Like the uninterrupted breastfeeder, the breech baby doesn't know any different. It's just a way of life. As for breathing inside, the trigger for breathing is complicated. In a waterbirth, the baby tends to take a breath when his face comes out of the water - that's why it is dangerous to submerge a waterbaby after the head emerges from the water. Not sure if it's the pressure or the temperature change. Waterbabies breathe immediately after their cord quits, which is why attendants look for the "kick" of the baby right when the cord quits - get the baby out of the water, NOW! Barbara Harper has excellent information on waterbirth/waterbabies. Physiologically, the normal human breathes when the carbon dioxide (CO2) in the bloodstream reaches a certain level, which triggers the brain to tell the lungs to breathe. I'm pretty sure it's the same with the newborn circulation. The only "exception to the rule" that I remember is COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) where CO2 does not trigger the breathing reflex, but that's beside the point! Finding out why the baby is breech is a good thing. Babies have tremendous wisdom, and there may be a very good reason they do not turn vertex. I attended a birth where the baby was breech, and just would not budge. Upon opening up the mother, the cord was found to be wrapped around her neck, apparently this happened the night before the birth. There was no way the baby could have descended without strangling herself. She was tethered to her placenta. And, most of the dangers of breech birth lies in the fact that liability has prevented attendants from learning how to do it. It is far easier to offer a substitute than to trust the process. Sort of like formula feeding versus breastfeeding. A formula feeding mother knows exactly what and how much is going into her baby, and takes away the fear of the unknown. The doctor no longer knows how to support breastfeeding, because of limited information, limited exposure and fear of "what if." Best wishes, Sam doak <<Breech is just another position to birth in, though I would honestly freebirth (unassisted birth) myself before I would in the hospital system with a known breech. There are far too many dangerous policies to allow safe birth of a breech. >> *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome