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1 hr 7 min
Breech baby? Suddenly, your options might feel like they’ve gone from a whole menu to one very big “schedule a C-section.” But here’s the thing: vaginal breech birth is a skill, and when providers aren’t trained or hospitals aren’t willing to support it, parents can lose access to an option they may never have been told was possible.
In this episode, HeHe sits down with Betty-Anne Daviss, a midwife and researcher with more than 50 years of experience, to talk about breech birth, unnecessary cesareans, and what it actually takes to rebuild the skills needed to support vaginal breech births. Betty-Anne explains why a one-day training doesn’t automatically make someone qualified to attend breech births, how supervised experience matters, and what she’s working to change through the new Breech POWER Course. They also dig into breech outcomes at her Ottawa hospital, upright breech techniques, the history of forceps, and why routine forceps use isn’t necessarily the answer.
They revisit the controversial Term Breech Trial and the research that followed, explore differences between Canadian and U.S. maternity care systems, and unpack the fear, liability concerns, and hospital policies that can make collaboration so difficult. From Apgar scores and monitoring to induction after your water breaks, this conversation gets into the details that parents and providers need to understand when discussing breech birth.
Because a breech presentation doesn’t mean you should automatically be left without options. This conversation isn’t about pretending every provider has the skills to safely attend every breech birth. It’s about building real competency, creating better collaboration, and making sure parents have access to informed conversations instead of blanket restrictions. Your birth options should be shaped by your individual circumstances and qualified care, not simply by what a hospital is comfortable offering.
Knowing your options is one thing. Having bite-sized birth prep in your pocket for the next appointment, when someone says “we don’t do that here,” is another. That’s what The Birth Lounge App is for: https://www.thebirthlounge.com/app
In this episode:
- Betty-Anne’s 50+ years of experience in midwifery and what led her to focus on breech birth
- Why short breech trainings can create overconfidence without the supervised experience needed to build real skills
- What the new Breech POWER Course offers and how it aims to expand provider education
- What Betty-Anne reports about breech outcomes at her hospital in Ottawa
- The history of forceps in breech birth and why Betty-Anne challenges their routine use
- How upright breech birth techniques work and why hands-on skills matter
- What the Term Breech Trial found and what later follow-up research adds to the conversation
- Why breech babies may have lower initial Apgar scores and what providers should consider when monitoring
- The differences between Canadian and U.S. midwifery systems and access to breech birth
- How hospital privileges, liability concerns, and fear can create barriers to collaboration
- What to consider when discussing induction after PROM with a breech baby
- Where families and providers can find more education, training, and support
- Betty-Anne’s work on birth models, activism, and human rights
If you want prep delivered straight to your phone, download The Birth Lounge App for bite-sized birth and postpartum tools you can use anytime, anywhere: https://www.thebirthlounge.com/app
Providers and birth workers: the Breech POWER Conference is November 21-22 in Toronto. Details and registration: https://www.breechpowercourse.com/workshops-conferences
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Bringing Breech Back
01:00 Why Breech Is HeHe’s Hill to Die On
07:00 Breech Roadblocks in Hospitals
09:29 Betty-Anne’s Background and the Breech POWER Course
13:45 The Term Breech Trial
14:56 Canadian vs. U.S. Midwifery Systems
18:23 Getting Breech Birth Privileges at the Hospital
19:34 The Frank Nudge and the History of Forceps
21:15 Why Forceps May Not Be Needed
26:05 Breech Birth Techniques and Hands-On Skills
27:45 Truly Free
31:17 Home vs. Hospital for Breech Birth
34:48 Why Breech Babies May Have Lower Apgar Scores
38:59 NICU Stories and Lessons Learned
40:15 U.S. vs. Canada: Fear, Liability, and Breech Birth Restrictions
45:29 A Patient Story About Childlike vs. Childish Thinking
49:34 Induction After PROM with a Breech Baby
55:15 Where Do U.S. Families Go for Breech Birth?
57:24 The Breech POWER Conference
58:41 Closing Thoughts and Resources
01:00:56 Betty-Anne’s Books and Where to Find Her
GUEST BIO
Betty-Anne Daviss has been a midwife for over 50 years. Originally trained by traditional midwives in Guatemala, she has done clinical research and published in medical journals on hemorrhage and home birth, upright vaginal breech birth, and VBAC. She holds breech privileges at a hospital in Ottawa, has spoken at conferences around the world, and leads trainings for breech birth through the Breech POWER Course. She is the author of Birthing Models on the Human Rights Frontier and Rethinking the Physiology of Vaginal Breech Birth.
A NOTE FROM BETTY-ANNE
“We say now that if you are a breech practitioner with large hands, like William Smellie (in the 1700s), you may need forceps, but if you are a seasoned practitioner with female-sized hands, you have another instrument. If you use the upright positioning, you rarely need it for the breech, but for the 1-5% of times you need something, your hand fits well into the birthing person's vagina to extract the head. We know from the MRI studies in Frankfurt that the transverse diameters of the pelvis open up 1 to 2 cm. in a crouched over position and from the biomechanical engineering studies, they also become more ample in the squatting position, so usually just positioning works. And we know at least one male with large hands who used his hand, reaching far enough into the vagina to reach the top of the baby's head just with his 4 fingers, using this "Crowning Touch" manoeuvre, not needing the rest of his hand.”
CONNECT
HeHe on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tranquilitybyhehe/
Breech POWER Course: https://www.breechpowercourse.com
Understanding Birth Better: https://understandingbirthbetter.com
Betty-Anne’s book, Birthing Models on the Human Rights Frontier (Routledge): https://routledge.com/Birthing-Models-on-the-Human-Rights-Frontier-Speaking-Truth-to-Power/Daviss-Davis-Floyd/p/book/9780367357924
BREECH POWER CONFERENCE
November 21-22, 2026 at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. $500 CAD for the two days, or $400 CAD per person with the interprofessional team registration (bring a colleague from another profession). Register: https://www.breechpowercourse.com/workshops-conferences
TRULY FREE
This episode contains an affiliate link. If you purchase through it, HeHe may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. HeHe’s laundry detergent rabbit hole ended with Truly Free, plant-based, dye-free, and available completely unscented, which mattered to her once she had a baby’s clothes and sheets to think about. It still actually cleans, and one box lasts for months. Head to https://www.trulyfreehome.com and use code HEHE to save on your order.
KEEP LEARNING WITH HEHE
Want the exact words for the conversation with a provider who says “we don’t do that here”? Grab Scripts for Advocacy: https://www.thebirthlounge.com/Scripts-for-Advocacy
LINKS MENTIONED
The Birth Lounge App: https://www.thebirthlounge.com/app
Breech POWER Course: https://www.breechpowercourse.com
Breech POWER Conference registration: https://www.breechpowercourse.com/workshops-conferences
Understanding Birth Better: https://understandingbirthbetter.com
Birthing Models on the Human Rights Frontier (Routledge): https://routledge.com/Birthing-Models-on-the-Human-Rights-Frontier-Speaking-Truth-to-Power/Daviss-Davis-Floyd/p/book/9780367357924
Breech Without Borders: https://www.breechwithoutborders.org/
Truly Free (use code HEHE): https://www.trulyfreehome.com
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