torque your leg like that.

Annie Laird: No he wouldn’t.

Dr.Tyson Perez: No, no.

Annie Laird: He would look shocked and would say it’s like oh my god yeah.

Dr.Tyson Perez: You know, with breech though I have actually heard of moms that went into labor they were breech and during the labor baby turned head down. So it’s not…

Annie Laird: That’s amazing.

Dr.Tyson Perez: Yeah, it’s impossible for these babies to actually go head down during labor as well, so.

Sunny Gault: Dr. Perez, are there someone there that shouldn’t have this procedure done?

Dr.Tyson Perez: No, there is really no contraindications to the Webster technique. Because when are dealing is specifically with the baby we are working on the mom and so really there are no contraindications for pregnancy.

Sunny Gault: Well that’s good! That’s good to know because I know a lot of times women who are prone to having complications may be hesitant to do something like this, simply because you know they don’t want to mess with the pregnancy too much. As kind of let it doing its thing, right?

Dr.Tyson Perez: it’s a very gentle technique.

Sunny Gault: Good! And I am assuming that this is the technique that only chiropractors can perform and we just kind of touch down the importance of having a chiropractor that’s experienced in this. How do you recommend you know because we have listeners from all over country that listen to Preggie Pals, how can women find a chiropractor in their area for something like this?

Dr.Tyson Perez: The best place you can go is www.icpa4kids.org and so that’s i-c-p-a, the number 4 and then kids.org and they will list all the chiropractors in your area that are actually certified in doing the Webster technique.

Sunny Gault: Isn’t that convenient! I am glad so ones started the left side.

Dr.Tyson Perez: You just type in your zip code and they will come out.

Sunny Gault: That’s awesome and you are in the system too, right? So anyone that’s listening in San Diego area can find you.

Dr.Tyson Perez: Yes.

Sunny Gault: Let’s talk about cost for a second because I am assuming this is not something that’s covered by insurance, it’s something that a lot of women have to consider. There is a lot of cost associate with prenatal care plus you have got a brand new baby on the way and the costs that are associated with that. So what do we look in out here?

Dr.Tyson Perez: Yeah, well, insurance doesn’t specifically cover Webster technique, but some insurance do cover chiropractic care which can be basically covered with when you go and get adjusted. It’s just a chiropractic adjustment essentially. So when the chiropractor builds the insurance they wouldn’t put out, you know that they did Webster technique. They would include that they now they did a chiropractic adjustment. I tend to ….insurance is not really my thing. I don’t like to deal with hassle of it.

Sunny Gault: Right.

Dr.Tyson Perez: So but I do know that it can be built if the woman does have insurance benefits for chiropractic care.

Sunny Gault: If insurance isn’t an option or women want to proceed that way, what kind of fees we are looking up?

Dr.Tyson Perez: It varies depending on the place where you live in the country and the certain provider that does it. But usually you know, you are looking around probably some around $50 for an adjustment, a Webster technique adjustment.

Sunny Gault: And that’s for a single visit?

Dr.Tyson Perez: For a single visit.

Sunny Gault: Okay.

Dr.Tyson Perez: But it does vary depending on the location and the provider.

Sunny Gault: And the amount of visit you need and it’s really up in the air right? We can’t say oh, five and you should be okay or whatever.

Dr.Tyson Perez: Yeah, it is up in the air. And like I said you know, I wouldn’t recommend go in just once the baby turns to stop it. But I have seen the babies turn with one adjustment and sometimes after multiple adjustments and sometimes never. So you really never know. So it’s hard to predict.

Sunny Gault: Okay alright, we need more information because I know we just kind of scrap the surface of this but if there were more information about the Webster technique are there any resources that you recommend?

Dr.Tyson Perez: Well the icpa website. www.theicpa4kids.org it’s got great stuff. So there is a lot of information, lot of research articles about it there. So that’s a great place to go.

Sunny Gault: Okay. Well, Dr.Perez, thanks you so much for joining us today.

Dr.Tyson Perez: Thank you.

Sunny Gault: Pleasure having you on our show. For more information about Dr.Perez as well as Annie and myself, you can visit the episode page on our website, and Stephanie. Stephanie has got some information on it too. This conversation continues for members of our Preggie Pals club. After the show we will discuss some other non-invasive options for turning your breech baby because as we mentioned the Webster technique is not the only one and you can use the Webster technique for many things throughout your pregnancy. Not just turning the breech baby.

If you would like to have more information on how join the Preggie Pals club you can visit our website which is www.preggiepals.com.

[Theme music]

Sunny Gault: We have a question from one of our listeners and this comes from Jenny of Pennsylvania. Jenny writes the hospital I am delivering at offers a multiples class. Is this the best type of preparation for having twin babies? Would you recommend taking a twin class like this or is there another way to better prepare? We are going to ask our twin expert JonaRose Feinberg.

JonaRose Fienberg: Hi, Jenny. This is JonaRose Feinberg. I am an IBCRC, mom of twins and editor of Breastfeeding Twins.org. I definitely recommend taking a multiples class at the hospital if it’s available. These classes are generally a good source of basic information about a multiples pregnancy and what to expect after your babies arrive. Many classes invite experienced parents of multiples back to class to answer questions of the expected parents.

Class contents will vary widely. Some of these classes are more focused on pregnancy related topics such as diet and preventing preterm labor. Some provide an overview of hospital policies and practices around a multiple delivery at that facility. Some educate parents on postpartum issues such as breastfeeding and newborn care. Depending on the content of your class, you may one to supplement with other classes on specific topics such as newborn care, breastfeeding, or a hospital tour. You can also reach out to an IBCRC in your area for a private customized prenatal breastfeeding preparation if that’s not part of the class.

Twins clubs and online groups are another great resource. You can join your local twins club or reach out to other moms with multiples online. Local groups often have a (unclear) on new moms meeting you can attend now to get advice from moms who have recently been through the adventure of twin pregnancy and they can usually offer local resources and referrals.

Different groups have different personalities. So we are on the lookout for a good fit for your needs. You can also supplement the class offerings with some of the many books about twins that are available. I often suggest mothering multiples by Karen Gromada as a great overview with both pregnancy and postpartum information. This is also the best book on the market for information about breastfeeding multiples. Your local twins club may have a lending library or a club sale where you can pick up some other books about twin pregnancy and parenting. Everyone has their favorites so flip through a few books and see what seems most helpful. Again congratulations on your pregnancy. Take it easy, keep them kicking and enjoy this new adventure. Come visit me online at www.breastfeedingtwins.org for more information and tips.

[Theme Music]

Sunny Gault: That wraps up our show for today. We appreciate you listening into Preggie Pals. Don’t forget to check out our sister shows Parent Savers’ for parent with newborns, infants and toddlers and our show The Boob Group for moms who breastfeed their babies and I will go ahead and make the announcement now. Starting in January we have another show. So there will be four shows total. Our fourth show is about twins because as I was doing my research on twin pregnancies and how to raise twins there was not enough information out there. So I thought lets create a show about that because you know, I don’t have enough things on my plate to do. No but it will be a really good show, we are really excited about it. So stay tuned to our shows for more information on that.

Next week here on Preggie Pals we are launching a new series. It’s focusing on natural ways to manage pregnancy discomfort including physical therapy options.

This is Preggie Pals: Your Pregnancy, Your Way!

[Disclaimer]
This has been a New Mommy Media production. Information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Statements and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. Though information in which areas are related to be accurate, it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, Medical or advisor care and should not be used for diagnosing or treating health care problem or disease or prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby, please seek assistance from a qualified health care provider.

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