Is the mothers birth canal an adequate size?
A mother who has already delivered good-sized babies vaginally was considered the best candidate to try for vaginal breech delivery. If a woman hadn’t already had a baby, vaginal examination, an x-ray, or a CAT scan of her pelvic bones could be done to see if there was room for the baby’s head to fit through after his body. If the pelvis wasn’t ample, cesarean was preferred. • Is labor progressing normally? A labor that is overly long can be a sign that the baby is not fitting through the birth canal. If the labor wasn’t progressing well, the plans would be changed and they would proceed to cesarean. • Is the baby’s body in the right position? If the baby is tucked into a pike position (picture Jane Fonda on the cover of her famous first exercise video), the body plus the legs together have to pass through the birth canal before the head. This is good-it helps to assure that the head will have room to follow. Also, if the baby is coming feet first, it allows room for the umbilical cord
