Management of Term Breech Presentation and External Cephalic Version

Breech presentation occurs in 3 to 4% of all term pregnancies [1]. Vaginal breech delivery rate has declined significantly since the Term Breech Trial, which showed lower serious perinatal mortality and neonatal morbidity after planned caesarean section delivery at term [1]. External cephalic version (ECV) is proven effective to prevent vaginal breech births and Caesarean sections [2]. The fetus is manipulated from the breech to cephalic presentation through the maternal abdomen. Success rates between studies vary from 30-80%. ECV is considered safe. There were no excess of intrauterine fetal deaths related to ECV recorded in a large series of 1,078 consecutive ECVs [3].