PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A breech birth is when the baby does not exit the womb head first. Breech births occur in about four of every 100 deliveries. Breech births are often a surprise and having this knowledge in advance can help reduce the chances of broken bones or even hemorrhage.
Researchers in the U.K. are suggesting that handheld ultrasounds can be used before delivery to help with the early detection of breech births.
Routine ultrasounds are performed between the 10th and 13th week of pregnancy, but a handheld point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) is easy to do later in pregnancy.
The authors of the study say that one barrier is that obstetricians will need greater training on handheld ultrasounds if this is to become routine.
Get more medical reports from Dr. Brian McDonough.
KYW Newsradio's Medical Reports are sponsored by Independence Blue Cross.
