Who Gets An EVC During Pregnancy?

When you're pregnant, you have to learn a whole new vocabulary to describe the things happening inside your body. There's a whole new set of worries to think about, new sicknesses to educate your self on, new risks you were unaware of, and new feelings that you'd never felt until now. All of the terminology can get confusing, especially the first time you're pregnant. If your baby is breech, you've probably heard the term "EVC" thrown around in your doctors appointments and in your research, but what is it and who gets an EVC during pregnancy?

According to Pregnancy Weekly, only four percent of babies are in a breech position at full term (37 to 42 weeks.) So although it's not extremely common, if a baby is breech at full term doctors will sometimes try to manually turn the baby to face head down, the easiest birthing position. This procedure is called an EVC, or external cephalic version, and has about a 65 percent success rate, according to American Family Physician (AAFP).

If EVC is in your pregnancy vocabulary because it's been recommended to you for turning your breech baby, here's what you can expect from the procedure. According to the AAFP, your doctor will likely do an ultrasound, to confirm the breech position, as well as perform a non-stress test to check the baby's heart rate and vitals. They may also draw your blood to get a blood count and blood type from you in case of emergency.

After the preliminary examination, you will take a medication to help your muscles relax, and according to Parenting Weekly, the doctor will attempt to turn your baby externally, using pressure (which shouldn't hurt your or the baby, it may just feel uncomfortable for you.)

Although there is the chance that the procedure will be unsuccessful — some babies just refuse to turn — the majority of ECV's result in a head-down baby, allowing the mother more options for delivery, and one less worry on her list.