Theory for ECV practice and Breech Choices Counselling

The study day will take place in Seminar Room 4 at Whipps Cross Hospital. There will be parking available on site but spaces may be limited so we encourage public transport or car-sharing, wherever possible.

This half-day workshop for breech specialist midwives and obstetricians will cover theory for external cephalic version (ECV) practice and how to counsel women about their options with a breech-presenting baby in the third trimester.

For practical questions about the venue, please contact Deputy Associate Director for Maternity Education, [email protected].

For quations about the course content, please contact Dr Shawn Walker, [email protected].

Training will include:

* Research about the risks and benefits of ECV

* Contraindications and safety measures

* How to perform an ECV

* Simulation counselling practice for ECV

* Counselling clients using the OptiBreech pro forma

* Simulation counselling practice for birth options

* One year's access to the online training course & video resources following the training, where attendees can complete the entire NHS-evaluated OptiBreech course and gain a certificate.

Please ensure you create an account in the OptiBreech Online Academy and access the free OptiBreech Evidence Base 2025 online course prior to attending the training.

Shawn Walker, RM, PhD is a Consultant Midwife at The Royal London Hospital. She has researched how to improve competence, confidence and safety in vaginal breech birth for over 16 years. As a previous NIHR Advanced Fellow and Chief Investigator of the OptiBreech Trial, Dr Walker led the only UK-based multi-centre breech study, a feasibility study of a new care pathway for women pregnant with a breech-presenting baby at term (https://optibreech.uk). She led the vaginal breech birth and external cephalic version training segment on the RCOG Management of Labour Ward course for four years. This training is associated with a Barts Health Charity-funded project to implement OptiBreech Collaborative Care across the largest NHS Trust in London over the next two years.

References

Walker S, Das S, Stringer K et al. How safe is it to plan a vaginal breech birth with OptiBreech collaborative care?: analysis of cumulative data within the OptiBreech Multiple Trials Cohort [version 2; peer review: 1 approved, 1 approved with reservations]. NIHR Open Res 2025, 3:61

Walker S, Spillane E, Stringer K, et al. OptiBreech collaborative care versus standard care for women with a breech-presenting fetus at term: A pilot parallel group randomised trial to evaluate the feasibility of a randomised trial nested within a cohort. PLoS One. 2023;18(11):e0294139. doi:10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0294139

Davies SM, Hodder A, Walker S, Bale N, Vincent H, Dasgupta T, et al. The OptiBreech Trial Feasibility Study: A Qualitative Inventory of the Roles and Responsibilities of Breech Specialist Midwives. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health. 2025 (online early view).

Vincent H, Walker S, Hodder A, et al. Barriers and facilitators for implementation of OptiBreech collaborative care: A qualitative study as part of an implementation process evaluation. Women and Birth. 2024;37(5):101656. doi:10.1016/J.WOMBI.2024.101656

Walker S, Spillane E, Stringer K, Meadowcroft A, Dasgupta T, Davies SM, Sandall J, Shennan A, Batish A, Davidson L, Das S, Magurova L, Haroun G, Meates C, Houghton G, Le Grys H, 2023. The feasibility of team care for women seeking to plan a vaginal breech birth (OptiBreech 1): an observational implementation feasibility study in preparation for a pilot trial. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 9, 80. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-023-01299-x

Dasgupta T, Hunter, S, Reid, S, et al. Breech specialist midwives and clinics in the OptiBreech Trial feasibility study: An implementation process evaluation. Birth. 2022; 00: 1- 10. doi: 10.1111/birt.12685 – The full study exploring the acceptability of proficient breech team care for women. Be sure to read the supplementary file containing quotes from women who participated in the research.

Roy R*, Gray C*, Prempeh-Bonsu CA and Walker S, 2023. What are women’s experiences of seeking to plan a vaginal breech birth? A systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]. NIHR Open Res 2023, 3:4 (https://doi.org/10.3310/nihropenres.13329.1) * Joint first authors

https://twitter.com/AliOtter/status/1617256954291707913?s=20&t=o-0vJqVK7ZWZjJ0UOa98Pg

Walker, S., Roberts, P., Boulding Harriet, 2022. Breech Clinics and Specialist Midwives Toolkit [WWW Document]. OptiBreech Project Blog. URL https://optibreech.uk/2022/09/18/breech-clinics-and-specialist-midwives-toolkit/(accessed 12.24.22).

Spillane E, Walker S and McCourt C. Optimal time intervals for vaginal breech births: a case-control study [version 2; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations, 1 not approved]. NIHR Open Res 2022, 2:45 (https://doi.org/10.3310/nihropenres.13297.2)- Research by our lead investigator at Kingston Hospital.

STUDY DAY AGENDA:

13:30_____ Welcome & housekeeping

13:45_____ Research about the risks and benefits of ECV

14:15_____ Contraindications and safety measures

14:30_____ How to perform an ECV

14:45_____ BREAK

15:00_____ Simulation counselling practice for ECV

15:30_____ Counselling clients using the OptiBreech pro forma

16:00_____ Simulation counselling practice for breech choices

17:00_____ END

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