Do You Need a Referral for External Cephalic Version?

External cephalic version usually needs referral or arrangement through your maternity team because it is performed in an obstetric setting. Your midwife or obstetrician can assess whether it may be suitable and refer you to the hospital service. Contact the intended maternity unit to confirm its local process.

External cephalic version is a procedure that uses pressure on the abdomen to try to turn a breech baby into a head-down position. Before it, an obstetric clinician checks the baby’s position, placenta, fluid, fetal wellbeing, pregnancy history, and any reasons the procedure should be avoided.

It is planned in a setting where the baby can be monitored and urgent maternity care is available if needed. The clinician discusses how the procedure feels, what happens if the position does not change, and birth options that remain available.

Tell your midwife or obstetrician if you have been told that your baby is breech. Ask when an assessment is appropriate, whether you need a formal referral, and which hospital team will perform the procedure. Bring your maternity records and tell the team about previous caesarean birth, bleeding, contractions, or reduced fetal movement.

Do not attend for a planned procedure without following the unit’s instructions about food, medicines, arrival time, and monitoring. The team will confirm consent and review your condition on the day.

Contact your maternity unit urgently for vaginal bleeding, leaking fluid, regular painful contractions, severe abdominal pain, or reduced fetal movement. These symptoms need assessment regardless of whether an external cephalic version has been booked. After the procedure, follow the unit’s instructions and report concerning pain, bleeding, fluid leakage, or changes in movement.

Ask: Do I need a referral for external cephalic version? Is it suitable with my pregnancy history and current findings? Where will monitoring occur? What are the alternatives if turning is not successful? Which symptoms should make me call the maternity unit immediately?