Breech Baby: Understanding Risk & Heredity During Pregnancy

Question
Hi, I'm 30 yo, no children or previous pregnancies.  I'm 36 weeks pregnant (LMP-09/29/04) and just found out that my dr thinks my baby is breech.  I am scheduled for an ultrasound in a week.  After talking to my mom, I found that she was breech, my dad was breech and my oldest sister was breech.  I was told that breech babies are not hereditary but that since bone structure is that could be the cause.  

So my questions...Are breech babies hereditary and if not is the bone structure idea correct?  Also, is the procedure for turning the baby safe and what are the odds of her turning back?  If I do have the procedure do I get any anesthesia or do I just suffer through it?  I know that they would give me something to relax my uterus but is that all?  Thanks.  

Answer
A baby drops down into the pelvis (as it nears the time for labor) and arbitrarily can be head down (vertex) or behind down (breech). This is due to the bones of the pelvis which guide the baby down in that arbitrary way. If your doctors are going to try to turn the baby (external version), they MUST use sufficient anesthesia so that you will not have any pain from the procedure. Most of the time, once the baby is turned, if you do not go into labor right away, it turns back. I would not opt for turning the baby. We usually (90% of the time) perform a cesarean section for a breech. It is much safer for you and for the baby.