"Breech Birth Miss"

Just over four months ago, I gave birth to my beautiful baby girl at nearly 42 weeks pregnant at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. After taking time to reflect and begin the process of healing, I now feel ready to share my experience.

I would like to start by stating that I am deeply grateful to the staff at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary for ensuring the safe arrival of my daughter, and I hold immense appreciation for the care I received during delivery. However, my overall experience has highlighted areas of concern that I believe require thoughtful reflection, greater awareness, and improved education — particularly regarding the care I received from community midwives based at Rutherglen Primary Care Centre.

My intention in sharing this experience is not to assign blame, but to open a compassionate and constructive dialogue. I hope that by speaking openly, I can contribute to meaningful understanding, and perhaps help others — both expectant mothers and healthcare professionals — by encouraging more informed, empathetic and consistent care.

In early May, I was admitted to hospital for a planned induction; however, upon arrival, a late scan revealed that my baby was in a breech position. As I had already entered active labour and my baby was considered large, there was no option but to proceed with a caesarean section to ensure a safe and timely delivery. Thankfully, the procedure went as smoothly as possible, and I am incredibly thankful to the midwives and surgical team whose swift actions brought my daughter safely into the world.

That said, I’ve been left with many questions and a growing sense of concern about how this breech position went undetected until such a critical moment. Despite numerous appointments with community midwives throughout my pregnancy, including in the final days before delivery, the breech lie was never identified. I can’t help but wonder whether the emotional distress and the need for emergency surgery might have been avoided had the examinations been more thorough or accurate.

At my midwife appointment just the day before I gave birth, the midwife palpated my bump and confidently described the baby as head down. During the sweep, it was explained that the baby's head could be felt and they were cautious not to break my waters. A trainee midwife also conducted a sweep and echoed the same findings. Similarly, at the previous week’s appointment with my regular midwife, during a sweep I was again told the baby was head down and ready for birth. All of these assessments were documented in my maternity notes.

Given what the surgeons said during my daughter’s delivery — that her position suggested she had likely been breech for some time — I do not believe she flipped in the final hours before birth. This suggests that the breech lie was likely missed on multiple occasions.

For context, this was my second pregnancy. My first baby was delivered vaginally without complication, and this pregnancy was classified as low-risk. Because of that classification, my last scan took place at 20 weeks gestation. From that point forward, I relied entirely on the clinical judgment and experience of my community midwives to monitor my baby’s growth and positioning. On several occasions, I mentioned feeling a solid mass at the top of my bump, but I was quickly reassured that it was normal and nothing to worry about. There were a number of occasions where I felt like my questions and concerns were fallen on deaf ears - my midwife appointments were never longer than 5/10 minutes.

Ultimately, I feel let down by the standard of care provided during my antenatal appointments. If the breech position had been identified earlier, I could have explored options such as an external cephalic version (ECV) to try to turn the baby. Even if that had not been successful, I would have had time to emotionally and mentally prepare for a planned caesarean birth. Instead, the discovery came at the most urgent and vulnerable moment, causing significant distress for both myself and my partner.

From what I understand, undiagnosed breech presentation at term is relatively uncommon. I am therefore struggling to understand how this was missed, particularly by multiple healthcare professionals.

I’ve been fortunate to have a strong support system which has helped me through this traumatic experience. However, I’m acutely aware that not everyone is as lucky. Many women go through pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period without adequate emotional, psychological, or practical support. For those who may already be vulnerable, something as traumatic as this can have a lasting impact on their mental health and overall wellbeing.

This is one of the reasons I feel compelled to speak out — not only to reflect on my own experience, but to advocate for more compassionate, consistent, and mindful care.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.